Hard water issues with dishes

[thecooperhouse]

I use a dishwasher and at our new house the water is so hard. It leaves an awful film all over my dishes. I researched and found a product (I think its called lemi-shine) It works great but you have to use quite a bit and its not that cheap.

Any cheap remedies?

[Rene S]

Are you using Jet Dri in the reservoir for that? Our water softener died and before that I never added Jet Dri. Now I do and it really helps.

[thecooperhouse]

I am using jet dry. I added it before the first time I washed - so who knows how bad it would have been without it!

[lmcconne]

If you have a cloudy film on your glassware which has built up over time, I recommend a sinkful of water and dish soap with some vinegar. Let 'em soak for a time and then wash off. Talk about a cheap fix.

[Rene S]

How about manually adding a few cups of vinegar during the rinse cycle? I know, sort of a PITA, but it's a cheap thing to try.

[queenofthehivemomof5]

Lemi-Shine is basically just Citric Acid which you can buy at some grocery stores or "Mart" stores or home improvement stores. Barring that you can try Lemonade flavored koo-aid, or if you have a flat Cola or Mountain Dew sitting around toss that in the dishwasher and it too will eat the calcium deposits. Vinegar will work too.

[3timesoccermom]

We have a water softener and I use Jet Dry and keep the reservoir at least half full all the time but I still have spots. I didn't know how many until I bought some new every day clear acrylic cups and you can see ALL of them on those.

You might try Cascade complete. It is expensive but the first time I used it I couldn't believe how much cleaner the inside of the dishwasher looked. It must have a bleaching product in it.

Good luck! If you consider a water softener they have dropped WAY down in price since we bought ours 25 years ago. And you save on cleaners for the hard water deposits.

[mystry72]

I use something called "glass magic". It really makes a difference in my dishes. I use about a quarter of a cup, you can use less it says on the box.

[sunnie_skys]

We get it too and we just decided to wash all our dishes by hand now. Saves water and electricity too.

[motherofmolly]

We get it too and we just decided to wash all our dishes by hand now. Saves water and electricity too.

newer dishwashers actually use less water and the electricity is minimal. i use my dishwasher just to save on water usage.

i do like queenofthehivesmomof05's suggestion of a flat cola. i will have to remember this. remember too that some states require that dishwashing detergent require phosphorus free products. needless to say that means in illinois i have a cloud on my dishes all the time. i normally use vinegar.
Washington State Laws about Phosphorus Information | Washington Department of Ecology