Bosch Exxcel softener

My Bosch Exxcel dishwasher SMS50E02UK isn’t washing properly. It seems to leave a slight deposit behind. It rinses off OK but it’s annoying, especially on glassware.

I’ve tried tweaking the salt input up and down and the rinse aid up and down and it doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference. I’ve cleaned the spray arms, run maintenance washes with and without cleaner, and had a good rummage around under the filter grid, all to no avail

The only other thing that occurs to me is that it’s possible that it was once run with a loose or missing cap on the salt chamber. As I understand it, that would let detergent in to damage the softener.

If that’s true, I assume the only fix is a new softener. It looks as if I can get one, but what I’d like to know is how easy it is to get at it to remove and replace.

Of course, if there’s some other less drastic fix I’ll listen to that too 🙂