How to pour salt into the dishwasher: why is it needed and how much to pour

Figuring out how to put salt in the dishwasher is not difficult. To do this, you need to find a special container with a lid, which is located at the very bottom of the chamber. In this case, the quantity can be arbitrary - as a rule, the container is filled completely, after which the product is evenly consumed. How to properly fill it up and which product is best is described in detail in this material.

Purpose of salt

First of all, you need to understand what dishwasher salt is for, since the required amount and frequency of its use depends on this. The main reason is that salt contains substances that make the water softer.

In most regions of Russia (including the middle zone, Moscow, the Volga region, the southern regions and the Southern Urals) the water is very hard. This means that it contains quite a lot of calcium carbonate (mineral salt, also called lime). It is for this reason that you need to understand how much salt to pour into the dishwasher, and which product is best to use.

Hard water is much worse than soft water, as it leads to several negative consequences:

• scale formation on the heating element;
• glassware becomes cloudy;
• parts wear out faster, so repairs will be needed ahead of schedule.

Composition and principle of action

The composition of salt includes table salt itself, that is, crystalline sodium chloride. The product is available in 2 types:

• pills;
• crystals (granules).

This raises the question of what to replace dishwasher salt with. At first glance, it seems that you can pour regular table salt into the tray, and it will have the same effect. But the key difference is that table salt comes in the form of a very fine powder, while dishwashing detergent comes in granules or tablets (pressed). This allows it to dissolve evenly, without clogging the filter or damaging the ion exchanger, which is installed in many modern devices.

If we talk about why salt is in the dishwasher, we should describe the principle of its action. Table salt itself cannot soften water. But it affects the ion exchanger because it is a source of large amounts of dissolved sodium and chlorine ions. Thanks to this, the level of rigidity is noticeably reduced. That's what dishwasher salt is for.

Preparatory stage: determining hardness and setting the softener

Before you figure out where to put salt in your dishwasher, you need to properly set up the softener in the unit. The fact is that the device can operate even at high hardness (7 levels in total), but for this it is important to soften the liquid correctly, that is, adjust the softener.

In turn, for this it is necessary to accurately determine the level of hardness, since this determines whether salt should be used, and exactly in what quantities. The indicator could be like this:

1. Soft (the softener is set to position 0 or 1) - in these cases there is no need to figure out why dishwasher salt is needed, since at this level it is not required.
2. Medium (softener position from 2 to 4).
3. Hard (position from 5 to 7).

When figuring out how to use dishwasher salt, you need to correctly assess the water hardness. This can usually be done using data for each specific region. But if there is no information, you can carry out independent measurements, including using improvised means:

1. Paper strips with an indicator - they are immersed in water, then taken out and the color is determined, comparing it with a standard scale. After this, you can understand where to put salt in a Bosch dishwasher, and how to do it correctly.
2. Using laundry soap, thoroughly lather a clean, damp cloth in a piece. If foam appears in large quantities, it means the rigidity is low. If there is very little foam, the indicator is very high.
3. You can also figure out how quickly scale forms in a kettle, on the surface of a boiler and other heating devices. If plaque appears literally every week, this indicates high rigidity.

How and how much salt to add: step-by-step instructions

Now you need to figure out which salt is best for the dishwasher and how to use it correctly. There are several different drugs, all of them are of high quality and affordable:

• "Finish";
• "Somat"
• "Synergetic";
• "Salty" and others.

The next step is to decide on the quantity. Dishwasher salt can be filled to the top in the tray. Although the specific amount is indicated in the instructions, it is not necessary to strictly adhere to this rule.In fact, the tray is filled completely; for this, an incomplete pack (about 2/3), that is, about 1 kg, is enough. The fact is that the product is used evenly, so there is no need to worry about the exact amount.

After it has become clear what salt to use for the dishwasher, you need to study which container to put the tablets or granules in. To do this, you can use simple step-by-step instructions:

1. Find a special compartment inside the chamber (it is located under the lowest dish basket).
2. Pour up to 1 liter of water into this tank. This should be done only before the very first use; in other cases, this step is skipped.
3. Find a hole where you can add dishwasher salt and insert a funnel into it (for convenience, so as not to spill tablets or granules).
4. Fill the container almost to the top - usually 2/3 of a pack is enough for this.
5. If grains spill out, you need to remove them and wipe the surface thoroughly.
6. Screw on the lid, checking that it fits tightly and without distortion.

Thus, the composition of dishwasher salt is similar to a regular food product - NaCl (sodium chloride). This product does not reduce hardness by itself, but it does provide ionic balance so that the device's ion exchanger works correctly. It is this that softens the liquid, which significantly increases the service life of the heating element and other parts.