Adjust water hardness in Bosch dishwasher

Typically, dishwasher users do not pay enough attention to the water hardness settings, which over time leads to irreversible consequences. However, adjusting the water hardness in the dishwasher is a critical procedure that must be repeated several times a year, which will not only optimize the consumption of salt granules, but also extend the life of the dishwasher. This is so important because the hardness of tap water changes regularly, so the settings need to be adjusted from time to time to adjust the work of the “home assistant”. Let's figure out how to do it correctly with our own hands.

We make the settings ourselves

Setting the hardness on a Bosch dishwasher yourself is very easy if you have detailed instructions at hand. With our guide, even a beginner can cope with this procedure if he strictly follows each step.

• Activate the dishwasher.
• Press the “Start” and “Auto” keys for a couple of seconds so that the system displays a certain level of water hardness on the display, for example, “H:05”.
• Using the “Plus” and “Minus” keys, set the salt consumption you need, and then press the “Start” button.

This is how you can set the consumption of salt granules in the PMM in just three steps. The procedure takes only a few minutes, so do not neglect it when the season changes.

When the problem with setting the water hardness in the dishwasher is due to not knowing the appropriate level, a short cheat sheet will help you.

• If your water supply has high quality water with a hardness below 6 dH, then the minimum flow rate should be set to “H: 00”.
• When the hardness is fixed at 6-8 dH, the “H:01” level is suitable.
• From 8 to 10 dH requires flow rate "H:02".
• If the hardness ranges from 10 to 12 dH, then you need to set “H:03”.
• From 12 to 16 dH needs to be set to “H:04”.
• Water hardness from 16 to 21 dH is leveled by setting “H:05”.
• For high hardness from 21 to 30 dH, select the “H:06” setting.
• And for the poorest quality hard tap water with dH values ​​above 30, you need to set the maximum salt consumption to “H: 07”.

When home tap water is highly hard, it is necessary to load special salt granules from the Finish brand and similar brands into the salt bunker at the bottom of the washing chamber, which will reduce the negative impact of low-quality water on the internal components of the dishwasher.

That is why it is so important to set the salt consumption correctly, because suitable settings and special salt not only extend the life of the PMM, but also improve the quality of washing. Make sure that there are always salt granules in the salt bin, since salt can run out in just a month if the product consumption is set to high.

Is the tap water soft?

Finding out and setting the correct salt consumption is very simple if you live in a big city, where the administration or utility services provide up-to-date data on the quality of tap water. In this case, you just need to call the hotline or look at the official website, where information about water hardness will be provided. If you live in a small town, then most likely you won’t be able to find out the hardness of your tap water this way. But don’t be upset, because you can find out the indicators yourself using basic methods.

• Mass comparison.To do this, you need to compare the mass of water taken from different sources. Take several identical glasses, fill them with water and weigh them on a kitchen scale. The method will allow you to roughly determine the quality of the liquid, because the more it weighs, the harder it is. This way you won’t be able to determine the required salt consumption in the dishwasher, but you can roughly estimate the quality of the water.
• Determination of soapiness. For this test, you will need regular laundry soap, which you will need to actively lather your hands after the soap has been in the water. If the liquid is too hard, then the soap will foam very poorly; if it is soft, then on the contrary, there will be a lot of foam, and it will be washed off with water slowly.
• The appearance of scale. Another approximate way to evaluate water is to monitor the formation of scale on the kettle and other appliances. The faster scale and sediment appear, the worse and harder the tap water.
• Turbidity. The last approximate assessment method that will help confirm water hardness, but not find out the exact data. Fill a clear plastic bottle with tap water and put it in a dark room for several days. If a film and turbidity have formed on the walls, then the water is definitely hard.
• Test strips. This is the most reliable determination method, because it is able to provide the exact necessary information about water. They come in several types, the most common of which are strips treated with a special compound. Such strips are often included with household appliances from the Bosch and Miele brands. The tester should be placed in water for one second, and then the result should be compared with a table that shows all the possible colors of the stripes and the dH that the color reports.

There are still testers on sale from the Biosensor Aqua brand, which operate in a similar way, but with slight differences. These strips need to be kept in the liquid for a couple of seconds, and then wait about a minute for the color to appear. Then you need to compare the result with the table.

In addition, you can find strips on the market that should be used together with special reagents. In this case, you must first take water into a glass, lower the strip into it, and then gradually add the reagent. After the strip changes color, you need to look at the table with hardness indicators.

All strips are a one-time means of determining the quality of tap water, so if you want to save on a tester, you can buy a reusable TDS meter for regular checks.

Test strips are considered the best low-cost testing method because they are cheaper than reusable testers and are much more accurate than subjective methods of assessing hardness. Therefore, if you cannot find up-to-date information about the quality of tap water on city portals, the easiest way would be to buy a test strip.

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