I have never understood how a dishwasher saves time since you've still got to rinse it before. I am deeply skeptical of these machines
I have never understood how a dishwasher saves time since you've still got to rinse it before. I am deeply skeptical of these machines
You don't actually need to knock off the caked on dry stuff normally, that's what the dishwasher's pre-rinse is for. Just put powder or gel in both of the little dishes and it will work.
My experiences tell me otherwise.
I also have a 10+ year old machine that is fed unsoftened well water and, with money being tight, the few bucks a week to dump white vinegar to even out the PH during washes isn't always feasible.
Also, my wife will let things like oatmeal residue sit and harden like glue to things, requiring extra effort to clean up sometimes.
I'd also recommend trying to remove the filter trap and clean it manually every so often. And maybe run vinegar and then afterwards baking soda if money becomes a bit less tight. Neither is really helping the pH as the primary goal, it's about breaking down the mineral buildup inside.
Also, run a cycle on sanitize every month or so if your dishwasher has that. It runs hotter and longer, and some dishwashers are made to run that cycle regularly for self-cleaning purposes.
Yeah, definitely having well water, especially unsoftened and untreated, is going to have pretty notable effects on the water pressure in that there's probably some buildup in the pipes. Silicates and mineral build up are the main reason that dishwashers lose effectiveness. You can absolutely have a 40 year old machine that works well and cleans every dish in every load on soft, treated water, or a 3 year old machine that is absolutely fucking unusable no matter how many times you repeat the load.
Some dishwashers will also have a little salt compartment which is used to recharge the ion-exchange water softeners that are built into those dishwashers. This is more common in Europe, but I've used multiple dishwashers in the US and Canada that did have them as well. This may be something to check for, just in case yours has it.