Descaling the dishwasher – what you need to know

Descaling your dishwasher regularly prevents expensive repairs and maintains the cleaning power of the appliance

Descaling the dishwasher: A guide

Whether you opt for special products from the supermarket or drugstore or use household remedies such as vinegar or citric acid, it only takes one rinse to make your machine limescale-free again. For long-lasting and sustainable results, descale your dishwasher once or twice a year.

• Vinegar essence: Use vinegar essence and pour two cups of it into your machine. Distribute the liquid evenly throughout the interior. Select a 60-degree program and start the empty machine.

• Citric acid: Another way to descale your dishwasher is with citric acid. All you need is eight to ten tablespoons of citric acid. Spread the powder in the machine and switch it on at 60 degrees.

• Important: If this program contains an integrated pre-rinse program, only add the acetic or citric acid to the dishwasher once the pre-rinse has finished.

• Special cleaner: You can also use a special cleaner such as a liquid descaler. Distribute this in the dishwasher as usual and run through a 60 degree program

• Tip: Stubborn limescale stains can be treated separately beforehand with a little limescale remover on a cleaning cloth.

Scale in the dishwasher: causes and consequences

Calcification in the dishwasher is completely normal, but affects the cleaning power of the appliance.

• In Germany, the water hardness is very high in most cities. Together with the high operating temperature required to clean the dishes, this influences the formation of limescale.

• The hotter the operating temperature in this appliance, the more likely it is that limescale will form.

• The performance of the dishwasher is affected by the deposits. It requires more energy, which has an impact on your electricity costs.

• The dishes no longer get properly clean either. As a result, you may have to rinse or pre-rinse. Perhaps even by hand. This takes time and ruins the effect of having the dishes washed easily and conveniently.

• The limescale attacks the machine’s seals and settles on the heating elements. This promotes the corrosion process. It also clogs the water nozzles

• limescale ages your dishwasher, increases your electricity costs and negates the cleaning effect.