[wsgeorge]

Off topic: this is my first time hearing of rinse aids. It really feels odd (to me) that such a thing would exist. I thought we all just used water and a napkin.

I also have no experience with dishwashers, so how different is dishwater detergent from regular dishwashing soap?

[beowulfey]

Rinse aid is a dishwasher-specific product. It “helps” by removing residual soap and water spots from a dishwasher cycle.

I use a brand of dishwasher tabs that are supposed to be more “natural” and never use rinse aid, to no ill effect. Personally I think the normal tablets and rinse aid are specifically designed to be used together.

[cubefox]

Tabs usually include both detergent and rinse aid. Normally you would use both separately.

[dghughes]

I thought the study meant the stuff used at the end after washing. Here in Canada bars and restaurants after washing dishes must rinse dishes in a disinfectant bath and let the dishes air dry. The rinse aid sounds like something in the soap itself that helps the soap not stick to the final clean dishes.

It also seems to be the water used about 4 liters of water in commercial dishwashers vs 12 liters for household types. Commercial use less water, more powerful detergent, no water rinse.

[SAI_Peregrinus]

Rinse aid is a detergent that helps remove the residue other detergents or minerals in the water might leave on dishes after washing. It's not needed for hand washing, where mechanical scrubbing & a rinse with clean water performs the same task.

Dishwasher detergent is a surfactant, but is not a soap. All soaps are detergents, not all detergents are soaps. Soaps form insoluble precipitates when used with "hard" water, dishwasher detergents don't do that. They're not good to touch directly (rather harsh on the skin, they'll remove all the oil) but since they don't form those precipitates they work in a wider variety of conditions than soaps do. They also tend to include some other components, like bleach. That helps them clean better without needing mechanical scrubbing, which dishwashers don't do.