Systems and methods are described, which relate to the control of additive dispensers to provide defined amounts of one or more additive compounds to water to produce customized water. A given additive dispenser may include multiple inputs and/or outputs. Predefined water profiles may be stored in memory. A given water profile may define the amounts of additives to be delivered by the additive dispensers to achieve desired water characteristics. A controller may determine actual water characteristics of input water based on corresponding sensor data, and may compare the actual water characteristics to desired water characteristics in order to determine the amount of additive or additives that should be delivered to the input water to achieve the desired water characteristics. The additive dispensers may be network-enabled and may include transceivers configured to receive instructions related to production of customized water from a user device.

A household dishwasher includes a washing chamber, a control apparatus for running a washing program from a number of washing programs, a metering system having a supply unit for receiving an individual dose of a first cleaning agent and supplying the individual dose into the washing chamber at a metering point in time while running the washing program, and an automatic metering apparatus for automatically metering a plurality of metering quantities from a supply of a second cleaning agent in the form of a solid material into the washing chamber at the metering point in time, and a sensor apparatus configured to detect a state of the metering system and to emit a sensor signal depending on the detected state of the metering system. The control apparatus runs the washing program depending on the sensor signal.

A laundry treating appliance having a trating chamber and a bulk dispenser and a user interface configured to provide an indication to the user related to the bulk chemistry dispenser and a controller coupled with the user interface and the bulk treating chemistry dispenser and configured to execute an operating cycle including controlling the treating chemistry meter to dispense the predetermined amount of treating chemistry and determine a number of doses of treating chemistry available in the bulk treating chemistry dispenser and method of determining the number of doses and the types of a treating chemistry available in the bulk dispensing system, and providing an indication of the determination on a user interface.

A dishwasher includes an image-based detergent sensor that in some instances is configured to sense a type of detergent for use in optimizing a wash cycle based upon the type of detergent, and that in some instances is configured to direct one or more controllable sprayers to facilitate dissolution or mixing of detergent into a wash fluid during a wash cycle.

A laundry treating appliance having a treating chamber and a bulk dispenser and a user interface configured to provide an indication to the user related to the bulk chemistry dispenser and a controller coupled with the user interface and the bulk treating chemistry dispenser and configured to execute an operating cycle including controlling the treating chemistry meter to dispense the predetermined amount of treating chemistry and determine a number of doses of treating chemistry available in the bulk treating chemistry dispenser and method of determining the number of doses and the types of a treating chemistry available in the bulk dispensing system, and providing an indication of the determination on a user interface.

Disclosed herein is a chemical dosing system for an appliance, such as a laundry washing machine or a dishwashing machine, having a water inlet, the system comprising a meter determining the volume of water supplied to the appliance, a pump for dispensing a quantity of a chemical to the appliance and a control unit arranged to receive a signal from the meter and to cause to be dispensed to the appliance a volume of chemical that is proportional to the quantity of water supplied to the appliance. The disclosed system may enable a correct quantity of chemical to be automatically dispensed to many types of appliance, without the need to know anything about the appliance, or to derive an electrical signal from the appliance.

A household appliance for treating at least one item according to at least one cycle of operation includes a treating chemistry dispenser receiving a unit dose container and having a door moveable between an opened position and a closed position, a piercing mechanism located proximate to the treating chemistry dispenser and having a piercer that is moveable between a non-piercing position and a piercing position where the piercer is moved to perforate a unit dose container received within the treating chemistry dispenser.

A method for operating a laundry washing appliance having a washing chamber to wash laundry the method includes selecting a default washing temperature and/or a washing cycle having a default washing temperature; supplying a detergent to the washing chamber; and determining a type of the detergent which has been added. When the detergent is of a first type, then the method includes comparing the default washing temperature with a threshold temperature and if the default washing temperature is higher than the threshold temperature, then emitting a warning signal and/or changing said default washing temperature.

A dish washer senses an amount of change in a level of a detergent via a floater that moves in a vertical direction based on the level of the detergent and a detergent level sensor that senses a location in the vertical direction of the floater, and effectively identifies a viscosity of the detergent stored in a detergent supply based on the amount of change in the level to simplify a structure, improve space utilization, and reduce a manufacturing cost by eliminating a separate electrode sensor or level sensor to identify the viscosity of the detergent.

A dish washer effectively identifies a viscosity of a detergent stored in a detergent supply based on the number of revolutions of a roller sensed via a roller sensor and an operating time of a pump motor, thereby simplifying a structure, improving space utilization, and reducing a manufacturing cost as a separate electrode sensor or level sensor for identifying the viscosity of the detergent is eliminated.