Hardwater Stains on Glasses

I use Cascade to keep the water spots and hard water stains from showing up. The Electrosol tabs work just as well. I know it's more expensive, but in the long run it saves time and money.

When this happens to us, it usually means we need to add water softener...you get it at Lowes or home depot.

Hi K., I have a dishwash det that is organic, non toxic AND will get all the white streaks off of the dishes. My Boss has BLACK dishes and they always had white strwaks and heavy white lines on them, as well as spots on the glasses. They do not exist anymore with Shaklee Dishwash. I can give you some to try for a week or so. You just use one tiny scoop. Let me know if you want to try it. My whole family swears by it. My oldest son had the same problem and no more!C.

I have found that Lemi-shine works wonders. I found it at WalMart in the dishwashing section and add a little in with each load.

Good luck,
K.

Hi K.-- I had the EXACT same problem and it drove me nuts. But I found a product called Lemi Shine that works beautifully. It is in a green and yellow bottle, next to the Jet Dry and other dishwasher products. I have found at Walmart and Fry's. It is not cheap, but well worth every penny to have nice clean dishes!

Lemi Shine "The Hard Water Expert" I use it with every wash, and the dishes and the dishwasher, Thank me! Just put some Lemi Shine in one side of the soap dispenser and the dishwasher soap on the other side. You can find it pretty much anywhere. Trust me...IT WORKS!

I used to live in Estrella Mountain. The water there was so hard, I swear, you would get a concussion every time you take a shower. LOL! My clear glasses were white. I started putting vinegar in the diswasher. If you have a jet dry dispenser, just put it in there. If not, add it to the rinse cycle. I haven't tried the LemiShine that others have suggested. The vinegar worked just fine for me and it is cheap.

K.,
Several people have already said this, but I just wanted to sencond (or 3rd, 4th...) the suggestion for LemiShine. I live in Goodyear where the water is horrible! All of my new dishes and glasses turned white and looked dirty all the time. I started using LemiShine and it fixed the problem completely.

I use DiamondBrite dishwashing detergent from Melaleuca. I have never needed to use jet dry or other rinse agents and it is amazing at keeping hard water stains at bay. The best thing about it is that it is kid-safe and eco-friendly. It is super concentrated so a bottle lasts forever. I am not a distributor, but I can show you where to get some if you are interested.

Try soaking them in water with denture tabs. I haven't tried it but I heard it work.

Dear K.; I had that same problem occasionally and I never got the glasses clean again. I did notice that the reason they get foggy might be because there is some dish soap going into your dishwasher - as opposed to dish washer soap. I would sometimes pre wash some dishes and load the dishwasher with dishes that had been soaking in dish soap. Since I have stopped doing this and I'm extremely careful to only put dishes rinsed in clear water in the machine, I have not had this problem. Hope this helps, D.

I had the same problem. Bashas has a small green box of stuff called "Glass Magic" in the dishwasher detergent aisle. It really does work magic and your glasses will come out clean!

I had the same problem .Frist I ran a Quart of vineger thru my dishwasher, then I switched to powder dish soap. I found out that the liquid or gel doesn't rinse off as well,leaving a film. After 2 or 3 washing my glasses where clear again.

I use a product LemiShine, i add some once a week and it helps keep the hard water deposits off the actual dishwasher. it is a powder and near where all the dish detergents are.

I had the same problem when we lived in WI. The products that the other moms use work well. I also found that liquid detergents in the dishwasher seemed to cause the problem, so be sure that you are using a powder, or better yet, the Cascade tablet with the gel additive (usually Dawn). The other trick that I used was adding powdered Calgon (with the laundry detergent) to the dishwasher. Either in the bottom or in the extra cup for the detergent. Be sure to clean your dishwasher as well to get out the extra deposits before doing a load of dishes - vinegar or one of the commercial dishwasher cleaners is probably your best bet.

LEMISHINE all the way. It can be found usually on a top shelf in the dishwasher detergents for about 6 dollars. Use only 1/2 teaspoon in closed compartment of dishwasher with detergent. It cleans copper pans to shine. If you go to the web site it will give you ideas for cleaning showers etc. It also cleans the inside of your dishwasher.

Hi K.,
I also use the Shaklee dish wash detergent that Cathy R uses and it works so much better than regular brands. I was having the same problem and I switched to the Shaklee brand and haven't seen the white gunky streaks since. Good luck!

They sell this stuff called Lemme Shine at Walmart. Its only like $3 and it works wonders on the dishes. Just simply add with regular detergent every few washes when you notice the film coming back.

Your dishwasher may be the problem. I have a stainless steel interior on mine and about the same time that I notice a film building up on the door I also notice one on my glasses. So I fill my dishwasher up with as many glasses and dishes that it will hold, NO silverware or metal, and run it on the "Pot and Pans" or "Cookware cycle". About 18-20 minutes (I set the timer or I'll forget to listen for it) into the cycle I hear it drain and start to refill, at that point I pour two cups of vinegar in and let the cycle finish. It works like a charm. I usually do this every other month.

I had the same issue with my glasses, and looked up cleaning them on the "queen of clean." To clean the white gunk off of the classes she suggested running a load of only glasses (no metal!) thru with 1 cup of bleach (put the bleach in a right-side up, short, glass and sit the glass in the bottom rack of your dishwasher). Run your machine up to its rinse cycle. Then, cancel the cycle, open the dishwasher, dump and refill the glass with 1 cup of vinegar. Restart the dishwasher cycle from the beginning and let it run all the way thru its cycle. This worked great on my glasses! They are shiny and clear once again.

To prevent the hard-water problem, you need to lower the pH of your water in the dishwasher. When water is "hard" it means that it is too basic (high pH), which is the opposite of being acidic, so you just need to add something to the water that lowers the pH slightly to make your water slightly acidic. I haven't tried the Lemishine that has been suggested, but vinegar is an acid and it works well for me. When my dishwasher is loaded, I put my Electrosol tablet in the cup, and then splash a little bit of vinegar onto the door (maybe about 1/2 c), and then run as usual. It works well for me and white vinegar is super cheap! I do also keep Jet Dry in my dispenser.

We use a lemon product and it is shaped like a hard plastic lemon and you can find it at Walmart in the dish detergent section. I apologize that I don't have the name but you can find it there and it just hangs on the rack and those glasses will be picture perfect for you.

Try adding a tbsp of Borax (20 mule team) to the dishwasher with your detergent. Borax is a water softener. I wouldn't add it to the cup, just toss it in before you start a load. Also, make sure there isn't anything in the dishwasher that could scour your dishes which is why some glasses look cloudy but clear when wet.

You can also add borax to the laundry to prevent hard water deposits from making your clothes dingy. I hope that helps

Hey K.-

I had the same problem. It looked so gross and I hated to have people over. I found Glass Magic (I'm in Yuma and Albertson's is the only place I can find it here). You put a quarter cup in the bottom of your dishwasher before every wash. Works great!!!!

It's in a small green box that looks like Cascade packaging.