God
dishwashing
starts
showers, give your water heater
with
H~
water.
time to recover before operating the
To get dishes clean and dry, you
need hot
wdter,
To help you get water
of the proper temperature, your
dishwasher automatically heats the
water in the wash cycle. For good
washing and drying, the entering
water must be at least 120°F. To
prevent dish damage, inlet water
should not exceed
150°F.
How to test water temperature:
Check the water temperature
inside your dishwasher with a
candy or meat thermometer.
Let the dishwasher run through
one
fill
and pump out cycle, then
let the dishwasher fill with water
the second time.
When you hear the water stop
filling, unlatch the door and slowly
open it.
Measure the temperature of the
water in the bottom of the tub this
way:
Remove the silverware basket and
place a candy or meat thermometer
in the water towards the middle of
the tub. If the temperature is less
than 120°F, you
will
not get good
washing results. Higher water
temperature is needed to dissolve
grease and activate powder
detergents.
Helpful hints:
If outside
temperatures are unusually low, or
if your water travels a long distance
from water heater to dishwasher,
you may need to set your water
heater’s thermostat up. If you have
not used hot water for some time,
the water in the pipes will be cold.
Turn on the hot water faucet at the
sink and allow it to run until the
water is hot. Then start the
dishwasher. If you’ve recently done
laundry or run hot water for
dishwasher,
To improve washability if the water
is less than 120°F and you cannot
adjust your water heater: Select a
longer
cycle
and fill both detergent
cup;
at least half-full with dete;gent.
Help prevent spotting
with a rinse agent.
A rinse agent makes water flow off
dishes quicker than usual. This
lessens water spotting and makes
drying faster, too.
For best
dishwashing
performance, use of a rinse
agent such as JET-DRY brand is
recommended.
Rinse agents come in either liquid
or
solid
form. Your dishwasher
uses the solid form.
If you can’t find any rinse agent,
write:
BENCKISER CONSUMER
PRODU~S,
INC.
(“JET DRY”)
1210 W County Road E.
Arden
Hills, MN 55112
How to choose and use
the right detergent.
First, use only powder or liquid
detergent specifically made for
use in dishwashers. Other types
will cause
oversudsing.
Second, check the phosphate
content.
Phosphate helps prevent
hard-water materials from forming
spots or film on your dishes. If
your water is hard (7 grains or
more), your detergent has to work
harder. Detergents with a higher
phosphate
level
will probably work
better. If the phosphate content is
low (8.7% or less), you’ll have to
use extra detergent with hard water.
Your water department can tell
you how hard your water is. So
can your county extension agent.
Or your area’s water softener
company. Just call and ask them
how many “grains” of hardness is
in your water.
How much detergent should you
use?
That depends. Is your water
“hard” or “soft”? With hard water,
you need extra detergent to get
dishes clean. With soft water, you
need less detergent.
Too much detergent with soft water
not only wastes money, it can be
harmful.
It
can cause a permanent
cloudiness of glassware, called
“etching:’ An outside layer of glass
is etched away! But why take a
chance when it’s easy to find out
the hardness of your water.
Keep your detergent fresh and
dry.
Under the sink isn’t a good
place to store detergent. Too much
moisture. Don’t put powder
detergent into the dispenser until
you’re ready to wash dishes, either.
(It won’t be fresh OR dry.)
If your powder detergent gets old
or lumpy, throw it away.
It
won’t
wash well. Old detergent often won’t
dissolve.
If you use a
liquid
dishwasher
detergent, these precautions are not
necessary because liquid detergents
don’t “lump” as they age or come
in contact with water.
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