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The Kitchen Table

cloudy glassware.

10 years ago

My ten year old Maytag dishwasher gets my dishes clean but lately there is a cloudy film on all the glassware. Any solutions to this?

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Comments (11)

pekemom
10 years ago
I use Finish tabs and also their dishwasher cleaner every month.Mine is a Whirlpool, very basic model that came with the house when it was built in 2005. My glasses are clear so far...
YogaLady1948
10 years ago
I use Finish, it is a rinse additive. My glasses were cloudy also with my old dishwasher, i did not use Finish then. When we got out new Kitchen Aid, there was a sample with it and I like it. I think it is because you have hard water??
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wwu I haven't these accurate measurements but they do comport with my *sense* of things too. Boosting the temp ten degrees did make a big difference empirically from "warm" to "low-hot" inside the DW. I do still, again without rigor, have the sense that using the internal water temp booster adds additional improvement, and that boosting the line temp would too. All the while noticing, again, that things are definitely hotter inside than formerly- that is, the internal coils are working. Yes, I recall upon purchasing the DW that it uses a remarkably little amount of water to clean, really qualitatively different/less than previous generations ... and wondering how that impacts things like internal water temperature piped in. Making sure the water at the tap is hot before running makes a big difference, but if you forget to turn on the machine at dishes-time meaning you have to wait for that water to get hot just by running water uselessly down the drain ... that feels pretty icky! Clothes I wash in tap-cold anyway (another reason the hardness issue might not have been showing up there for me). Seems an open question to me energy-conservation-wise as to whether it's better to boost the water temp specifically in the DW per run or at the insta-hot water machine and lose that extra boost while it travels inline. Probably the DW is less efficient at heating than the water box, but that water has to travel and thereby cool down .... ugh. At some point all this cogitating.... MAybe the "rule" should be if having to run from cold, then boost at the machine, but if you remember to turn on the machine at dishes time, it might not be so necessary ... though this doesn't really gybe with wwu's measurements.... fori - I suspect my upper arm spritzer has some clogging too. In the list of things to do (downstream) to get in there and check, somehow.
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linda_in_iowa
10 years ago
Load your cloudy glasses in the dishwasher. No other dishes. Put one cup of white vinegar in a bowl in the top rack and run the dishwasher through a complete cycle. It will get the glasses sparkly clean and clean your dishwasher at the same time.
sushipup1
10 years ago
If the cloudiness is due to hard water (calcium carbonate deposits), you an clean it off with vinegar or other acid. The other common cause of cloudiness is etching, which is cause by a combination of too soft water and too much detergent, so the glasses etch. Nothing will clear that up.
pkramer60
10 years ago
The cloudiness is due to a change in the soap, mandated by law. No more phosphates allowed since 1/1/13.

Finish and Cascade power tabs are the only ones that stop the haze.
sjerin
10 years ago
I use Lemishine with my tab for this purpose.
Lily316
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the tips. I use Cascade Complete. I'll try the vinegar trick. Everything comes clean, but it's just recently I noticed the cloudiness.
sheilajoyce_gw
10 years ago
I used Cascade all my life, but a couple of years ago, my glasses were cloudy too. The repairman suggested the Finish Power Ball detergent, explaining that the formula had changed. That took care of it.
Oakley
10 years ago
Lemishine. It does such a good job my store has a hard time keeping it in stock, so I always buy 2 at a time.
linda_in_iowa
10 years ago
I have been using Finish for several years and still get the cloudiness. That is why I use vinegar.
katlan
10 years ago
I bought the Cascade tablet thingys and my glasses had a film on them. I also noticed that I could feel a film/powdery coating on my flatware.

So now I toss in a half cup or so of vinegar in the dishwasher when it's filling up for the rinse cycle. When I remember to that is.

I don't use my dishwasher everyday. Sometimes only once a week or so. I usually just wash the few I have by hand.

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