Hard Water/Dishwasher

I use Lemon Shine even with soft water instead of Jet Dry, love it. Years ago I read a comsumers report that suggested Walmart's brand of dishwasher soap (super cheap) and Lemon Shine for hard water. I still use both today. I would also recommend not using as much soap, that may help. I do see others suggesting vinegar, my Mom used vinegar while I was growing up and that seemed to help those ugly spots. The vinegar option is probably cheaper than Lemon Shine. Good luck.

I actually use Borax to hand wash my dishes (don't own a dishwasher), so I searched the net to see if Borax can work in dishwashers.

This is from http://www.stretcher.com/stories/990621a.cfm:

"Try using a tablespoon of borax in your dishwasher. I just throw it in on the door when I load the detergent. Borax, sold in the laundry aisle, is a natural water softener. The tip for the dishwasher is on the side of the "Twenty Mule Team" borax box. Borax costs about $2.50 a 76 oz. box, or about 3 cents per tablespoon.
Sandy in Illinois"

I put one spoonfull of Tang (yes the drink)in with my dishes were washing. I thought something was wrong but the disherwasher guy told me to use Tang and it will get rid of your spots. good luck

The vinegar suggestions are good. We have had this problem before and what we've done is fill a small bowl with vinegar and set in the top rack of the dishwasher while running the load. It vaporizes during the cycle and helps a TON with the spotting. However, it can leave your glasses feeling a little filmy, so you will have to play around with amounts. This is the fastest, least labor-intensive method that I have found. Good luck!

LEMI SHINE!!!! You'll LOVE it!! I get it at Walmart down the aisle with the dish washer stuff. It is in a yellow and green container. Use powder detergent in the prewash and Lemishine in the closed wash spot and your dishes will shine like their brand new. Try and you'll never go back!

We have hard water too and I hated the white film left on everything that would just get worse if I re-ran the load. (I am with you on the hate to do dishes front.) I tried jet dry and every detergent combo I could come up with. What has worked for us is Shaklee Get Clean dish washer detergent (it is a powder). And, no, I do not sell it. My dishes come out feeling clean, not just looking clean. As an extra bonus it is chemical free so you don't have to worry about what is on your dishes after using it.

You have to order it online (or from someone who sells it) at shaklee.com.

Good luck!

There is a product out now (can't remember the name of it) that is designed for cleaning dishwashers, and Menard's and Walmart both carry it. Maybe you could try running the dishes through with that stuff, and see if it will get them clean. If you want to try vinegar, you could put it in the Jet-dri dispenser and see if it helps. Another option would be to not use the heat dry setting, but dry the dishes by hand. Believe me, I'm with you on hand-washing dishes.

I can only suggest that your landlord is being penny wise and pound foolish. Using, or fixing that water softener is going to save a ton of money over the years as he doesn't have to replace appliances and plumbing that failed far too soon.

try using a little lime away mixed with water use gloves and rinse everything well

I read something a long time ago and have never forgotten it. **** Never complain that you have dishes to wash. If you have dirty dishes you have food to eat.***** Think about all those who never get enough to eat.
As far as the hard water stains vinegar should do the trick. You could try it in the dishwasher instead of the regular detergent, on clean dishes. However the situation will keep repeating itself if you continue to use the dishwasher.
You could try to call the local health department or building inspectors to see if the landlord is in violation of any city codes. However if you do that the landlord may make your life miserable and force you to move.

I know this doesn't make a ton of sense...but I swear that since we don't use the dry cycle on our dishwasher that our stains are now minimal. This doesn't make much sense to me so maybe it was a change in detergent we made too. I don't get it. Good luck exploring.

I have really hard water, too...(gotta love MN! LOL) I usually pour about 1-2 cups of vinegar in the bottom and run it through without dishes every month or so. However, I used a major dishwasher cleaner (can't remember what kind) the first time when I moved in. You will find, however, that if you do a quick wipe of your glasses with hot water and a sponge before you put them in, they'll come out MUCH better. :) If you REALLY hate doing dishes, even rinsing and wiping, then you can run them through with the vinegar...however, I'd run them through again with the detergent right after...before they dry.

You might want to try different detergents, too, to see what works best with the hard water. I use the Melaleuca stuff, so I'm not familiar with the store brands anymore.

Good luck!

Use the white vineger in your dishwasher. you put it where you put the rinse aid instead of jet dry. I just tried it for the 1st time to save on $ and my dishes look great.

Vinegar does help. I put it in the dishwasher after running through the wash cycles in with the rinse cycle. If you don't catch it before the dry cycle, just put the vinegar in and run it through rinse or short wash again. Also use a liquid detergent not the gel caps since they leave a film on the dishes. Check out the water softener in your laundry room. See if it works and keep it full of salt if it does. Maybe it is just out of salt or not hooked up properly. Good luck.

I have had hard water and I have used Calgon in the dishwasher along with the detergent. I also found that the cheaper store brand of soap works best with my water. Cut back on the amount of soap you use also. I use the cleaner you can buy for your dishwasher once or twice a year to get the hard water and soap skum out. I think it is Dishwasher Magic. Calgon powder is what I used and comes in a box. Liquid dishwasher soap was better for me than powder also. Just have to try different soaps. Unfortunatly you may have to scrub all your dishes by hand to get the film off first.

Now I can't remember the name of the stuff I used but you find it in the isle where you get the dishwasher soap. Its stuff for hardwater in the dishwasher. It's a powder stuff that you put in dispenser. It says hardwater on the bottle. If I remmeber the name I will let you know. It worked well for us til we got our softner fixed

This might sound crazy and I have not done this....but what about getting a pair of knee highs and putting water softner rocks in each one and securing them to the dish washer racks some how and washing your dishes with them? I will be curious if this works or not let me know if you try it!!! Good Luck and I as well have hard water it can be a pain at times.

What I have done is run vinegar with the regular dishwasher soap. I would pour about a cup or so and jsut put it in the lid of the dishwasher. That is what we did before we installed our water softner and we didn't seem to have any problems.

I don't use jet dry at all anymore - especially with so many dishwasher soaps having it alredy in them.

Also try switching dishwashing soaps maybe that would help too.

Good luck!

I had the same problem with my dishwasher in our apt. It was partly the detergent we were using, as well as the hard water. So we switched detergents to one with bleach in it. Also, periodically. I soak the dishes in vinegar, which removes any staining. It really does work. Sometimes I have to scrub a little. But its a cheap, good way to clean the dishes. It works on silverware, too.