Separate Dishwasher Rinse Aid: Do You Really Need One?

You've seen them before: The little openings on your dishwasher for rinse agents. Often, these openings advertise for a specific brand, such as JetDry. My washer even has a little light that comes on if the compartment that is designated for a rinse aid is not filled.But do you really need to keep that compartment filled?

In times past, the answer was definitely yes. Rinse agents are released during your dishwasher's rinse cycle and alter the surface tension of dishes, allowing the rinse water to slide off your dishes in a sheeting action. This prevents the rinsing water from collecting in little bubbles that lead to spots.

Dishwasher detergents have tried to address the problem of needing a separate rinse agent. If you browse the dishwasher detergent section of your store you will likely run across products that label themselves as "all-in-one". These detergents claim to include a rinse agent or a component that performs the same function.Take, for example, Finish Quantum gelpacs. The product advertises that it contains JetDry, a well known rinse agent. If Quantum already contains JetDry, do you really need to buy a separate JetDry container?

I decided to see if there is any difference.I tried dishwasher detergent that did not contain a rinse agent and just added JetDry to the appropriate compartment of the dishwasher. The results were excellent, as had been my experience for many years. Then I tried using the Quantum gelpacs without any additional JetDry.

The results were virtually identical. I decided to contact that good people at the Finish dishwasher detergent company and ask them why their own website(http://www.finishdishwashing.com/product-finish-quantum.php) still recommends using a separate JetDry when Quantum already has JetDry in it.

Here was their response: "Using Finish® Dishwasher products with Finish® Jet-Dry® Rinse Aid will provide better results than using a detergent alone. However, due to varying water conditions some people will achieve better results by using an additional rinse agent, such as Finish® Jet-Dry® Rinse Aid or Jet-Dry® Turbo™ Dry during the rinse cycle."

Just what are these "varying water conditions"? No specific information was given. Water temperature affects how well your dishwasher performs, so if your hot water heater is set below the necessary temperature(according to the information that came with my dishwasher, this temperature is around 145 degrees Fahrenheit), your dishes might not get as clean. However, this would be the case even if a separate rinse agent was being used.

So is that additional rinse aid really necessary? Decide for yourself. Give an "All-in-one" product a try by itself and see if the results differ from when you were using an ordinary detergent and adding in separate rinse aid.