We often get service requests from customers for dishwashers that “don’t clean the dishes well enough”. BUT WAIT! This article will help you avoid getting mad at your repair technician. It may be your dishwasher detergent that is the problem. Although it may sound absurd, switching to dishwasher detergents can fix your dishwasher’s problem.
How dishwasher detergents work
Water and oil do not mix. This means that while water can clean most substances, oil-based materials are more resistant to water-based cleaning. The soap or detergent acts like an emulsifier to allow the oil-based substance mix with water.
There are many active chemicals in detergents:
Alkalies regulate pH levels, which causes food particles to swell and be removed more easily.
To prevent limescale buildup, builders regulate the water hardness.
Similar to enzymes in digestion, enzymes are used to convert starch and protein to water-soluble particles.
To oxidize hard soils such as coffee stains, bleach may be added.
Pre-rising dirty dishes is unnecessary because of these active chemicals. Modern detergents are more effective when leftover food is present in your dishes. To avoid clogging your filter, make sure you remove any large food pieces before loading.
How to choose a detergent
Finish brand powder and gel options provide the essential properties of a detergent, including breaking down food and removing grease. They also have a bleach additive that can be used to combat stains. Customers often prefer “monodose” options that require only one tab to avoid the mess.
All detergents were traditionally sold in powdered form. These powders were stored under the kitchen sink and would absorb moisture, clumping. The powders would absorb moisture and clump. Users would break them up and use the detergent as usual. The detergent is essentially a weak filler material once it has been exposed to water. However, moisture activates cleaning agents. People complained that powdered detergent produced poor results and even left detergent on their dishes.
Many users prefer to use gel-based detergents over powder-based detergents. Gel can only contain one of two ingredients: bleach or enzymes.
dishwasher gel
End gel products are one of the few that prefer enzymes to bleach. Finish All-in-1 Gel Pacs includes pre-soaks to break down food particles and a rinse aid that reduces spotting. However, it does not contain the bleach additive. Monodose powder-based gels are better than those made from liquids. They can be protected from moisture and contain both enzymes as well as bleach.
Dishwaher is not cleaning well
Finish All in One Powerball
Tabs are powder-based bricks that have been individually sealed to protect from moisture exposure. The red Powerball is filled with enzymes which release under low heat at start of wash cycle for tough cleaning. The white area is primarily bleach-based, and activates towards the end of your wash cycle. An rinse aid is also included.
Improve dishwasher cleaningFinish Quantum Max uses no wrapper and instead uses a water-soluble protective coat to split an enzyme-based gel or bleach-based powder. The coating will be broken down during washing and create additional surfactants to aid in drying. Additional polymers are also used to neutralize corrosion that can cause permanent clouding of glass.
Additives
A rinse aid can be beneficial if your dishes become dull or covered in film. Non-ionic surfactants are used to prevent condensation. Polymers make dishes shine. Rinse aid is only used by 1/4 of Americans. However, rinse aid can resolve most dishwasher problems including food particles and stains. Rinse aid dispensers older than 2 ml per wash tend to be low-flowing (most can be manually reset). Users who used 6 ml per loading reported much better results.
Finish offers Jet Dry Turbo Dry and Jet Dry Basic Dry. These are faster drying methods that use a higher concentration of surfactants. Finish Power Up All in One Booster can also be used to treat hard water during the prewash cycle. It has additional cleaning power.
Dishwasher cleaner
If your dishwasher has visible limescale buildup, it’s a good idea not to use dishwasher cleaner. The buildup of limescale in stainless steel tub dishwashers is particularly evident. However, you need to check the drainage and spray arms for any mineral buildup as this could affect dishwasher performance. Any citric acid base dishwasher cleaner would be highly effective in eliminating odors and deleting buildup.
This article should have given you an overview of the products that can be used to improve your dishwashing experience and the best times for using them. For your dishwasher repair contact Fixify Appliance repair.
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