You don't need to replace the Somat salt that often, I would not use the salt for a softener machine because of the impurities are the usually in it. There have been some threads in the past about using pure Kosher salt (without any anti-caking agent) which is getting hard to find in most places. I use maybe a box of somat every two years in my dishwasher.

Good luck!

There is also an issure with grain size that needs to be looked at.

I fill my Miele Excella's salt resevoir about once every 6 months, but our water in West Orange, NJ is extremely hard. I can't comment on how well regular softener salt would work instead bc I'm not willing to risk my $1500 DW by trying it out!

The U.S. Navy concluded that Morton Kosher Salt worked fine in a Miele Thermodisinfector. If it works in a dental instrument disinfection unit, I would expect it to work just as well in a residential dishwasher.

Here is a link that might be useful: Less Expensive Salt for the Miele G7781 Instrument Washer

I'm not exactly sure why you would take the chance of damaging your dishwasher by using something other than what Miele says to use. You spent a lot of money for a Miele, then trying to save a few bucks on salt??? I don't get why people do this. I would be willing to bet if it damages your dishwasher you'll have voided your warranty.

I've had my Excella for a year and have yet to add any additional salt.

You pay only eight bucks for a box of Miele DW salt? Where? I could only find $12.95 on the Internet but if I buy two boxes at my local store, they would be $11 each plus sales tax.

Superbiker, prices tend to go up over 5+ years.

> There have been some threads in the past about using pure Kosher salt (without any anti-caking agent) which is getting hard to find in most places.

Kosher salt is stocked at most supermarkets where I live. If yours doesn't have it, look for a specialty kosher market in your area, which most places with even a small Jewish population will have.

I agree with others here, why skimp out and try and be cheap on salt that is about $10, give or take, that you have to put in maybe every 6 months - 2 years? Are you going to save that much by buying a 40lb bag that you will only use very little of the salt in it?

What if it does cause long term damage, what do you tell Miele then, what if they find that the salt was the cause and they reject your warranty coverage? ARe you willing to risk that over a few dollars? I personally won't do that, seems to be a waste of time and effort to save $5 over 2 years, with the potential to cost me $500 or more to fix my unit if that other salt does cause issues, or $1,500 to replace my dishwasher if it isn't covered under warranty and has to be replaced.

To each their own, and I know you can say salt is salt, and that may be, but again, for me to save $5 or so over 2 years, I won't risk it.

Phil

All the salt is doing is creating a brine solution to wash off the calcium deposits on the resin beads. The salt/brine is in one compartment and the resin beads are in another compartment. Based on where you set your hardness setting every few days the dishwasher circulates the brine through the resin bed and pumps it down the drain. This refreshes the resin bed and makes it ready to soften / remove calcium from the fill water as it enters your dishwasher.

jakvis, I don't have a Miele so this is more of a generic salt question --- my Bosch cleans my dishes sparklingly well. Do I still need to use salt?

If your water is already soft or it's considered only a medium hardness and your happy with the results by not using the softener salt you don't need to add salt

Thanks!

hockeyfan - does your Bosch have a water softener ???

What is the hardness of your water ?

xedos, I don't know the answer to either of those questions, although I think the answer to the former is "no" - its the Bosch SHV68T53UC (800 series), and I live in San Francisco.

In the miele dishwasher instructions it's stated that you can use dishwasher salt or pure kitchen salt. I use pickling salt which has nothing added at all, just pure salt.

My miele runs through a box of salt in less than 2 weeks. How can I change the hardness setting so it lasts longer?

Your Care and Use manual will tell you the steps needed to set the hardness level for your d/w.

Hi, Paul here from Calgary Alberta Canada. I have a Bosch dishwasher that requires salt. Less expensive water softening salt is great, and it works. Your Miele should be fine. RISK.. Money, I don't understand those who have posted their thoughts asking why you would risk your machine to save money on Salt. Spending money on a product due to the Brand Name is foolish and something as minute as the water softener is not going to damage the machine. Bosch strongly suggests Finish for the soap and it works for sure but the machine will not shut down if you happen to use a different soap, it may not clean as well.

If the large pellets fit, I'd try putting them in whole (the pellets get dissolved-> to create brine-> to regenerate the ion exchange resin in the dishwasher).

From the link posted above, and my understanding of the process, I'd say it should work fine (the salt should be the same, it is basically table salt without iodine).

Stumbled onto this thread wondering same... why the hell am I spending $15 a box for the Miele brand dishwasher salt when I can just use plain rock salt which costs $3 a box? And to all those slamming the OP for wanting to save ten bucks, that isn’t the point... it’s about not wanting to be the moron who pays $15 for a box of designer salt.

I've noticed dishwasher salt prices have increased substantially since I purchased my Bosch (they think we won't discover the cheaper water softener salt, which is essentially the same thing). I found this exchange because I was searching for the same answer. I will be trying the water softener salt. More power to the economically minded!

We are in the process of getting a Miele dishwasher installed. My question is, if we have a whole house water softener to begin with, will we need to use the salt in the dishwasher? Thank you!

@Amy P, I just purchased an Asko dishwasher and have the same question, so I look forward to the answers posted! For now, I have added salt but have the hardness level set to the lowest option.

The dishwasher's onboard water softener usually should be disabled if there is a whole-house softener involved, in which case there's no need to place salt into the bin since the softener mechanism will not run a regeneration cycle.