Can I use regular dishwasher salt?
There is quite a lot of conflicting information on the Internet about the use of substitutes for dishwashers. Some users argue that buying expensive powders, salt and tablets is not economical and that you can freely prepare them at home. Other users agree with the manufacturer, discouraging others from using homemade products. We had a specific question: can you put regular salt in the dishwasher? We will try to answer it in this publication.
Will table salt damage equipment?
Attention! According to people's comments at the bottom of the page, using regular table salt can harm your appliances!
Quite a tempting option for those who like to save money. A pack of table salt costs 15 times less than branded salt salt finish for dishwasher. And naturally you want to use regular table salt, but is it necessary? Experts say, and experienced users confirm from their bitter experience, that crushed table salt (especially extra grade) should not be used under any circumstances.
The fact is that in a pack of table salt, even coarsely ground, there is quite a lot of suspended matter. The suspension in this case is finely dispersed particles of salt that settle to the bottom of the PMM salt tank. What happens next?
- The suspension crystallizes in a dense layer in the tank.
- Over time, the tank becomes so clogged that water stops passing through it or passes through, but with great difficulty.
The reservoir may become so clogged that it will have to be pulled out of the machine in order to clean it.
- The ion exchanger receives less or a small amount of salt and fails.
- A huge amount of scale settles in the car, causing the equipment to quickly break down.
The prospect, although 1.5-2 years distant, is still not rosy. It’s better to buy Finish salt, so at least the dishwasher will remain intact. By the way, why doesn’t Finish salt crystallize at the bottom of the tank and create problems? The secret is that this salt is compressed into granules. Granulated salt does not contain suspended matter, so it dissolves evenly and is washed out into the system. Once in the machine's ion exchanger, salt water promotes the regeneration of resin, which in turn prevents the formation of limescale. That's how it works. No salt - no resin, and without resin, limescale deposits will grow horribly.
Acceptable replacement options
There is a widespread belief that you can use 3-in-1 tablets instead of salt and powder. They say that they contain everything you need, including salt, so you don’t need to pour anything additional into the tank if you buy tablets or capsules. In fact, this is a fatal misconception. The 3 in 1 tablets do contain salt, but it is not enough to completely enrich the dishwashing mixture (water + detergent + salt). The result will be disastrous. After 3-4 years, the ion exchanger will “close up”.
Some craftsmen try to pour granular industrial salt into the dishwasher. The danger of this action is that industrial salt contains impurities. They clog not only the salt reservoir, but also the entire system through which water moves. It may turn out that after 1-2 years the machine will have to be completely disassembled, thoroughly cleaned and filters changed, otherwise it simply will not work.
The only option is to use granulated purified technical salt for professional dishwashers. Firstly, it is quite clean, and secondly, it is in granules, and the percentage of fine suspended matter in it is minimal. This is a worthy substitute, although it costs a little less than salt for household dishwashers. The savings will be no more than 10-15%. There is another option - make your own granules from table salt.
Preparing industrial salt at home
How to replace store-bought dishwasher salt? Let's turn on the logic. Dishwasher salt must have two important qualities: firstly, the salt must be clean, and secondly, it must be coarsely dispersed with a minimum amount of suspended matter. Table salt is pure, because it is even suitable for food. But this salt contains a lot of suspended matter. If this fine dust is somehow removed and granules are formed from table salt, you will get an excellent product for PMM. How to do it?
- We take the smallest silicone molds for homemade candies (0.8-1 cm).
- Pour highly purified table salt onto a baking sheet.
- Wet the salt evenly with water from a spray bottle until a thick porridge forms.
- We fill the molds tightly with salt porridge, making sure that there are no small particles of salt left around the edges.
- Place the mold with salt near a strong heat source.
Be careful not to let the heat damage the mold.
- When the salt is completely dry, you will get large granules, from which you need to sweep away small salt crystals with a dry brush.
- We put the granules in a bag and try to handle them carefully so that they do not crumble.
These granules can be used perfectly in the dishwasher.They will be no worse than the advertised Finish salt, and their cost will be equal to the cost of molds and a pack of ordinary table salt. How does this salt differ from special salt for PMM? It turns out nothing, which means you can use it every day without fear.
Summarize. Neither 3 in 1 tablets, nor table salt from a pack, nor technical salt can replace special salt for PMM! You can make salt for PMM at home, and if you do everything correctly, you will actually be able to save money and not harm your equipment. Good luck!
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5 reader comments
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Out of stupidity, after reading articles on the internet, I ruined my dishwasher with “Extra” salt in 1.5 years.
It wasn't you who ruined it, it was the dishwasher. I use table salt and washing powder. 15 years – normal flight!
Don't believe all these advertising gimmicks.
Are you out of your mind? Who wrote the article? Since when is table salt considered pure enough? After your article, people will kill their own ion exchangers!
There is rock or sedimentary salt, i.e. It is mined in an open way, ground, and packaged in packs. There may be stones, sand, dust and inclusions of other minerals. Try diluting a couple of tablespoons of rock salt in a glass of water - you will get a sediment.And if you buy extra evaporation salt, which is produced by the evaporation method, in which the NaCl content is at least 99.7%, then it will completely dissolve without sediment in a glass of water. When purchasing dishwasher salt, look for information about GOST on the packaging: Edible evaporated salt Extra (GOST R 51574-2000 or GOST R 51574-2018).
P.S.
Granulated salt for dishwashers, which is sold in stores at 1.5 kg per pack, is in fact Extra salt, but 10 times more expensive. Granular salt allows water to flow between the salt pieces inside the PMU without reducing the water pressure. Although over time the granules become smaller and also become small, which ultimately makes them look like grains of Extra salt. In general, I believe that if you use the right Extra evaporation salt, the resin will last a long time in the dishwasher.
Well written, well written. Make the salt into granules so that there is no suspension. And then pour the granules into the dishwasher, where the same water will soak the salt. And sooner or later the suspension will be washed away from the salt in the same way. Well, if you have nothing else to do, you can indulge yourself, I usually use finely ground salt for about 12 years, everything works great. The salt process in a dishwasher is like this: in the tank where the salt is poured there is water, the salt cannot dissolve indefinitely, so it dissolves to a certain concentration, in the process of pouring water into the dishwasher, part of the salt water enters the ion exchanger, and from it into the dishwasher. But there 50 grams of it are added, and the same salted water is poured into the dishwasher itself. And she won’t score anything there. Do you put perfectly clean dishes in the sink? Can you imagine how much fat and suspended debris there is? and nothing gets clogged..