Cleaned Dishwasher...

Ever try Somat tabs in your dishwasher @UncleDave ? They work very well.

Im going to give these a try, my euro friends swear by them.

Even though there is an open box of finish tabs under the counter right now - I dont use tabs much because to make them as effective as powder you still need to put powder in the prewash tray or you need to crack the side of the tab and put a small piece in the prewash tray.

When it comes to tabs however Ive found the expensive miele tabs to work better than just about all others I have tried, and I finally got the answer to the question as to why from a miele rep who claimed that there are 7 different commercial enzymes that can be used, and that while no other brand uses more than 3 of them mieles tabs use all 7.

There seem to be many somat options - which would you recommend starting with?

Thanks !

UD
 
I nuke the Dishwasher on occasion with the detergent that I have have at the moment when washing the dishes..
 
Im going to give these a try, my euro friends swear by them.

Even though there is an open box of finish tabs under the counter right now - I dont use tabs much because to make them as effective as powder you still need to put powder in the prewash tray or you need to crack the side of the tab and put a small piece in the prewash tray.

When it comes to tabs however Ive found the expensive miele tabs to work better than just about all others I have tried, and I finally got the answer to the question as to why from a miele rep who claimed that there are 7 different commercial enzymes that can be used, and that while no other brand uses more than 3 of them mieles tabs use all 7.

There seem to be many somat options - which would you recommend starting with?

Thanks !

UD
Glassware is where I noticed the difference, crystal clean with no residue or film left behind, white mugs have no coffee or tea stains either. I only use them on very dirty loads and they do a great job even on a quick wash cycle. On lightly soiled dishes, I use the generic store brand which happen to be very good too and are also made in Europe (Italy); I don't use a rinse aid in my machine, and I will definitely take a look at the Miele tabs next time. The Somat tabs I use are: Lemon & Lime, All-In-1, 8 Actions (They are blue with a red top layer and a yellow center tab). I have no idea where in Europe these are made, there's no English on the box, I buy them at the Polish deli, 24 tabs for $6 when on sale.
 
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Glassware is where I noticed the difference, crystal clean with no residue or film left behind, white mugs have no coffee or tea stains either. I only use them on very dirty loads and they do a great job even on a quick wash cycle. On lightly soiled dishes, I use the generic store brand which happen to be very good too and are also made in Europe (Italy); I don't use a rinse aid in my machine, I will definitely take a look at the Miele tabs next time. The Somat tabs I use are: Lemon & Lime, All-In-1, 8 Actions (They are blue with a red top layer and a yellow center tab). I have no idea where in Europe these are made, there's no English on the box, I buy them at the Polish deli, 24 tabs for $6 when on sale.

My mieles have softeners in them and in LA the water consistency changes over the duration of a year as the water supply gets switched back and forth from the softer Sierra to the harder Colorado system.

I've been using lemi shine/citric acid for decades so I never had a build up problem to address, but lots of guys certainly do.

I seek out and purchase very specific brands and models of glassware at garage sales, restaurant/ bar closeouts as well as search tempest to see who might be selling. This used glassware is quite often hammered and cloudy when I get it and a quick load of of citric/ lemi cleans it right up.

Curious what kind of machine you might have sorry if you said it already.
 
Curious what kind of machine you might have sorry if you said it already.
Entry level Whirlpool with a plastic tub. I will also mention that the Somat tabs have salt in them which I find odd because most European dishwashers have a dedicated salt dispenser. How often do you run a citric acid load?
 
Entry level Whirlpool with a plastic tub. I will also mention that the Somat tabs have salt in them which I find odd because most European dishwashers have a dedicated salt dispenser. How often do you run a citric acid load?

Guessing you have a heating rod on the bottom ?

On the dishwasher It gets small doses with some regularity. I will sprinkle some into the tray on occasions where I have high glassware load - parties, holiday dinners, you have to be a little carful careful as it isnt compatible with all material. It also cleans stainless up pretty nicely.

The only time I run specific citric loads is when bringing home used glassware, that isnt very often once a year when I find EXACTLY what I want.

On the clothes washer I wait for the washer to tell me to run a sanitize load then I'll alternate between Citric, and or sodium percarbonate.
It asks for this about once every 3 months.
 

Rinse aid will help you minimally.
You can also water down white vinegar a little and put that in the rinse aid dispenser.
In a stainless machine with water heating under the base the rinse aid greatly helps condensing
 
To be honest, I don't have any real problems with the performance of the machine. I can live with the odd citric acid rinse, now that I know that it will help with cloudy glassware. It was much worse when I was using Finish rinse aid and Cascade gel (just a tablespoon) despite good early results. These new machines use such little water that the all in one pods (detergent and rinse aid) seem to be the right amount. I just came back from the Miele dealer, they stock the dishwasher tabs in packs of 60, they smell good too.
 
I wouldn't even know where to buy citric acid.
You've no doubt seen it stores many times. Thing is, a lot of companies call it something "fancy". Keurig's descaling product is just overpriced citric acid.
 
I see comments about "cleaning" with citric acid or vinegar but you have to remember, you clean with soap or detergents. Those are acids and all they're doing is removing mineral build-up or scale. On stainless parts, yeah, they'll look "clean" 'cause they'll be shiny now. Those products won't do anything about gunk in the drain.
 
You've no doubt seen it stores many times. Thing is, a lot of companies call it something "fancy". Keurig's descaling product is just overpriced citric acid.
Yes, just looking to buy it in larger quantities and not individual descaling packages.
 
Yes, just looking to buy it in larger quantities and not individual descaling packages.
Might be available in home improvement stores and if not, maybe try a "janitorial" supply house or restaurant supply house. Found some locally that they sell as "rinse aid" in 1-gallon bottles (no price listed).
 
This thread just made me check my dishwasher trap. It’s been a few years but it was not bad at all. A quick rinse and scrub and it was spotless. I use Jet Dri or Cascade and have a family of 5.
 
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