Er......how come the dishWASHER needs cleaning?
Does all the HOT water and cleanser whooshing around inside, only clean the plates but leave the walls dirty?
I believe some people have also been conned into buying salt and some liquid to stop smears ( which I've never had)
Never mind.
If the "manufacturers" say you need to buy their product, Well, I suppose you must!

Depends what's in your tablets. One of the main purposes of the cleaner is to stop the build up of limescale. I know some of the 'top end' tablets like Fairy Platinum claim to also help with this on each wash, but most 'normal' tablets wouldn't. More about cleaning the inner workings than the 'walls' you mention.

Hi Morgie,
I've had dishwashers since the 80s.
Two, in fact and I only bought the current one because my first was old, ( still working mind) but the other one was brand new and offered very cheap as it didn't fit the new house's kitchen.
I used salt and that liquid stuff ( ah. Rinse aid) at the beginning but stopped and never needed either.
My washers never clogged up and my glasses are clean and not dribbly.
If you think your washer is dirty, run it empty on the hottest wash.
Even put 2 or 3 tablets in it.

Or as I do....nothing.

Thanks. Out of interest, what brands?

Obviously dishwashers need cleaning, where do you think all the crap goes?

Best thing to keep the dishwasher running smoothly is to regularly cleaned the filter.

Those finding they don't need salt, are you in a soft water area? Or buying 3 in 1 tablets?

Regarding cleaning the machine, a cup of citric acid powder works nicely, without the environmental nasties of commercial products.

I once had a problem with a dishwasher, when I took it apart some of the thin pipes leading from the waste trap tp the drain pump were properly gunged up with greasy deposits. I cleaned the pipes, and concluded that years of running the machine on low-temp 'economy' washes probably caused this.
I now occasionally run a hot wash to melt away some of the fatty deposits. Never had an issue since...
If only I could do something similar with my arteries.....

Can't remember the first one but this one ( about 20 years old) is a Servis.

i have had 2 dishwashers since 1995, latest one is 13 yrs old and touch wood never broken down - both been indesits. I use rinse aid maybe twice a year and never any salt and used to use smart price dishwasher tablers and now use Aldis own magnum range - not 1 single problem yet

These things are overpriced fur what they are. B&M do one for around 70p, which is still a lot for some common cleaning agent in a wax-stopped bottle.