Who uses rinse aid?

[iowabear]

When I starting using a dishwasher in my first apartment I did try it and noticed the glasses came out less spotted.  Definitely an improvement.

 

However most of my glassware is just tumblers so I never bothered again.  On the rare occasion that it matters I just hand dry the items with a towel.

 

[maytagbear]

I have always

used rinse aid, in my 45 years of automatic dishwashing,

Now, with this new apartment's Elux-idaire, my first with a stainless steel tank, it's even more of a must, with the almost hard water here.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[jerrod6]

I have a Miele DW and the factory setting dispenses 3 millimeters of rinse aid at the beginning of the Final Rinse. The drying period lasts 21 minutes and the drying with this is fine so I have never bothered to change the setting. I use regular Finish Jet Dry.

 

[henene4]

Everybody in the EU, basicly

Some get along with detergents with a built-in rinse aid.

But it is basicly always cheaper to get plain detergent, rinse aid and (as typical in the EU) salt for the water sofetner seperatly.

A bottle of rinse aid isn't even 1€ IIRC, same with a 2kg pack of salt isn't 1€ either, and cheap and good detergent tabs can be had for less then 3€ for 60 or so loads.

So 5€ get you usually through almost 2 months.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Always use it. Things dry better with it.

 

[mrsalvo]

"A lot of it has to do with your own particular water. When I lived in PA, I had naturally soft spring water there and never had to use a rinse aid and could use a minimal amount of detergent. Here in Texas the water is hard so I use rinse aid now ."
Ditto. Texas has really hard water and the rinse aid does help. I use Cascade. Still wash some dishes by hand, esp. dark coated cookware as it has a tendency to rust on the lips of the edges. I have a 3 year old Kitchen Aid HE dishwasher with long cycle times.

 

[thomasortega]

If my dishwasher had a rinse aid dispenser I'd set it to dose only "3 gallons per load"

Water here is so hard that it looks like milk coming out of the faucet.

And of course the landlord won't even consider installing a water softener.

 

[askolover]

I just took a syringe and sucked out the rinse aid in my KA.  It was as thin as water.  I don't know if the gasket on the fill plug is bad or what.  It was barely even blue.  And I've noticed it leaking lately.  When it foamed out under the door last week during final rinse that was the final straw, hence the reason I just sucked it all out!

 

[rolls_rapide]

@askolover: It's probably the internal plunger seal that has gone.

Depending on the design of dispenser, the design of the seals can vary quite a bit. My Bosch has an Elbi dispenser, with a silly one-piece convoluted silicone gasket (not available as a separate spare part). Cost about 50 quid to replace the complete dispenser unit.

I had tried tightening the cam/plunger return spring, but it only lasted a few days before it leaked again; the rinse-aid is very good at finding any gaps in the seals.

 

[cornutt]

We have moderately hard water and have always used rinse aid. We also have been using the Cascade for the past year or so and seem to be getting better results than with Jet Dry. Our Bosch oddly does not have a no-heat dry option, so we usually make it a point to open the door for a moment during the dry cycle to let the steam out.

 

[combo52]

Bosch DWs do not have a dry heater, so a no heat dry option is unnecessary.

 

[passatdoc]

Same as the other Bosch owners. Bosch DWs do not have heated drying. For condensation drying to work, rinse agent is needed. We have hard water. A setting of "2" seems to work fine, no spots ever.

There is a sticker decal on the inside door rim that says "Bosch recommends Electrasol tablets (2001 model DW) and JetDry (now Finish)" I followed the directions and have had 16.5 years of flawless service. Had to replace the lower basket due to rust, but mechanically it's never had any service issues.

 

[passatdoc]

ps to cornutt

Bosch does not have heated drying, so there is no button to control dry options: it's always condensation drying.

When the "clean" (= cycle finished) light goes on, I open the door and pull out the upper rack 3-4 inches, then push the door forward until its forward motion is stopped by the rack. This creates an opening several inches wide to allow steam and moisture to escape. Half hour later, all is cool and dry. You can also roll up a dish towel to use as a "door stop", but the upper rack accomplishes the same purpose.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

PassatDoc

That's a great idea. I have just been opening mine to the point until it stays open. Our new Bosch performs far bettter than our Whirlpool in cleaning and drying. Plus, it's nearly silent.

 

[cornutt]

Well, I'll be darned

The Bosch DW must be fairly well insulated, then, because if I don't open it until after the end of the cycle, it's still hot inside. The Kitchenaid we had previously, if you chose no-heat drying, the interior was cool by the end of the dry cycle. We do have to open the door on the Bosch, though, especially in the summer; if we don't, it doesn't dry.