how do i get my dishwasher to stop leaving white powdery film on my glasses?

Question

My glasses have been coming out with a white residue on them for a while. you can wipe it off with a towel but you can't rinse it off. It's very fine - you can barely feel it but you can see its there. I've even tried changing the detergent and it hasn't worked.

My glasses have been coming out with a white residue on them for a while. you can wipe it off with a towel but you can't rinse it off. It's very fine - you can barely feel it but you can see its there. I've even tried changing the detergent and it hasn't worked. I've tried using jet dry and not using it and it hasn't changed anything. It didn't used to do this.

I've tried cascade 2in1 packs and using a gel detergent - no luck. I've never used powder detergent so i know that's not it. And in case you missed it i do already use jet dry.

I'm going to try the vinegar thing with the one upturned glass and see how it works. I'm interested in the CLR suggestion but anyone want to tell me how to get it into my lines? I have a portable dishwasher that i hook up to my faucet everytime. I figure i could just dump CLR into the bottom of the dishwasher and just run it but that wouldn't help the intake line.

Answer 1

I used to have this same problem a few years ago.
It could be one of a number of things, or a combination:

1) You might have hard water causing the residue.
2) You might be using more detergent than you need to & it's not all getting washed off. If you use powder or liquid detergent, try only filling the detergent cup-in-the-door half-way instead of to the rim.
3) Try running the hot water through the sink faucet, right before you start the dishwasher, so that hot water will instantly be there to run in the dishwasher, instead of it starting cold and having to warm up when you start the washer.


Using all the steps mentioned above, we've had successful dishwashing using liquid Cascade, Cascade 2in1 Action Packs, liquid Palmolive Spring Clean scent, Electrasol Gelpacs, and Electrasol Poweball Tabs. We haven't tried anything else, but what we have used (along with the steps above) has worked well. We haven't had to use any JetDry seperately from any of the aforementioned products (though some of the products, like the gelpac or tabs MIGHT have had JetDry in them).

Good luck & I hope these steps work for you!

Answer 2

It is caused by hard water in almost all cases. Even if you have a water softener, you will likely find (by finding the exact point your dishwasher taps in and tracing the piping back) that the feed to your dishwasher is NOT softened. You probably also see some wash cycles everything is almost pristine and others it's like the devil's brat was fingerpainting.

Things like Jet Dry are simply overwhelmed. So long as the water is flowing, they work well enough, but as soon as it begins to sit, the sheer quantity of muck is too much to help with. Drying cycles with a steamy mist just make it worse.

We still suffer from the problem as I am simply too lazy and usually out of time to get after shifting the tapping in point to the softened side of the water piping. I use Jet Dry because when I don't, every variation shifts up a notch in residue deposit. I also run an empty cycle now and then when I think we're near the heavy deposit end of the scale.

But sadly, the only real working solution for us at the moment (until I shift the water source) is to open the dishwasher as soon after I notice the wash/rinse cycles are over and hand dry everything so I avoid the extra deposits from the drying cycle and wipe off the muck that's already there when I wipe off the water. Tedious, but pretty successful.

By the way, that's the stuff left on you after a shower in unsoftened water. Often in a house, only the bathroom and hot water are softened as the softening process is said to leave a slightly salty taste in the water. I've never tasted it so I suppose I wouldn't care, but it's said to drive some people bonkers.

Lastly, shift that source tap in for the dishwasher and you will need noticeably more softener salt.

Answer 3

It could be that you need a different detergent (try several), water softener, or that your dishwasher needs cleaning, and there are industrial cleaners for the dishwasher itself. They sell them at the grocery stores, target, so on.
The soap I use is the Electrasol tabs that come with rinse agent and it works great. You could also add some jet dry to your dishwasher while using these tabs.
Another thing that could work is to run an empty wash with about a cup of vinegar in the hottest temperature available. You don't need to do a long wash, just the light wash, if your dishwasher has it. Try cleaning (by hand) the spaces between the door and the dishwasher, those spaces are easy to miss. I know, and could make a difference. The last thing, you might need to have your dishwasher serviced.

Answer 4

Dishwasher Leaves White Residue

Answer 5

Dishwasher Leaving Residue

Answer 6

I had this problem when I had low salt in my water-softener. It went away as soon as I fixed that problem and cleaned out my dishwasher to remove any of the mineral buildup on the inside. There is some kind of cleaning packet that you open and put in an empty dishwasher then run the dishwasher on high that will clean it right out.

All Jet-Dry does is help dishes dry faster so that streaks and lines from drips do not dry onto your dishes. It helps but not with mineral deposits like what you are describing.

I hope this helps

Answer 7

I'd say replace the dishwasher. If it's older, it's some unexplainable unknown. Hard water would have left spots all along, jet dry is a rinsing agent. The detergant is supposed to completely dissolve before the rinse, unless u are using too much. I do remodeling construction and have replace many dishwahsers with unexplainable quirks. If u use it alot, or have, it's time to retire.

Answer 8

It may depend on the hardness of your water as some posters are saying. Where I live now, I don't have that problem (either that or I'm using the right cleansing product in my dishwasher), but when I lived in the Midwest, I'd have that problem, and adding a little JetDry always helped.

Here, I use the Cascade/Dawn combo gel packs. Those have been working REALLY well and not leaving any residue. They're a little pricier than the powder detergent, but I get mine in bulk from wholesale stores like BJ's or Costco and it's pretty reasonable there.

Good luck!

Answer 9

Sounds like the water where you live has chemicals in it that leave a film. It is called "hardwater" because of this fim. Go to the grocery store and get a dishwashing powder with "hardwater film remover". Or you may have to buy a smaller separate box of powder just for this condition. I used to work at an apartment complex and we always encouraged the tenants to use a powder that came in a shiny green box. You can buy it at the grocery store. It is a very well known brand. I think the name of it starts with a "C". It always worked the best. Try this and remember to look for a washing powder that treats for "hardwater". Good luck.

Answer 10

We have extremely hard water and no water softener. So we use Cascade gel, and Jet-Dry, which usually works fine. When the white stuff starts building up, my husband runs a gallon of white vinegar through the dishwasher on a normal cycle with no dishes, of course. Then it clears up again for a while.

Hope it helps!