Citric Acid in Dishwasher

[smurfchops]

When my dishwasher was jammed up with fat the mechanic said a hot wash with Citric Acid would help flush it out so I use it on a regular basis in a hot empty load. But I wondered if I could use Citric Acid Monohydrate powder with a full load, as well as a dishwasher tablet -- would it damage cutlery, glassware and/or crockery? I use Silver Plate cutlery sometimes and dont want it to turn black!

[gingejbee]

Citric acid is used to dissolve build-up of hardness deposits and is found in those dishwasher and washing machine cleaning products.
I wouldn't use it during a wash cycle though- it could affect the action of the detergent.

[smurfchops]

Would it harm the cutlery or silver plate crockery?

[Graham-W]

To remove a build up of fats, I'd use Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda) rather than citric. I wouldn't try it in a proper cycle though. A cycle with nothing in the dishwasher would be the way to go.
Citric acid would dissolve calcium and magnesium deposits, but I wouldn't use it with anything in the machine.