Poor-quality tap water is dangerous not only for humans, but also for any household appliances with which it is in direct contact. A dishwasher, be it Bosch, Siemens or Ariston, is no exception. To protect expensive equipment from premature breakdowns and maintain the proper quality of washing dishes, you need to take care of improving the quality of the water itself. Installing a special filter device will help solve the problem. What is a water supply filter for a dishwasher and how to choose the right one, we will tell in this article.
Do you need a water filter?
Most dishwashers are designed with a partial cleaning system. It includes:
- Deep (coarse) filter, which is installed on the inlet valve. It purifies water from fine dirt, sand, rust, before it enters the machine.
- Built-in ion exchanger. It reduces its rigidity, thereby protecting the heating elements of the machine from the formation of scale, and also improves the quality of washing dishes.
Often these standard tools are not enough. A flow purifier cannot handle excessive amounts of heavy metals. The ion exchanger, on the other hand, needs constant updating (regular replenishment of stocks of special softening salt, which is used in dishwashers). The volume of ionic material is small, therefore, with increased rigidity, it is consumed much faster.
A complete solution to this problem is the installation of filters that can both soften water (with its increased hardness) and purify it from various impurities.
How to determine which filter is needed? First of all, you need to know the quality of tap water in order to understand what impurities it contains. You can do this in the following ways:
- Conduct laboratory analysis. This method is the most reliable, but expensive. Based on the results obtained in the laboratory, the desired remedy is selected.
- Use special test strips. With their help, you can determine the hardness, pH level, and more. The readings of such special devices are less reliable. But the data is enough to determine which purifier is needed.
- Conduct your own observation. Watch how quickly scale builds up in the kettle. Take a closer look at the transparency of the water that runs from the tap. Perhaps you “catch” an extraneous smell in it. Sometimes such information is quite enough to choose one or another cleaner.
Having found out all the “water problems”, you can safely go shopping for additional protection for your equipment.
Softening filters
The choice of softeners is quite large. Polyphosphate or salt devices are popular among users, as they are easy to install and operate.
The design is a plastic flask with a filler (food grade sodium polyphosphate) inside. Softening occurs due to a chemical reaction: polyphosphate salts dissolve in the liquid passing through it and form a protective film. It is she who binds hardness salts and prevents them from settling on vulnerable parts of dishwashers.
Such softeners are installed in the inlet hose, directly in front of the PMM. And their operation consists in the timely filling of a new reagent.
It is impossible to install polyphosphate softeners on a common water supply, since the liquid after salt cleaning will become undrinkable.
Well-established water purifiers for dishwashers, such as:
- Aquaphor Stiron. Inexpensive and economical softener. One backfill is enough for about 400 wash cycles.
- Prio® New Water B120. The resource of one filling before replacement is enough for six months (depending on the frequency of use of the equipment).
As an alternative to polyphosphate cleaners, a chemical-free softener with a magnetic principle can be used.
Under the influence of a magnetic field, the ions of hardness salts lose their properties, therefore, there is simply nothing for the lime sediment to form from. Such devices are distinguished by a long service life and high efficiency, but at the same time they are very expensive.
How the magnetic cleaner works, you can see on the video:
Coarse filters
Such devices are designed exclusively for mechanical cleaning of water from impurities (sand, rust), but not for softening it. They are installed in the same place as salt ones – in front of the dishwasher.
They are also unpretentious in installation and operation. But they have a significant drawback: they have to be cleaned very often, as they quickly become clogged with debris.
The coarse filter built into the dishwasher performs a slightly different, but no less important function. It prevents clogging of the drain hose and circulation pump by trapping food, napkins and other small debris after washing dishes.
The operation of many important PMM nodes depends on its proper functioning. In all dishwashers, whether it is Hansa, Beko or Whirlpool brand appliances, it looks almost the same. But if you need to replace it, then you should select the original spare part from a specific manufacturer.
Are filters for different purposes installed at the same time? Definitely yes. Moreover, an integrated approach to solving this problem is recommended to be used by both specialists and the manufacturers of household appliances themselves. Whether or not to install additional softeners and cleaners for the dishwasher is up to you. But if you are counting on long-term and high-quality work of your equipment, you should not refuse this.
Useful video: