Can You Use Denture Tablets in the Dishwasher?

To those with dentures, denture tablets are of course indispensable. But the tooth – sorry, truth – of the matter is that they can be of tremendous help all around the house, regardless of your dental status.

Because of the chemical composition of denture tablets, cleaning a wide variety of items is relatively easy. This can include items that are otherwise notoriously difficult to rid of marks and stains.

As for dishwashers, denture tablets definitely have a role to play. Let’s see exactly how they can help.

 

What’s in a Denture Tablet?

Most denture tablets are made up of varying quantities of chemicals, including sodium bicarbonate and sodium persulphate, that are known as oxidants.

When submersed in water, an effervescent reaction takes place, which helps to shift grime.

Other chemical compounds, such as oxygen bleach, are often included to help with the cleaning action. Using such ingredients, denture tablets can keep the everyday stains that dentures have to deal with at bay.

The great thing about denture tablets is that this stain-banishing power can be used on a wide variety of items around the home.

And the best thing? They’re cheap – from only 3p per tablet, which makes them significantly cheaper than dishwasher tablets.

So, if it’s the case that they can be used instead, that’s a big saving right there. But can they?

 

Can You Use Dentures in Dishwashers?

The answer is yes and no. Sorry – annoying, huh?

What it boils down to is this: denture tablets can be used in dishwashers but only as a means to get the actual machine itself clean.

If you’re using them to get crockery clean, denture tablets in a dishwasher are not the way to do it. See below for what to do instead.

Using denture tablets to clean a dishwasher

Cleaning a dishwasher can be a real pain. All that hard work cleaning your crockery leaves traces in the shape of stains, food debris and detergent residue.

You can clean out with a cloth but to get down to business inside a dishwasher is a strain on the back and the temper.

A much better and easier solution is to put denture tablets to work. Pop a couple in an otherwise empty machine and run a cycle through. You’ll return to find a showroom condition interior.

Note, you may still have to clean the filter in the sink, but that comes under general maintenance (i.e., you should be doing this regularly anyway).

So, what’s the advantage of using denture tablets over a proprietary dishwasher cleaner? Again, it’s all about cost.

Denture tablets are so much cheaper than dishwasher cleaners tend to be. And, if you’ve got somebody in the house who wears dentures, you’ll always have a few of them to hand.

Do ask before you raid their supply though!

 

Using Denture Tablets When Hand-Washing Dishes

So, denture tablets don’t generally do the trick with getting dishes in a dishwasher clean. However, that’s not to say that they have nothing to offer the much-pressed washer-upper.

Burnt pots and dishes

Sometimes a meal will stick around for longer than you wanted. This can be especially true with burnt remnants of oven roasts and pan frying.

You can scrub and scrub and not get very far. Quite often this food residue won’t be eradicated even by a dishwasher using a top of the range detergent. So, it’s good to know there’s another way forward.

Here’s what to do: fill the pan with warm water and pop a denture tablet in. A lot of fizzing will ensue, as those tablets get to work.

Now leave for a while – overnight is ideal. When you get back, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how much those previously apparently impenetrable burnt-on bits will have loosened up. You can now put in the dishwasher with greater confidence of good results.

 

Coffee jugs and machines

Coffee is a major culprit when it comes to dental stains, so it’s no surprise that denture tablets can banish those tannins and caffeine stains.

You can put a tablet in a jug full of water just like the pot method above and you’ll get sparkling results. Same with glass vases.

For coffee machines that have seen a fair bit of use, you can run denture tablet solution through them to clean out the pipes and spouts.

You’ll find that a whole lot of coffee residue will be shifted, and the machine will run a lot faster as a result.

Don’t forget to run clean water through the machine after you apply denture tablet solution, or your coffee will not taste as it should!

 

Tupperware

When your Tupperware tubs get stained with tomato or other brightly coloured foods, it can be very tricky to get them clean again.

Try putting them in a bucket of warm water, with two denture tablets. Leave overnight and you should find that your plastic pots are significantly cleaner.

 

Some Other Uses for Denture Tablets

The list of denture tablet cleaning uses is extremely extensive.

Just to pick out a few, you can use them to give great results with your toilet bowl, your net curtains, your jewellery and your drains.

You can also add denture tablets to your laundry to help with getting your whites whiter.

You can even use denture tablets to clean your fingernails. Next time you’ve been gardening and manage to bring in soil samples galore under your nails, you can get your tips back to white by putting your fingers in a mug of water with one denture tablet. A mere five minutes per hand will do it.

 

Denture Tablets – Your Multipurpose Mates

Who knew denture-wearers were carrying around in their toilet bags something so incredibly useful?

Denture tablets may not be much of a dishwasher detergent substitute, but what they do to help with stubbornly stained crockery is something way beyond what a lot of dishwashers can manage. And they keep your dishwasher looking good too.

In fact, their usefulness extends out of the kitchen, all around the house. From the bowl of your toilet to the tips of your nails, denture tablets get your belongings spick and span with a lot of fizz and very little fuss.