I was thinking about getting a new washer. A service call later, I learned that phosporus additive was outlawed as of Jan 1 in 36 states and so all national brands are now phosphorus free. The phosphorus is what makes dishes sparkling clean. I was told some local store brands still have phosphorus as well as a separate additive you can buy called Lemi Shine, sold at grocery stores. Not sewing, but I hope I have saved at least one person a service call. :)

Yikes, Pennsylvania hasn't had phosphorous for years and years! I thought we had gotten rid of that all over the states, holy cow! I have a dishwasher, and hard water. Before we got the Culligan, I used Jet Dry, things came out nice, with Sam's Club powder detergent. My new house, Culligan, and new diswasher, the soft water I don't even bother with Jet Dry, but if you have soft water especially, too much soap will definitely etch or make that milky film on glasses!! More is NOT better. My new dishwasher, however is a dud, an el-cheapo that came with the package, and I have to wash dishes before I put them in there, or else I have coffee grounds on top of the cups, etc. The "disposer" doesn't exactly dispose. Uh, needless to say, I just took to washing them with good old Joy, and the dishwasher is just another dust catcher. But I never had a problem with the detergents without phosphorous, dishwasher or washing machine. Phosphorous is killing our lakes and rivers. Hugs, Marji

I use Jet Dry and I really didn't give the matter that much thought. As long as they are clean.....I also wash by hand, so maybe that is your alternative.

Vinegar is a great idea. I've also used Melaleuca dishwashing liquid. It is natural and environmentally safe. In fact, when I used it a few years ago, I liked it better than the products in the store. The downside is you have to pay for a membership every month. So, I no longer use it but I still like it.

Not so glad to hear I am not the only one with 'a film' on my dishes. Being out in the country I wasn't sure what the problem might be. I always use Jet Dry but still 'yukky' looking glasses. I started putting vinegar in at the beginning of starting my dishwasher and so far has helped. I have also started using vinegar when doing my laundry...even the laundry seems to look better.

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by shilly 28 Jun 2011

I hear lemon juice helps with stains too.

Yes, shes just to busy with other things, lol! I do dishes once a day during my busy times, as I AM the dishwasher, lol!

Thank you; good information.
*4u!
Hugs,
Jacqueline †

Thank you very much for the information. Learn something new every day!

Such an interesting question. We are also just two so hardly use the dishwasher these days unless I am entertaining. Although I do not live in USA I found the answers fascinating.

I was having so much trouble, I thought my dishwasher had gone bad on me. My husband took a bit of it apart, cleaned it, but it did not improve the results.

I switched brands, and started using Cascade Action Packs, and I really like the way my dishes are coming out. My glasses look clean again.

These are the ones I get... but I get them locally. They are priced much better. If you use coupons and if you find them on sale, you can save some money.

Thanks for posting this. We thought we were the only ones having trouble with our "dishwasher".

Discovered this after I had gotten a new dishwasher and found it wasn't doing any better at getting the tea stains out of the cups...same laws here in Canada..find using hot water helps will give the vinegar a try...thanks *4U

Just the 2 of us most of the time so I tend to hand wash now and put them in the dishwasher to air dry by leaving the dishwasher open a bit. My door doesn't have the advantage of staying open a bit so I use a tiny bungee cord hooked to the lock to hold it open.

Years ago when my dad built this house, he had the washing machine line draining out into the woods at the side of the house. Didn't hurt anything, but sure did help the undergrowth grow fast! Is no longer legal to do that, so ours goes into the septic tank now. Guess the stuff in the washing det. helped the stuff grow. But I also know you shouldn't use the gel dishwasher stuff as it'll eventually damage. Like the vinegar hint! I think you can use that stuff for everything! Cheap & safe. Now if I can just catch the rinse cycle!

Back to the old days of hand washing is still the best... But, I do use Jet Dry in my dishwasher as needed.

Thanks for the information. Glad to hear about the removal of chemicals. Becky

am i the only one who does the dishes by hand? we are only with 2 adults in the house , so I don't have that much dishes.

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by workbecky 09 Jun 2011

I wash a lot of dishes by hand. Husband works out of town and so it is only me. It would take more than a week to fill the dishwasher and then it would be mostly "glasses". I put quotes because we use plastic souvenir cups we collected from going to KC Royals games 25 years ago. You can barely read the design on the side of the cup.

Thanks for the info.

I think it is a good idea to reduce all that stuff that ends in the water and runs in the ocean. Better my dish is not so shiny but my kids can swim in the sea ;o)
Greetings, Bettina

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by workbecky 09 Jun 2011

I agree.

If you make sure your water is "hot" it will clean lots better inspite of the brand of detergent you add. Also if you add a spoon of the stuff that softens the water, rain soft, I think it's called, with the detergent it will help. I'm looking for a new dishwasher also. Doing a whole kitchen make over and what a mess. My whole kitchen is gone and we are starting from scratch. Problem is I have a new frig and it is in the bisc color and only a couple dishwashers come in that color and they are not what I like. I refuse to get a new frig. I've called a few places to see if they would paint my frig and they are surprised that I want such a thing done. I once had a frig that had been 3 different colors. Just took it to the auto body shop and they painted it. I think I can get a range/oven in that color so I don't know why the dishwasher doesn't come in that color... strange. We changed to the different stuff for the whole house softener also and it sure lasts a lot longer. We are also changing out our toilets to the kind that you Australians have that use just a little bit of water to flush. Love them...they are quiet, flush fast, don't clog, and are sleek so you don't have all those curves and spots to clean that are difficult to get to. They are also taller so us "mature" folks don't have to sit so far down....lol

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by capoodle 09 Jun 2011

The front panel on some dishwashers can be changed so you might want to see if you can insert a different panel and some can get a custom insert to match the cupboards. Good luck in your search and getting the kitchen back together.

I'm really glad to hear you are on your way to reduce that substance - it is one of the things that makes our waters unhealthy - things grow too much and it makes a problem in the ecosystem. I live by the Baltic (sea between Sweden-Finland-Estonia-Poland-Germany)and we are very upset and sad to see how it is dieing. Strange growth of algae is one problem, some poisonous. One part of the price for cleaner environment is a bit foggy glasses... Keep up the good work to reduce the use of chemicals, way to go! / Peggy

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by greysewist 28 Jun 2011

I agree that healthy oceans are way more important than shiny glasses. Sorry to hear you see such evidence that the water is not healthy. We have a lot of algae growing on our lakes here.

Thanks for the info.

Thanks!

I have a whole house water softener... use potassium instead of sodium. Works wonderfully!!!!

Found out that using too much dish washing compound will etch glass and if I run out of Jet Dry I just pour in white vinegar.

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by 1ladyb 09 Jun 2011

The vinegar cleans the dishwasher out too.

wow, thanks for the info. i went looking at dishwashers yesterday because mine is getting lazy!

I add Jet Dry to help everything rinse clean and pretty. But I still don't trust my glasses to the dishwasher. I've had too many get etching/scratches just from the dishwasher.

Isn't that interesting. Thanks for sharing.

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by bwalker40 08 Jun 2011

One cup of white vinegar in the rinse does the same thing as all the stuff they took out...