Fairy Rinse Aid, 475 ml

Product Information

I use Fairy Platinum Plus [tablets] which do the job.” (Recommended by Mumsnet user username4214) Our verdict If you’re not a fan of strong-smelling cleaning products, suffer from allergies or just want to avoid the odour that can be left behind on dishes or glasses, then Finish 0% Dishwasher Tablets could be your solution. To find out how hard the water in your home is, consult your water supplier – you can usually find the information online. You'll be able to find the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions, usually in millimole per litre (mmol/l). The tip, which was posted on the Mums Who Clean Facebook group, recommends that you pop four dishwasher tablets into the drum on a hot wash. The water turns brown as it cleans out the inside of the washing machine and, when it drains, the drum is left gleaming. I’ve just [bought] Astonish Dishwasher Tablets. They’re really good!” (Recommended by Mumsnet user Gilead) Our verdict

In reality, they should all be the same. All of them will be 100% salt, with no added anti-caking agents. While they don’t contain intentionally added preservatives and are fragrance-free, the tablets promise to deliver the same cleaning performance as Finish All In 1 Max Dishwasher Tablets while being kinder to the environment – and to your nose.

Depending on how many washes you do you might have to fill up the rinse aid every few weeks. When doing so it can sometimes have a maximum fill line, which you should not go over. We know that word of mouth and real recommendations are the most reliable way to find products that actually work, which is why most of our recommendations for dishwasher tablets came from Mumsnet users themselves.

As well as being really good value, they also work just as well as other more expensive brands, leaving dishes clean and glasses streak-free and gleaming, even on a short cycle. These triple-chamber tablets not only save you time on rinsing and cleaning but also help care for your dishwasher with built-in detergent, salt and anti-corrosive ingredients. It needs to be 100% NaCl, and cooking salts often have anti-caking agents to stop them from clumping together. It needs to be this because the sodium in dishwasher salt combines with resin balls in your dishwasher’s workings to absorb the hardness. The resin balls have a negative atomic charge and the dishwasher salt has a positive atomic charge. For crystal-clear glasses, Fairy Platinum All in One tablets come with integrated salt and rinse aid, as well as glass and silver protection. The only downside is that the capsules are quite large, so might not fit in every dishwasher. However, some reviewers found that they could fold the capsule and fit it in the dispenser without any problems.

1. Best overall dishwasher tablets: Finish Quantum Ultimate Dishwasher Tablets

All-in-one tablets will have some salt in to help replenish the water softener, although we still recommend that you top up with dishwasher salt if you want the best results. This is because the salt in the tablet often isn't enough to protect dishes from cloudiness over many washes. Dishwasher salt problems Is there too much salt in my dishwasher? Dishwasher salt is meant to combat hard water by removing the trace amounts of calcium and magnesium that cause limescale when they’re left behind. Never put salt into other spots marked for normal detergent, dishwasher cleaner or rinse aid, as this could easily break your appliance. How to use rinse aid

Don't use dishwasher salt for cooking, either. It doesn't have the same food and health safety regulations on it, so could contain trace amounts of toxins. Do I need dishwasher salt in soft water area? On the supermarket shelves there will likely be a few options, including Finish and the supermarket own-brand version. While you might struggle to fit the tablet in your dishwasher dispenser, the Fairy team say you can pop the tablet in the cutlery basket instead. If you’re trying to make your home more environmentally-friendly, Ecover’s Classic Dishwasher Tablets are made with renewable plant-based and mineral ingredients. ALDI Magnum Dishwasher Tablets keep cropping up on the Mumsnet forums, with many Mumsnetters saying how effective these tablets were. And at 11p a tablet, they’re budget-friendly to boot.

How do I choose the best dishwasher tablets?

All-in-one dishwasher tablets include salt and rinse aid functions. However, dishwasher brand Bosch recommends keeping your salt and rinse aid topped up, even if you use all-in-one tablets. However, multi-functional tablets reduce the number of salt and rinse aid refills needed. As recommended by global manufacturers, such as Whirlpool, Indesit and AEG, these tablets come with integrated rinse aid and salt, and have a built-in pre-wash system so you don’t have to waste time – or water - rinsing your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher. After placing a dishwasher tablet in the dispenser (or in the bottom of your dishwasher) and selecting the wash cycle you want, many of us don’t spare a thought for how dishwasher tablets actually work. But here’s how those small tablets get your dishes, cutlery and pans sparkling.