Is the Consumer Rights Act 2015 too hard on retailers?
Most dishwashers need to be told when multi-tab (all-in-one) detergent is being used. Without this calibration, the machine continues dispensing rinse aid unnecessarily, causing streaks on glassware, and keeps alerting for salt and rinse aid. Check the instruction manual for the specific procedure for your model.
Dishwashers are designed to work with three separate components: detergent, salt, and rinse aid. Multi-tab (all-in-one) detergent tablets claim to replace all three, but for them to work correctly most dishwashers need to be told they are being used. This is called calibrating for multi-tab detergent.
Why Does the Dishwasher Need to Be Calibrated?
Without calibration, the dishwasher continues to operate as if separate salt and rinse aid are being used. This causes several problems:
- The rinse aid dispenser continues to release rinse aid from the reservoir – even if the multi-tab tablet already includes it. Too much rinse aid can cause white sticky streaks on dishes, or a bluish film on glassware and cutlery.
- The dishwasher continues to alert the user to add more salt or rinse aid, even when this is no longer necessary.
- Some dishwashers adjust wash cycle times when multi-tab mode is enabled – typically shortening certain cycles by around 10 minutes – which cannot happen without calibration.
Calibrating the dishwasher for multi-tab use stops rinse aid from being dispensed unnecessarily, silences the salt and rinse aid alerts, and enables any cycle time adjustments the manufacturer has built in for this detergent type.
If ordinary detergent is ever needed again in future, the calibration can be reversed – but bear in mind that if the rinse aid reservoir has been empty for a while it will need refilling before reverting to standard use.
Is Multi-Tab Detergent Worth Using?
Independent consumer testing by Which? has found considerable variation in multi-tab detergent performance. Some are among the top-rated dishwasher detergents tested, while others have performed poorly enough to be rated as Don’t Buy products. Quality varies significantly between brands and price points. To find out which multi-tab detergents perform best, see: full dishwasher detergent test results at Which?
How to Calibrate a Dishwasher for Multi-Tab Detergent
The process varies by brand and model. Some dishwashers have a dedicated option button or clearly labelled setting for multi-tab detergent. Others require a specific button combination to enter a programming mode. The instruction manual is the definitive guide.
Not all dishwashers have this function, particularly older models. If the manual is not available, it can often be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website. Links to manufacturer manual download pages are available at: instruction manuals page. Alternatively, searching online for “multi-tab function” together with the dishwasher brand and model number will often find the relevant information.
What If Dishes Are Still Not Drying Properly With Multi-Tab Tablets?
Multi-tab detergent is designed to dry dishes adequately without separate rinse aid. However, results vary by tablet brand and quality, and by local water hardness. If dishes are consistently coming out wet or marked, two options are worth trying in order:
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Try a higher quality multi-tab tablet. Performance differences between brands are significant. Switching to a better-rated tablet often resolves the issue without needing to add rinse aid.
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Add a small amount of rinse aid. Fill the rinse aid compartment and set the dosage dial to the minimum position (typically 1 or 2). This supplements the tablet without adding a full rinse aid dose alongside it.
Related dishwasher guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to calibrate my dishwasher for multi-tab detergent?
Without calibration, the dishwasher continues to dispense rinse aid from its reservoir even though the tablet already contains it. Too much rinse aid causes white streaks or a bluish film on glassware. The machine will also continue prompting for more salt and rinse aid unnecessarily. Calibrating tells the dishwasher to stop these actions and may also shorten certain wash cycle times.
How do I find the multi-tab setting on my dishwasher?
Check the instruction manual first – the procedure varies significantly between brands and models. Some dishwashers have a dedicated button or setting; others require a specific button sequence to enter programming mode. If the manual is unavailable, check the manufacturer’s website for a downloadable version, or search online for “multi-tab function” together with the brand and model number.
My dishwasher doesn’t have a multi-tab setting – does this matter?
Not all dishwashers, particularly older models, have a multi-tab calibration function. In this case, the dishwasher will continue to operate normally. If excess rinse aid causes streaking on dishes, the rinse aid dispenser can be turned down to the minimum setting or left empty. The salt alerts will continue, but can be ignored if multi-tab tablets are being used and the water is not particularly hard.
My dishes still come out wet even with multi-tab tablets – what should I do?
First, try a different brand of multi-tab tablet – drying performance varies considerably between products. If the problem persists, add a small amount of rinse aid to the rinse aid compartment and set the dosage dial to the minimum position. This supplements the tablet’s rinse aid without adding a full dose.
Agreed Lorenzo. My article is less about feeling sympathy for them though than trying to explain why they act like they do. I do have some sympathy for small retailers though, with a little shop trying to make a living in their local area. I think once people realise how the system works they will be less surprised at how hard it is to get retailers to carry out their legal duties when things go wrong out of guarantee.
Andy, this is food for thought, but the moment you say:
“In reality though it is unlikely to happen because retailers profit greatly from selling products which need replacing more often and they’d probably still be financially better off in the long run.”
… that’s the moment I lose any sympathy for the retailer side. If the ultimate reason retailers can’t just stop decent products only and leave the crap, so that they don’t end up having excessive warranty burdens, is that they ACTIVELY WANT to sell me crap that breaks constantly so that they can’t sell me another… then they had it coming. They have no reason to complain.
Yes John, that’s why it’s set up as it is but it’s not ideal at all and has many problems as described in my article. The fact that parts are made by many different sources isn’t an issue though as that is up to the manufacturer to sort out with ho they paid to make the parts for them. It has to be either the retailer or the manufacturer, but either would have disadvantages. There’s probably no perfect solution, but currently it isn’t really working well because although consumers have rights with retailers it causes retailers a lot of expense and hassle – so retailers strongly resist and commonly try to frustrate consumers out of their rights.
ok, thanks for reply. I have just written to Sainsburys after being passed back to them from the manufacturer and await their response.
The buck has to stop somewhere and retailers are best placed to manage these issues. Which manufacturer would be responsible as most electrical products are assembled with parts from various makers I suppose…
Hello Matt, yes it seems so unfair which is why I wrote this article but manufacturers have absolutely no obligations at all even though it’s solely their fault when products are poorly made or designed. This explains why so many of them simply say it’s out of guarantee so now we charge. Unfortunately though most retailers adopt similar attitudes because they don;t want to pay for the repair either. If they can’t get the manufacturer to agree to repair it free then they usually tell us there’s nothing they can do but this is not true if there is a genuine case because the buck stops with them.
How much did the console cost to buy?
Currently being asked to pay £53.50 repair fee by Nintendo for a 24 month old console, bought from Sainsburys, and which has seen little use, but the disc drive has developed fault issues.
I’m obviously left scratching my head why I, or even Sainsburys, should pay for this. Sainsburys, fair play to them, have requested that if Nintendo issue a report that the disc drive has obviously not been damaged at my neglect and has not seen a reasonable level of use to make it fail (i.e. this is a poor manufacturing issue) then they, Sainsburys, will look in to the repair charges.
Nintendo UK have taken an extremely arrogant and obnoxious stance on the matter and refuse to event engage with me on a level of decency, especially one who has bought their products for 15 years.
It’s disgusting and I’d feel bad about taking Sainsburys to small claims court, but £53.50 is a lot of money to me, and more to the point, the principle of the matter.
Good evening
I’m reading through all aspects of this and being as I work in retail for a whitegoods company/distribution (which is not a mainstream company) I can see both sides to this tho ultimately uk law is very unfair to the retailers. If we as retailers stopped selling ‘cheaper brands’ as they did not last, consumers would be left with expensive white goods and this causes problems! Most reliable machines cost over £400 (for a washing machine), many people do not want to pay those sort of prices. So what option do they have if they can’t afford that price? Knowing how much we pay manufacturers for whitegoods, we don’t actually make much profit on cheap machines thus the reason why they are cheap. It’s the Manufacturers I believe that are abusing this uk law and sadly more and more smaller retailers who want to provide great customer service are going out of business because of it. Uk law NEEDS to include the manufacturers as I really can’t see retailers giving up certain brands so they produce better quality products.
Thank you for such a thorough, considered, reply.
It’s a complex world we live in.
Hi Riccardo. I’ve said in one of my previous articles that it would open a big can of worms if retailers actually started honouring what the sale of goods act says. It would shake things up very badly and cost them dearly.
For years retailers and manufacturers have got away with deferring most of these problems by convincing people they needed to take out expensive insurance on everything they bought. That meant that many of the sale of goods act issues never surfaced because when an appliance broke down unreasonably out of the first years guarantee the insurance paid for it. Everyone was happy – except that the customers en masse were subsidising the whole thing.
These days far less people take out insurance after they’ve realised (and been advised by many consumer groups) that it’s generally poor value for money, plus they’ve been forced to reduce costs, cut down hard selling of it etc. So more people are now finding things have broken down and need expensive repairs or replacement at ridiculously young ages when they haven’t misused or overused them.
I also make your point about retailers dropping poor quality products and unhelpful manufacturers which in theory is exactly what should happen, so that after a settling down period most retailers would only sell decent quality products and there would no longer be a problem. The theory would be that they realise it’s not worth selling the stuff which breaks down too often and doesn’t last very long because they have to compensate too much. In reality though it is unlikely to happen because retailers profit greatly from selling products which need replacing more often and they’d probably still be financially better off in the long run. Unfortunately manufacturers have far more power over retailers than most people would suspect.
I see your point. However, if all retailers are forced to honour their contractual obligations they will most likely raise prices on poor product, and shun manufactures who provide bad post-sales support and unreliable products. While a single consumer may make uninformed choices, a shop has a greater interest in not doing so. This would ultimately be in the consumer’s interest.
However, it would then favour the retailer who closes a company every two years and re-opens, thus losing all the liabilities – a practice which needs to be clamped down on in my opinion (and in the opinion of my MP). Why is business so complicated?