Water Softener Salt in Dishwashers

[stevet]

Many of you will know more than me on this one! My sister in law has a new Kitchenaid dishwasher with a built in Softener. She did not know it had one until the "Add Salt" light came on.

Can you tell me, what type of salt does it use? KA recommends their "Soft Spring" salt and it is like 8 bucks for 2 pounds of it. Is it the same as the "Solar Salt" you can buy for some water softeners or is it more like a Kosher salt?

I will only use the Morton's Pelletized salt in my home unit as well as the units we install under the Hobart name as it is nearly 100% pure but I am not sure you can put that into the dishwasher and have it work okay.

Just seems like if it is only solar type salt, then why not buy a 40 lb bag for 5 bucks and have it for a much longer time?

I could always just crush the Pellets for her and be done with it as I always have at least a bag in reserve.

What do you all think?

Thanks
Steve

 

[nmassman44]

No, dishwasher salt is completely different and purer than solar salt. I use Somat or the Miele Dishwasher salts. If you are thinking of using Solar or home water softener salts,it will ruin the water softener in the dishwasher. I pay about $12 a box and it lasts about 6 months. But that's with my water hardness, your mileage may vary.

 

[henene4]

In theory, every home water softening system works basicly the same. Thus, in theory every water softening system should work with the same salt.

The main difference between the salt for water softeners and other salts (table salt etc.) is that there is nothing else in the water softening salt then salt. Nothing to prevent clumping, no other iodine or simmilar added. It is 'clean' so to say.
And, because you don't eat it, it isn't food safe.

If you search around a bit, there are several dishwasher salts avaible in the US. Some cheaper then others, but with DW salt, there is really nothing that could justify any extra expense. Size of the grains dosen't really matter much in my experience other then bigger grains are easier to fill into the softner in the DW.

But I wouldn't call me experienced enough to guarantee that whole house unit salt would work in a DW. I don't see why it shouldn't, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[eronie]

Salt

Morton Kosher salt will work just fine, it's what I've been using for 3 years in my Kitchen Aid.

 

[wayupnorth]

My water has alot of iron from the old granite that is our base to the soil from those glaciers. I put a little Iron out in my detergent dispensers with the detergent. I have a real good water softener and it just cant get everything.

 

[panthera]

There is a genuine

danger of poisoning the ion exchanger with the wrong type of salt. 

In Europe, where such things aren't luxuries, but standard, 1 Kilo of salt is about one US Dollar.

I'd suggest shopping online for the best prices. There's not excuse for what Miele charges in the US for their products.

 

[Marky_Mark]

After reading this thread, I took this photo while I was shopping in my local supermarket today. 

 

Finish dishwasher salt: 4 kg for 5.99€ (equivalent to US $0.76 per pound or UK £1.27/kg)

Store own brand: 3 kg for 1.19€ (equivalent to US $0.20 per pound or UK £0.34/kg)

 

The Finish salt is almost 4x the price of the store brand.  Why?  Is it purer?  Does it work better or protect the softener more than the store brand?  I really don't know!  The claims that Finish make is that their dishwasher salt is free from residues and and impurities such as iron, carbonates and anti-caking agents.  Finish warns against using other types of salt.  But their claims seem to relate to non-softener salts.  I believe that dishwasher salt is (or certainly was) available here in pellet form, rather like salt intended for a whole-house water softener.  Whole-house water softeners are reasonably common here in Spain and salt is available cheaply in pellet form.  Would this work in the dishwasher?  I wouldn't like to say! 

 

[maytagbear]

My thinking on the subject

is clear cut. If the dishwasher is under warranty, use the official salt. When it's no longer under warranty, let your conscience be your guide.

As for me, and my out of warranty GE Nautilus dishwasher, I throw some Morton's Kosher salt into the first phase of the cycle.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>... I throw some Morton's Kosher salt into the first phase of the cycle.</blockquote> That does nothing to soften the water.  Dishwashers that take salt have a built-in water softening mechanism -- a mini version of a whole-house softener.  Salt is not injected into the wash/rinse water.  It's used to make brine for flushing through the resin beads to regenerate the softener mechanism, then out the drain. Saltwater/brine never contacts the dishware.

 

[combo52]

Dishwasher Water Softeners

You can use any salt that is designed for home water softeners or any table salt for that matter. I would not use salt used for ice melting as most of these contain other chemicals.

 

If you use water softener salt pellets you may have to crush them for a DW system.

 

I am always amazed how much money people waste on all kinds of stuff in life, we should all question everything we buy and ask is it really necessary ?.

 

Plastic trash bags, paper towels, paper napkins, bottled water, Vacuum cleaner bags and almost all brand name items at the grocery store, I never buy any of these items.

 

[combo52]

Dishwasher Water Softeners

You can use any salt that is designed for home water softeners or any table salt for that matter. I would not use salt used for ice melting as most of these contain other chemicals.

 

If you use water softener salt pellets you may have to crush them for a DW system.

 

I am always amazed how much money people waste on all kinds of stuff in life, we should all question everything we buy and ask is it really necessary ?.

 

Plastic trash bags, paper towels, paper napkins, bottled water, Vacuum cleaner bags and almost all brand name items at the grocery store, I never buy any of these items, let a alone water filters for refs, special cleaners for washers and dishwashers.

 

[thor]

Dishwasher salt

You can also safely use salt sold for ice cream machines (the ice cube bucket type). What is poison for water softeners is the iodine content in table salt, required by law.