The name of all-in-one dishwasher tablets would imply that they take care of everything your dishwasher needs, right? Does this mean you can stop using dishwasher salt and rinse aid?
All-in-one dishwasher tablets include salt and rinse aid functions. However, dishwasher brand Bosch recommends keeping your salt and rinse aid topped up, even if you use all-in-one tablets. However, multi-functional tablets reduce the number of salt and rinse aid refills needed.
Although Bosch believes you should keep your dishwasher stocked with salt and rinse aid regardless of the tablets you use, the answer isn’t cut and dry; it may depend on your area’s water hardness and your chosen brand of all-in-one tablets.
Here I’ll discuss how water hardness changes the amount of salt and rinse aid your dishwasher needs. I’ll also examine popular all-in-one tablets to see how well they perform the salt and rinse aid functions.
How Water Hardness Affects the Amount of Salt and Rinse Aid Your Dishwasher Needs
Dishwasher salt is meant to combat hard water by removing the trace amounts of calcium and magnesium that cause limescale when they’re left behind.
Meanwhile, rinse aid stops water from sticking to surfaces so easily, which stops water marks on your dishes. Water marks from hard water are particularly bad, so salt and rinse aid work in tandem to soften water and eliminate its negative effects.
If you live in a hard water area, more dishwasher salt and rinse aid will be required to keep your dishwasher running smoothly.
Dishwasher tablet brand Finish admits that their all-in-one tablets won’t be enough if you live in a very hard water area and that you’ll need separate salt and rinse aid products. Finish doesn’t mention needing to use these separate products in soft water areas, though.
Ranking Salt and Rinse Aid Functions of Popular All-in-One Tablets
It’s recommended that salt and rinse aid be kept stocked even when you’re using all-in-one tablets. However, some tablet brands will perform those functions better, requiring less salt and rinse aid refills.
1. Fairy Platinum All-in-One
Fairy is a British household name, and their all-in-one dishwasher tablets deliver top results.
Customers commonly report having to use far less dishwasher salt and rinse aid than previously.
Most customers found it safer to keep their salt and rinse aid compartments stocked, but more than one customer mentioned forgoing salt and rinse aid after switching to the Fairy tablets, with “completely satisfactory” results.
2. Ecover All-in-One
Looking for environmentally friendly all-in-one dishwasher tablets? Ecover’s tablets are plant-based instead of petroleum-based. But do they reduce the need for salt and rinse aid?
These tablets generally garner great reviews, with one customer claiming that they work “really well” with “no need for salt or rinse aid”.
In terms of reducing salt and rinse aid, Ecover performs well, but some customers claim that it doesn’t always remove food stains and grease.
3. Finish Quantum All-in-One
When it comes to dishwasher tablets, Finish and Fairy are long-time rivals. In this case, I’d have to say that Fairy comes out on top.
Finish Quantum customers are more likely to complain about having water marks and mineral deposits on their dishes after usage, requiring the use of separate rinse aid.
That’s not to say that everyone is unhappy with Finish Quantum – many customers are still pleased with the outcome of their dishes, and I’d recommend trying different brands to see which one works best for you.
However, if you’re specifically looking for tablets that cut back on salt and rinse aid refills, then Finish may not be the one.
Conclusion
If you live in a very hard water area, you’ll need to use separate dishwasher salt and rinse aid products regardless of your chosen dishwasher tablets.
Otherwise, you should probably keep your dishwasher stocked with salt and rinse aid, but you’ll need to refill these products far less when using all-in-one tablets.
Fairy Platinum and Ecover All-in-One tablets seem to seriously reduce the need for separate salt and rinse aid products, while Finish Quantum is less reliable on this front.
A recent uni graduate who likes writing, gaming, and drawing. I’m figuring out housekeeping tips alongside you while trying to provide eco-friendly cleaning options. Let’s find out how to use a tumble dryer together!
