Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Dishwasher detergent


JAZ

Recommended Posts

They actually have a small tank internally that you fill with salt.  The use of salt much like a water softener does to soften the water.  They tell you when they need the salt chamber to be refilled.

I was surprised to see salt being sold in the dishwasher detergent aisle of a grocery store in Paris. My aunt, who lives there, explained to me that the water is notoriously hard, and all the dishwashers there have salt compartments for a built-in water softener. Before they were developed, dishwashers didn't last and didn't work well.

  • Like 1

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if  the salt compartment will become as popular in the states as it is here in Europe. They keep our glasses from becoming white with calcium, as the water here is terribly hard. I cannot stand to use the finish powerball tabs they etch the glasses and wipe the designs off our coffee cups. We usually use Evcover brand if we can find it, or Frosch brand. Seems to do a good job and not etching or wiping off of the designs off our cups.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if  the salt compartment will become as popular in the states as it is here in Europe. They keep our glasses from becoming white with calcium, as the water here is terribly hard. I cannot stand to use the finish powerball tabs they etch the glasses and wipe the designs off our coffee cups. We usually use Evcover brand if we can find it, or Frosch brand. Seems to do a good job and not etching or wiping off of the designs off our cups.

It's obviously very dependent on the area but I think that overall we water in the states is much softer than it is in Europe.  At least that seems to be common in the places I've lived.  Also, Europe banned the use of phosphates and detergents much earlier than in America.  Having softer water makes non-phosphate detergents work much better so I'm guessing that eventually the building water softeners will become more prominent here.

  • Like 1

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can I put a mesh bag of rock salt on the top rack?

 

Salt doesn't do the work directly, it recharges an ion-exchange resin which binds calcium and magnesium from the hard water.  So the salt compartment is just the most obvious component of a water-softening system built into the dishwasher.  

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, Im sorry, I posted the above last night while I was half asleep. So I looked on Amazon for any kind of "portable water softener"....

 

There are three kinds

 

1) a ball type that you put on the top rack http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FFJZ3A/

2) a electronic type which threads over your pipes that electrostatically treats the water in the pipes http://www.amazon.com/Eddy-Electronic-Water-Descaler-Alternative/dp/B003Z96GR4/

3) a portable type that uses salt that hooks to your water line via a hose (two sizes house and RV) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050EF894/

 

Does anyone have any of these? Even with illegal detergents my dishes dont get all the way clean so Im looking for alternatives

Wawa Sizzli FTW!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, Im sorry, I posted the above last night while I was half asleep. So I looked on Amazon for any kind of "portable water softener"....

 

There are three kinds

 

1) a ball type that you put on the top rack http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FFJZ3A/

2) a electronic type which threads over your pipes that electrostatically treats the water in the pipes http://www.amazon.com/Eddy-Electronic-Water-Descaler-Alternative/dp/B003Z96GR4/

3) a portable type that uses salt that hooks to your water line via a hose (two sizes house and RV) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050EF894/

 

Does anyone have any of these? Even with illegal detergents my dishes dont get all the way clean so Im looking for alternatives

1.  I've never seen or heard anything about this kind of softener.

 

2.  This type has been around for a long time some people say they work some people say they don't work.  I'm undecided that they don't work because if it works the minerals that are supposed to be moved by softening the water would have to go someplace and they don't.

 

3.  I'm not really familiar with this type of softener but the setup looks exactly the same as a large whole house softener.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...