Skip to content
CleaningHQSearch

Dishwasher detergent

A strongly alkaline, low-foaming formulation with a bleaching system. Nothing about it is interchangeable with washing-up liquid, in either direction.

What not to do

Dishwasher detergent is unsafe on Aluminium

Unsafe

Do not do this. The risk is established, and it is described below.

Evidence

Supported

Sources

  1. Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Sodium Phosphate, Tribasic (RTK 1724)

    New Jersey Department of Health · Government or regulator

    Relied on for: That alkaline phosphate solutions react with aluminium to produce hydrogen and corrode it. (inferred from the source; not stated directly)

  2. Care and Maintenance: Caesarstone Surfaces

    Caesarstone Ltd. · Manufacturer documentation

    Relied on for: That dishwasher detergent is on the manufacturer's prohibited list for a hard surface because of its aggressiveness. (states this directly)

Precautions

  • Keep away from children and pets
  • Check the manufacturer's instructions
  • Never mix with other cleaning products

In detail

Automatic dishwashing detergent is built for a machine rather than a sink and every difference matters. It is strongly alkaline, because the machine supplies heat and circulation but no scrubbing and the chemistry has to do the work a hand and a sponge would. It is deliberately low-foaming, because foam cushions the spray arms and stops them reaching anything. And most formulations carry an oxygen bleaching system and enzymes. Three consequences are worth knowing. Washing-up liquid must never be substituted in the machine: it foams, and the foam floods out of the door. The tablet must not be substituted into other jobs either — the carpet trade excludes automatic dishwashing detergent from spot removal by name, because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibres. And the alkalinity plus the bleach is why aluminium pans, some glazes and hand-painted decoration come out of a dishwasher permanently dulled while the ceramic beside them is unharmed. The etching of glassware is a related but separate process, and it is not reversible once it has happened.

Properties

pH
Strongly alkaline

What works

Dishwasher detergent is safe on, in specific conditions, Extractor grease filter

Safe only in specific conditions

This is only appropriate within specific limits, and nothing is established outside them.

Only within these limits:

  • Check the owner's manual for the specific model FIRST — the permission is not universal
  • Only as additional cleaning, not as a replacement for the monthly soap-and-water clean

The manufacturer says MOST grease filters can go in the dishwasher and directs the reader to verify. A maker declining to generalise about its own products is the honest answer, and it is the one the internet does not give.

Precautions

  • Check the manufacturer's instructions

Evidence

Supported

Sources

  1. Cleaning the Filters (Grease and Charcoal) — Over-the-Range Microwave

    Whirlpool Corporation · Manufacturer documentation

    Relied on for: That most grease filters can be placed in the dishwasher for additional cleaning, and that the owner's manual should be verified first because not all models permit it. (states this directly)

Why

Hacks and claims involving this

Sources for this page

Sources

  1. Spot Solver: spot and spill removal procedures

    The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) · Trade or professional body

    Relied on for: That automatic dishwashing detergent is excluded from carpet spot removal because many contain bleaching agents that destroy dyes and some fibres. (states this directly)

  2. Owner's Manual: Dishwashers GSD4500, GSD4800

    GE Appliances · Manufacturer documentation

    Relied on for: That the manufacturer specifies detergent formulated for automatic dishwashers. (states this directly)

Share this page