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Comment by bediger4000 | Hacker News Reader

This is the BBC, but as a N. American dishwasher user, I'm struggling to translate the advice on soap/detergent. "Table" and "salt" are two terms that aren't linked to dishwashers in the middle of N. America. We've got "pods" (bad, manufacture specifies how much soap to use, also kids eat them), and we've got rinsing agent. You get a little bottle of rinsing agent with your dishwasher, and you never put it in again. It's magic.

Why would I put "salt" in my dishwasher? The article makes that additive out as preventative maintenance, and I don't think that's true of sodium chloride.

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It's a European (maybe rest of the world) thing.

It's interesting how different dishwashers are in US and Europe. Two main things for me:

- Salt: European dishwashers have embedded water softeners and you add salt once in a while. Only super high end ones have it in US.

- Water heater: European dishwasher expect to receive cold water and they heat it internally; US ones expect hot water and only partially boost the temperature (sometimes). That's why you have to run hot water before starting the dishwasher

Always wondered how we ended up like this...

More people need to know this.

Why would I put "salt" in my dishwasher?

TFA has the answer, it's to soften the water:

'Special dishwasher salt, meanwhile, helps to "soften the water preventing lime scale build up and those horrid white marks on glasses."'

In the U. S., if hard water is a problem then the house probably has a whole-house softener, and "dishwasher salt" isn't necessary.

Rinse aid is an interesting topic. There's some evidence that it causes damage to the gut. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36464527/

> You get a little bottle of rinsing agent with your dishwasher, and you never put it in again.

Speak for yourself. I use rinsing agent regularly, and need to refill it every few weeks.

It's the "salt" used in water softeners. Necessary when you have "hard" water.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher_salt

It's common in the US to have a whole house water-softener. Is this less common in the UK?

Brit here: It is very uncommon.

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