The best dishwasher tablets are those that are environmentally friendly, work with your particular dishwasher and effectively clean your dishes. Tablets that are good for the environment, are biodegradable and don't contain harsh chemicals can clean your dishes well and be soft on your pipes. Using tablets might require that you also use dishwasher salt and a rinse aid so that the cleaning process can work.
Despite appearances, tablets can do just as good of a job cleaning your dishes as gel or powder dishwasher detergents. A benefit of using tablets with your dishwasher is that they already come pre-measured and require only that you drop one into the dishwasher. With powders and gels, some manual measuring has to take place, and that can become messy.
The best types of dishwasher tablets are those that are easy on the environment. When looking for natural dishwasher tablets, search for tablets that do not contain harsh ingredients such as chlorine bleach or phosphates. In addition, dishwasher tablets made out of natural ingredients might more easily break down in the dishwasher and travel through pipes.
To get the most of your tablets, it's important to know what type of tablets you're using. Some tablets come formulated with salt and a rinse aid, and they require only that you place one tablet in the dishwasher for an effective wash to take place. Other tablets, however, do not come bundled with salt or the rinse aid and require that you manually add these things to the dishwasher before you start a cycle. Generally, it's thought that adding all of these ingredients separately results in the most effective wash. People who live in hard water areas might benefit from adding extra dishwasher salt to the dishwasher before starting a cycle.
Some dishwasher tablets have reputations for not dissolving completely during a washing cycle. If you can't find any dishwasher tablets that dissolve entirely during the course of a cycle, you might want to revert to gels or powders. The problem might lie with the function of your specific model of dishwasher, which might need some repair work.
Bear in mind that not all dishwasher tablets are created equally. Chemical-heavy tablets might contribute to pipe problems later on. This is because the tablets can create scum that will adhere to the pipes. If you end up having a pipe problem, you likely will need the assistance of a plumber to correct it. Homeowners who know that they have weak or old pipes might consider alternatives to dishwasher tablets.