Rinse Agent

[joe89]

Do you folks recommend using a rinse agent?

I have a Kitchenaid KUDS230B.

I have only filled the rinse agent dispenser
a few times in the life of the dishwasher.
I just filled it. It says in my manual that
it holds 7 fluid ounces. I was only able to
put in less than 4 ounces before it was full.
It hadn't been filled in at least a year;
most likely much longer. Any idea why it wouldn't
7 ounces?

 

[frigilux]

If you lift the door up at an angle, you'll be able to get more rinse aid into the dispenser.

I use rinse aid all the time. Even with soft water, I can tell when the reservoir is low. There are spots on glasses and plastic items.

I have to fill mine about once a month. I use the machine a lot; you may not have to add it quite as often. Is there an indicator to let you know when it's near empty?

 

[joe89]

OK, thanks

No indicator. It has a sort of ring that shows the full line.
Also states that it can be filled before it's empty but not
to overfill.

 

[launderess]

The caution about over filling is so when one puts the cap back on, excess rinse agent won't spill out and cause foaming problems (if not wiped up), next wash cycle.

Try this trick,

Fill the rinse aid dispenser until it is "full", then slightly tilt the door upwards as in closing the dishwasher. The fluid should go down into the dispenser, then one can lower the door and add more agent. If filling for a second time, make sure not to fill all the way to the top, then repeat the above, allowing fluid to run into the dispenser. If fluid remains above in whole or part, then you know the dispenser has reached capacity and shouldn't be filled again.

Fill my Kenmore this way all the time, as it doesn't hold much and am tired of forgetting and ending up with spotty and or in the case of non-heat drying, dishes that are still wet the next morning.

 

[polkanut]

An old trick that was used before the advent of Jet-Dry etc, was to add a tsp. of borax, like you use in the laundry. It helps soften the water to prevent spotting. I actually prefer this method because it leaves no chemical residue on washed items.

 

[stevet]

Care-FULL

Joe, be satisfied with the dispenser's level with the door fully open when you refill it. If you try to overfill it, there is a vent in the dispenser that could leak into the inner door though you would really have to get it very full.

If your water is bad, you will know when it is empty and if your water is good, you won't need the jet dry anyway with what is already in most current name brand detergents with the built in shine guard and wetting agents!

Our water is about 8 grains hard and I don't use the rinse agent at all and never have any spotting. I do use either the high temp scour on the Whirlpool in the garage or the Sani cycle on my KDS20 and heated dry too. Everything usually comes out just perfect.

And in anticipation of your next question, the dispenser works with a bimetal setup like the detergent dispenser but in a much less dramatic fashion.

When you open and then close the doorof the dishwasher,
a small amount of agent goes into a small reservoir in the dispenser and is retained there by a rubber stopper type plunger. When the machine calls for dispensing, it send the motor current thru the bimetal of the dispenser and it bends upward to move the plunger up and out of place. The rinse agent then trickles into the machine and does its job.

The older styles used a solenoid which opened and let the fluid out. You would have actually been able to over dispense the product if you kept raising the latch and restarting the cycle when it was in the dispense segment. You would usually be able to hear the solenoid energizing on many of those older style units. Then you might also lead to a foaming problem and who knows what on the dishware!

 

[rolls_rapide]

Modern electronic machines...

..dispense rinse-aid in pulses. For example, my Bosch has seven electronic settings (0-6), and will dispense the rinse-aid accordingly. So, if the setting was on the factory default of 4, there would be four separate injections of the liquid.

 

[passatdoc]

Rinse agent allows the water to evaporate cleanly off your dishes, at the end of final rinse, and condense onto the metal sides of the dishwasher....without using heated drying. Bosch dishwashers as a rule don't even have heated drying. Their final rinses are hot enough to promote evaporation of the washer from the dishes, as long as you use the surfactant effect of the rinse agent. The steel interior is not just for looks or durability....after all, plastic tubs rarely crack. It's there to receive the moisture off the dishes in the form of condensation.

 

[whirlcool]

After awhile, wouldn't all this moisture on the steel walls lead to mold in the machine?

 

[brisnat81]

The moisture on the sides, condenses and runs down into the sump where it is initially pumped out at the end of the dry cycle or at the start of next wash. You dont really end up with much additional water in the sump.

The Miele's are vented as well, so that helps things to a point, but unless you have a dishwasher with a dry sump at the end of the cycle you always run the risk.

I've been using a Miele 4-5 times per week for 3 years and even if I leave the door shut whilst we're away for 2 weeks, things are still mould free when we get back.

 

[passatdoc]

Never had any mold issues either. I am in the habit of not shutting (latching) the door when it's not in use. Maybe the high final rinse temp of these machines kills off any mold that might try to grow.