Editing Dishwasher (section)

===Dishwasher detergent===
{{Main|Dishwasher detergent}}

[[File:Detergent tablet.jpg|thumb|A detergent tablet]]
Dishwashers are designed to work using specially formulated [[dishwasher detergent]]. Over time, many regions have banned the use of [[phosphates in detergent]] and phosphorus-based compounds. They were previously used because they have properties that aid in effective cleaning. The concern was the increase in [[algal bloom]]s in waterways caused by increasing phosphate levels (see [[eutrophication]]).<ref name="Kogawa 2017">{{cite journal|last1=Kogawa|first1=Ana Carolina|last2=Cernic|first2=Beatriz Gamberini|last3=do Couto|first3=Leandro Giovanni Domingos|last4=Salgado|first4=Hérida Regina Nunes|title=Synthetic detergents: 100 years of history|journal=Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal|volume=25|issue=6|pages=934–938|date=February 2017|doi=10.1016/j.jsps.2017.02.006|pmid=28951681|pmc=5605839}}</ref> Seventeen US states have partial or full bans on the use of phosphates in dish detergent,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030201805.html |title=Md. Dish Soap Bill Might Help Clean Bay |work=Washingtonpost.com |date=2007-03-03 |access-date=2012-06-20}}</ref> and two US states ([[Maryland]] and [[New York (state)|New York]]) ban phosphates in commercial dishwashing. Detergent companies claimed it is not cost effective to make separate batches of detergent for the states with phosphate bans, and so most have voluntarily removed phosphates from all dishwasher detergents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geappliances.com/appliances/dishwashers/why-is-there-white-film-on-glassware-dishes-dishwasher-interior.htm |title=Phosphate Free Dishwasher Detergent Leaves Dishes Dirty |publisher=GE Appliances |access-date=2013-11-30}}</ref>

In addition, [[rinse aid]]s have contained [[nonylphenol]] and nonylphenol ethoxylates. These have been banned in the European Union by EU Directive 76/769/EEC.{{Cn|date=March 2025}}

In some regions, depending on water hardness, a dishwasher might function better with the use of a [[dishwasher salt]].{{Cn|date=March 2025}}