The dishwasher consumes the regenerating salt too quickly

Your dishwasher has become gluttonous and it consumes the regenerating salt too quickly. In one or two cycles, the one kilogram of salt you have added has disappeared and your dishes have white marks. Several checks need to be carried out to find the origin of this malfunction.

THE POTENTIAL CAUSES FOR THIS FAILURE:

• Incorrect adjustment of water hardness

• Avoid 3-in-1 pellets

• Dirty dishwasher

• Salt compartment leak

• Blocking the solenoid valve

WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
Use suitable gloves if you are taking it apart.
There is a risk of getting cut.

The water hardness setting is not correct

Refer to the manual of your device to check its correct water hardness settings. Your dishwasher allows you to choose the dose for the amount of salt released each cycle. If too much salt is used, the dishes may have white marks and a salty taste. Perform a TH test using test strips to figure out if the water in your system is low or very calcareous. Indeed, if this setting is done incorrectly, the softener can not work properly.

Use of 3-in-1 tablets

At first glance, these tablets seem very practical to avoid buying and storing these 3 products: washing tablets, rinsing liquid and regenerating salt. But you should know that this type of pellet is not recommended in the presence of hard water. Reserve their use for soft water only.

Dishwasher fouling

A very dirty appliance will tend to use more salt with each wash. To overcome this inconvenience, start a cleaning wash and add, about 5 minutes after the start of the cycle, 50 cl of white vinegar. Do not forget to clean the filters at the bottom of the tank.

A leak in the salt compartment

If your dishes taste salty after going in the dishwasher, it indicates that too much salt is being released during the cycle. In this case, the rinsing phase will not be enough to eliminate the salt completely. This phenomenon occurs when the tightness of the salt compartment of the device is no longer ensured. There are 3 possible situations occurring:

• The lid is not tightly closed. Check that the salt compartment’s cap is properly screwed in,
• The cap seal is dirty or in poor condition. In the first instance, you can try to clean the joint with white vinegar and try again. On the other hand, if the seal is worn, it will be necessary to replace the cap,
• The salt container is cracked or broken: too much salt water is drained during the operation of the dishwasher. It will then be necessary to replace this element.

Buy a dishwasher salt container cap

The solenoid valve is blocked

During a washing program, a part called a regeneration valve opens to let water enter the dishwasher. This water first circulates in the salt container before reaching the softener. If your machine asks for salt too quickly, it may indicate a failure of this solenoid valve. Check its status using a multimeter set to Ohmmeter mode. You will find the part near the softener, on the bottom of the appliance at the back. If the solenoid valve is functional, its value must be between 2 and 5 KOhms. Conversely, 1 value of 1 Ohm or the mention of an OL (Overlimit) indicates that the component is defective and that you will have to change it.

Buy a regeneration valve for your dishwasher