What is dishwasher salt made of?

The performance of any dishwasher directly depends not only on the selected detergents, but also on the selected salt. The correct composition of dishwasher salt can preserve the “life” of the ion exchange device for many years, so the choice of salt granules should be approached with full responsibility. Today in Russia, products from dozens of different brands are widely distributed, so it is not always easy to understand which one is best. Ordinary table salt always raises big questions among housewives: can it be added to “home help” instead of special salt? Today we will examine this issue in detail, and also choose the best salt for household appliances.

Why shouldn't you add table salt?

Usually table salt is used only because it is several times cheaper than special salt, and they are almost the same in composition. If you pour table salt into the PMM, then at first nothing bad will really happen to it, because the composition of the specialized salt is 99.99 percent pure salt without any impurities. The essence of the problem is that ordinary salt does not undergo as many special cleaning procedures as special salt for household appliances. Because of this, regular salt contains many impurities, such as carbonates, iron and iodine, which are not harmful to humans, but are harmful to dishwashers. Over time, impurities will settle at the bottom of the salt bin, obstruct the passage of water and seriously reduce the amount of salt that will flow into the ion exchanger, which will increase the risk of scale formation.

For the same reason, iodized salt, which is so beneficial for the human body, is destructive for complex equipment. In addition, the special dishwashing salt is distinguished by its particularly large size, which was done on purpose. Thanks to this, the salt granules dissolve evenly in the machine, maintaining the normal functionality of the ion exchanger. Ordinary table salt, even coarsely ground, dissolves in the unit very quickly, so the risk of neglecting the salt tank increases. If you do not fill the bunker with salt in time, this will also damage the ion exchanger.

Also, some dishwasher owners do not wait until the salt in the machine is completely dissolved, but believe that salt is not at all needed for the normal operation of their unit. And again, the equipment is able to work normally without salt for the first time - about a couple of weeks or a month. The dishes will be washed clean, the ion exchanger will soften the water, so from the outside it seems that everything is fine. However, from the inside, the device will slowly fail, because the resin from the ion exchanger is rapidly washed out, which is why the water softening unit will one day fail, and the dishwasher will either stop working completely or begin to wash dishes poorly.

It is possible not to use salt for PMM only if you have high-quality soft water in your water supply.

Therefore, the main result is elementary - you should not go against the recommendations of specialists and equipment manufacturers. If the quality of tap water does not allow it, then under no circumstances leave the dishwasher without salt, or with ordinary table salt, because this can damage the expensive ion exchanger, the replacement of which will be much more expensive than special salt for PMM.

Save on salt right?

Of course, dishwasher salt is absolutely not something you need to skimp on when using household appliances, but you can also save on it if you choose products with a good price-quality ratio. The popular Finish salt is, of course, good, but it cannot be said that there is any special component that is included in this salt and not in another. Basically, the composition of the special salt for PMM is the same for all products, so we have prepared a list of five products that can be an excellent alternative to products from the popular Finish brand.

1. Synergetic highly purified salt for dishwashers, 1.5 kg - products from the Synergetic company, which is rapidly gaining positions in the Russian household chemicals market. This salt received almost the maximum rating on Yandex.Market - as much as 4.9 points, based on 39 reviews. Customers praise this brand for its especially large granules, which take a very long time to dissolve in PMM, and the cost is only $2, which is significantly cheaper than a pack of Finish salt.
2. Clean & Fresh Purified dishwasher salt, 1.8 kg received a slightly worse rating than the previous product in our top, but still very high - 4.8 points based on 182 user reviews. The manufacturer assures that the insoluble residue of this salt is less than 0.3 percent, which is why you can forget about clogs in the dishwasher due to low-quality salt forever. The price is slightly higher than the previous item, but the weight in this pack is greater - $2 per pack of 1.8 kilograms.
3. Jundo Silver Ionized Dishwasher Salt 3kg is another salt granule with an average rating of 4.8 on Yandex.Market from 75 customers.No bad reviews were found for this product, because customers praise the service life of one pack, which lasts for several months. Considering the low price of 3 kilograms of salt at $2, this is one of the most economical choices.
4. SWASH granulated salt, 3 kg also has an extended service life, which is achieved not only due to the large volume of the pack, but also thanks to the huge crystal clear salt granules. The price is also not very high for such a volume of salt - $3 per pack.
5. Celesta Salt for dishwashers, 2 kg, in the last place of the list we put the products with the lowest rating in this selection, but definitely not with the lowest ratings. Immediately 222 buyers gave this salt an average rating of 4.7 points on the Yandex aggregator, which indicates that this is the most popular product being considered today. The enormous popularity of this brand lies in the price - only $1 for as many as 2 kilograms of high-quality large salt crystals.

As a result, even without Finish, there is plenty of salt to choose from on the market for PMM. But you can save money not only on the choice of household chemicals, but also if you understand the hardness settings of your favorite “home assistant”. Usually, during the initial setup of the dishwasher, service center technicians set the maximum hardness settings in case the tap water in the city is too hard. In this mode, salt of any size will dissolve in the device very quickly.

You can find out the hardness of your water either by looking at the official website of the city water utility, or by testing the water yourself using test strips.

If the water entering the dishwasher is soft, then you can really save on special salt and use it in a minimal amount or not use it at all. In order to correct the hardness mode, look at the instructions for the household appliance. But if the tap water in your city is hard, then don’t even try to reduce salt consumption - the savings will be minimal, but this can fatally damage the ion exchanger.

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