Limescale deposits are a problem for dishwashers, as they are for all other household appliances that use water. They lead to increased power consumption, attack seals, make mechanical bearings inoperable and clog pipes - in short, they destroy your dishwasher sooner or later.
That's why we should decalcify at regular intervals. But how do we do it right?
1. Prevention
The first measure we should take is to find the right setting of the dishwasher for the water hardness. Modern dishwashers give us the option of setting them precisely to the degree of hardness that prevails in our country.
We can find out the water hardness level from our water company or on the internet. To do this, we simply search for "water hardness" and also enter our district. Water hardness is the degree of saturation of the water with ions of the alkaline earth metals.
If the water is heated and comes into contact with certain chemical substances, these ions are released again and settle as limescale - and this is exactly what happens in our dishwasher.
After we have found out the degree of hardness applicable to our water, we enter it into our dishwasher according to the instructions for use. To do this, we simply look for the chapter "Enter water hardness" or also "Ion exchanger - adjust hardness" or similar chapters and then follow the instructions.
In this way, we have set our dishwasher to operate with our water and, in addition, we also save money: the dishwasher now only uses as much salt as is actually needed.
Poorly set machines, on the other hand, simply flush the excess, unused salt out through the drain, damaging our wallet and the environment.
2. Regular measures
To begin with, it is best to ensure that there is always enough salt in the storage container of our dishwasher. This is because the ion exchanger needs it to bind and release the ions released during water softening. If there is no salt in our dishwasher, the ion exchanger becomes saturated and can no longer soften the water. This means that much too hard water then enters the dishwashing cycle and limescale is deposited.
The next question is whether we want to buy descaling agents from a specialist shop or prefer to use home remedies. Descaling agents are available from various manufacturers, often dishwasher manufacturers also cooperate with certain brands or products - but this is not a binding instruction and the descaling effect is not necessarily better because of it.
Nevertheless, it is worth comparing, as the prices vary considerably for the same performance. In contrast to home remedies, descaling agents from specialist dealers always come with instructions on how to use them. We always follow these very carefully, because if they are not used correctly, the results are unsatisfactory in the best case - in the worst case, our machine can also be damaged.
Home remedies are environmentally friendly and chemical-free. When used correctly, the results are just as excellent as those of the products of the specialist manufacturers - but how do you apply them correctly, because there are no instructions for this?
Acetic acid (vinegar essence) and citric acid are particularly suitable as cleaning agents. The mixing ratio of 1:2 (two parts water to one part detergent) is important here. With acetic acid we can still mix by eye, with citric acid it should already be almost exact, otherwise deposits can form that resemble lime deposits. If the mixing ratio is correct, acetic acid can be used well and citric acid is excellent as a cleaner. Acetic acid is also odourless, has an antibacterial effect and binds unpleasant odours.
We never descale with dishes. So we run an empty dishwasher under 400 without any dishes at 95°C (or a similarly high temperature) without adding a cleaning tab or other detergent until it has filled up with the maximum amount of water - we can tell this by the fact that the water is always sprayed at the same intervals on the side walls and the front door. Then we open the front door and carefully (WARNING: HOT!) add our chosen cleaner.
Then we close the door and let the cleaner soak in for 8-10 hours. We can do this overnight or during the day while we are working or doing other activities. When the time is up, we simply let the rinsing process finish and then check whether the desired effect has been achieved. After that, the descaling process is complete, we can run another rinse cycle or Eco programme, but we don't have to.
3. Final measures
We make a note of when we last descaled or when we want to descale the next time. As a rule of thumb, we should descale every 6 months, but these intervals can be as short as 3-4 months if the water is particularly hard. We pay attention when water spots on glasses and cutlery increase again - these signs usually do not indicate a particularly poor Reinger Tabs quality, but are usually a sign of limescale.
When we keep a household calendar, we simply write down our desired date in addition to the other recurring dates. We don't skip a cycle, because our dishwasher in particular, which works a lot with salts and chemical processes, is one of the most affected by calcification of all our household appliances. And we should take good care of this indispensable household helper so that we can enjoy it for a long time.
Eleena Timmons