Dishwasher water hardness settings by brand

Dishwashers soften water with salt and resin; the hardness setting tells the machine how often to regenerate. Too low a setting leaves limescale on glasses; too high wastes salt.

The tables below come from each manufacturer's manual for the model family named under each table. Look up your city's hardness, then find your brand.

Find your city's hardness →

Bosch

Water hardness setting H00-H07 (BSH 'Overview of water hardness settings')

	Hardness range (°dH)	mg/L	As printed in the manual
H00	0–6.2	0–111	0 - 1.1 mmol/l
H01	6.7–7.8	120–139	1.2 - 1.4 mmol/l
H02	8.4–10.1	150–180	1.5 - 1.8 mmol/l
H03	10.6–11.8	189–211	1.9 - 2.1 mmol/l
H04	12.3–16.2	220–289	2.2 - 2.9 mmol/l
H05	16.8–20.7	300–369	3.0 - 3.7 mmol/l
H06	21.3–30.2	380–539	3.8 - 5.4 mmol/l
H07	30.8–49.8	550–889	5.5 - 8.9 mmol/l

How to change it: Model-dependent. SMS46NI20Q quick guide: press the power button, hold the programme button A and press the second button repeatedly until the display shows H:xx, release, programme button A flashes, press programme button C repeatedly until the right level, save by pressing the confirm/start button. Bosch UK web page (other models): hold Setup (or SpeedPerfect/VarioSpeed) 3 s, press Start repeatedly to the H number, hold Setup 3 s to save. Some models vary; see the instruction manual.

Source: Bosch SMS46NI20Q quick reference guide, doc 9001972378 rev B (BSH); year not printed in extracted text. Same H00-H07 mmol/l scheme appears in the German short guide SMV46KX14E (doc 9002007325) and other BSH quick guides, but its table could not be extracted. Step text: https://www.bosch-home.co.uk/en/c/spotlight/bltfa17db9e446d8122/customer-service/dishwasher-hub/water-hardness-setting

Miele

Water hardness level, set in programming/commissioning menu in deg dH (G 7000-series with AutoDos)

Miele dishwashers take the hardness value itself (1–70 °dH): enter your water's °dH.

How to change it: At first start-up the display shows the water hardness screen: select your level and confirm with OK; later via Settings > Water hardness, select level, confirm OK. If hardness fluctuates, set the higher value (example in manual: 10-15 deg dH -> set 15).

Salt: Water softening needed above 0.9 mmol/l (5 deg dH). If water is constantly below 0.9 mmol/l (5 deg dH) no salt is needed and the salt indicator switches off when the hardness is set accordingly. Combination detergents can replace salt below 3.8 mmol/l (21 deg dH).

Source: Miele operating instructions G 7960/G 7965/G 7969, M.-Nr. 11 831 681 (en-SA, HG07); second manual G 7216 en-CA M.-Nr. 12 779 740: https://media.miele.com/downloads/03/63/01_C7F138387F5D1EDFAE8EF4A4FCFD0363.pdf

AEG / Electrolux

Water softener level 1-10 (default 5)

	Hardness range (°dH)	mg/L	As printed in the manual
1	0–4	0–71	< 4 °H, < 0.7 mmol/l
2	4–10	71–179	4 - 10 °H, 7 - 18 °fH
3	11–14	196–250	11 - 14 °H, 19 - 25 °fH, 1.9 - 2.5 mmol/l
4	15–18	268–321	15 - 18 °H, 26 - 32 °fH, 2.6 - 3.2 mmol/l
5 (factory)	19–22	339–393	19 - 22 °H, 33 - 39 °fH, 3.3 - 3.9 mmol/l
6	23–28	411–500	23 - 28 °H, 40 - 50 °fH, 4.0 - 5.0 mmol/l
7	29–36	518–643	29 - 36 °H, 51 - 64 °fH, 5.1 - 6.4 mmol/l
8	37–42	660–750	37 - 42 °H, 65 - 75 °fH, 6.5 - 7.5 mmol/l
9	43–46	768–821	43 - 46 °H, 76 - 83 °fH, 7.6 - 8.3 mmol/l
10	47–50	839–893	47 - 50 °H, 84 - 90 °fH, 8.4 - 9.0 mmol/l

How to change it: Not given on the article; refers to the model's user manual (older models: dial on tub wall or button sequence).

Salt: Level 1 (< 4 °dH): 'do not use any salt'.

Source: Electrolux UK 'Before using your Electrolux dishwasher for the first time' and AEG UK equivalent https://support.aeg.co.uk/support-articles/article/before-using-your-aeg-dishwasher-for-the-first-time (current support pages, 2026)

Beko

Water hardness level 1-6 (programme indicator P1-P5)

	Hardness range (°dH)	mg/L	As printed in the manual
1st	0–4	0–71	0-5 °E, 0-4 °H, 0-8 °F
2nd	5–7	89–125	6-9 °E, 5-7 °H, 9-13 °F
3rd	8–12	143–214	10-15 °E, 8-12 °H, 14-22 °F
4th	13–15	232–268	16-19 °E, 13-15 °H, 23-27 °F
5th	16–19	286–339	20-24 °E, 16-19 °H, 28-34 °F
6th	20–50	357–893	25-62 °E, 20-50 °H, 35-90 °F

How to change it: Switch on with On/Off while holding the Programme Selection key; hold until the stored level shows in the programme indicator and Start/Pause flashes; adjust with Programme Selection/Delayed Start per table; press Start/Pause/Cancel once to store; Start icon stays lit; turn off with On/Off.

Salt: Below 8 °dF (about 4.5 °dH) 'no need to use salt'. Same manual: water above 6 °dH must be softened; above 90 °dF or well water use external filter.

Source: Beko DIN15210 dishwasher user's manual (Beko UK, document undated in text)

Hoover

Softener level S0-S5 (indicator lights P1-P5)

	Hardness range (°dH)	mg/L	As printed in the manual
S0	0–3	0–54	0-5 °fH, 0-3 °H; no salt
S1	4–9	71–161	6-15 °fH, 4-9 °H
S2	10–16	179–286	16-30 °fH, 10-16 °H
S3 (factory)	17–25	303–446	31-45 °fH, 17-25 °H
S4	26–33	464–589	46-60 °fH, 26-33 °H
S5	34–50	607–893	61-90 °fH, 34-50 °H

How to change it: Switch on; press 'Progr.' and 'ON/OFF' together for 5 s; audio signal, all lights flash 5 s; then lights show current level; press 'Progr.' repeatedly to choose (P1=S1 ... ; all lights off = S0); turn off with ON/OFF held.

Salt: S0 (0-5 °fH / 0-3 °dH): regenerating salt 'NO'.

Source: Hoover H DISH 300 HDIN 2L360PB-80 instruction manual (product code 32900769)

LG

Softening system level H0-H4

	Hardness range (°dH)	mg/L	As printed in the manual
H0	0–4	0–71	<4 °d, <5 °e, <7 °f, <0.7 mmol/l
H1	4–7	71–125	4-7 °d, 5-9 °e, 7-13 °f, 0.7-1.3 mmol/l
H2 (factory)	7–14	125–250	7-14 °d, 9-17.5 °e, 13-25 °f, 1.3-2.5 mmol/l
H3	14–21	250–375	14-21 °d, 17.5-26 °e, 25-38 °f, 2.5-3.8 mmol/l
H4	21–…	375–…	>21 °d, >26 °e, >38 °f, >3.8 mmol/l

How to change it: Press Power and Half Load together (current value shows); press Delay Start to choose the value (H0-H4); press Start to save; the unit powers off after saving.

Salt: Set H0 if used without salt so the salt icon does not stay lit; H0 = hardness < 4 °d.

Source: LG dishwasher owner's manual XD64*, MFL70282406 Rev.00_030218 (2018)

Frigidaire

No hardness setting on the support page; detergent amount by grains per gallon

	Hardness range (°dH)	mg/L	As printed in the manual
4 tsp (first line)	0–2.9	0–52	Soft 0-3 grains/gal
6 tsp (second line)	3.8–7.7	68–137	Medium hard 4-8 grains/gal
8 tsp (full)	8.6–11.5	154–205	Hard 9-12 grains/gal

How to change it: Fill the main-wash dispenser cup to the line for your water hardness.

Source: Frigidaire owner centre 'Dishwasher - Dispenser and Detergents Guide' (current)

Brands without a hardness table

Samsung — Water hardness H1-H6 (most models) or L0-L5 (DW60B* except DW60BB89*) (Source)
GE Appliances — Water hardness level 1-5 (SmartDispense/test-strip models) (Source)
Whirlpool — Water hardness setting (US models with softener), factory default 3 (Source)