Ah, ok. I was familiar with water softeners needed for homes with well water, but it didn’t occur to me that soft water would be a problem for dishwashers. Thanks!
Ah, ok. I was familiar with water softeners needed for homes with well water, but it didn’t occur to me that soft water would be a problem for dishwashers. Thanks!
plantteacher@mander.xyz 10 months ago
Well it’s not actually clear to me whether the soft water is to protect the dishwasher, or to make cleaning more effective. Soft water dissolves soap better which makes it more effective in cleaning. It also means I can use powdered detergent (which is cheaper than liquid detergent, but in hard water powder doesn’t perform as well). Soft water has the down side that it’s actually /more prone/ to corrosion than hard water (at least according to youtube plumbers). So I’m tempted to conclude the built-in water softener is just for cleaning effectiveness.
threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
My understanding is that every mole of water hardness (mostly Ca^2+) reacts with two moles of soap to produce soap scum. So using softened water (Replacing Ca^2+ with 2Na^+) allows you to use less soap and reduces soap scum buildup.