Are you absolutely positively positive you have hard water, have you had your water tested by a reputable lab or the county. Why I say this is because so many times people automatically associate white buildup with hard water when in fact they have the exact opposite, very soft water full of dissolved salts. Especially true with well water found on the western prairies. We had this type of water and no matter what I said, what reports I showed the neighbors they wouldn't listen. As far as they were concerned if it left white residue it was "hard water" so they went an installed a water softner, the fools wasted their money. Anyways, if you do have certified hard water the best hope is to install a water softener and be done with the problem. Now if you want to clean your dishwasher of any hard water buildup the first and cheapest route to try is a gallon of cheap white vinegar. Turn the machine on and as soon as you hear it starting to fill with water, open the door and pour in a gallon of vinegar. Let the machine run about 60 seconds and shut it off either by opening the door a crack or switching it off, not draining it. Let the vinegar sit in the dishwasher for a few hours or overnight then start it up again to finish its cycle to get rid of all the vinegar and smell. It's a lot cheaper than buying a little bottle of expensive dishwasher cleaner that may or may not work and which are basically just a mild acid like household vinegar. Only downside is your house will smell like a fish and chip shop for a day. Another thing that can cause your glasses to go white (etch) is from prerinsing your dishes. The harsh chemicals in dishwasher detergent need some dirt on the dishes to work on otherwise they work on etching your glassware. Just scrape your dishes of big stuff, don't rinse them off.

I have the worst problem with this and was wondering if anyone has any advice they can share. The water in my area is very hard and I'm looking into getting a water softener, although I hate the slippery/slimy feeling that water gets when you use a water softener. Thanks in advance!

I've been through this with our home that is now 15 years old. For many years before we remodeled our bathroom I was stymied by what seemed to be hard water stains on our glass (it's different, by the way, on tile). Glass is etched by our repeated use of cleaners and eventually, the water is etched into the glass and will never, never be cleaned out. If you are not in a position to remove and replace the glass, stop, STOP using caustic cleaners on your glass. Vinegar will remove immediate deposits but will not remove the etched-in deposits of repeated toxic cleaner use. You can try other non toxic glass cleaners that might brighten your glass as a whole, but you will not remove the etched in deposits from the past. Sorry -- been there.

You have extremely hard water! For your particular water chemistry maybe your local water company might have some suggestions. Also might be worth calling Whirlpool (maker of the he3t) and ask them. Might have to make believe you have the Whirlpool version so they will answer your question. Whirlpool does have 2nd level tech support so if the person answering your call doesn't know the answer, they will call up the chain. Don't bother calling Sears, you'll only get frustrated.