How to Test Water Temperature
Higher water temperature is needed to dissolve grease and activate powder detergents. If the water temperature is less than 140°F., use the WATER HEAT BOOST option. See WATER HEAT BOOST section.
Check your water temperature with a candy or meat thermometer. Turn on the hot water faucet nearest the dishwasher. Put the thermometer in a glass and let the water run continuously into the glass until the temperature stops rising. If the water temperature is below 120°F., adjust your water heater.
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 showers, give your water heater time to recover before operating the 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 cups at least
How to Use a Rinse Agent
The 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
Rinse agents come in either liquid or solid form. Your dishwasher uses the liquid form.
How to fill the rinse agent dispenser. | la””, I,ml$lm |
Unscrew the cap. Add liquid rinse agent 7 | |
until it just reaches the bottom of the lip |
|
inside the dispenser opening. Replace the | v‘\ |
cap. The dispenser automatically releases | FULL |
the rinse agent into the final rinse water.
If you accidentally spill: Wipe up the rinse
agent with a damp cloth. Don’t leave the spill in the dishwasher. It can keep your detergent from working.
If you can’t find any rinse agent, write:
BENCKISER CONSUMER PRODUCTS, INC.
Corporate Centre 1
55 Federal Road
P.O. Box 1991
Danbury, CT
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
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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 there are 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! Of course, this takes
some time. But why take a chance when it’s easy to find out the hardness of your water.
Keep your detergent fresh and dr; Under the sink isn’t a good place to store detergent because there is 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. 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 moisture.
