topic Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ?? in Kitchen

WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Tinkrbl44 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 22:24:42 GMT

I have an older model dishwasher that is not completely cleaning the dishes and I'm asking you to brainstorm with me here .....

I use a generic brand of DW soap and that has seemed fine up to this point, but now I'm thinking I should buy a box of a name brand powder (not liquid) soap, to compare if the soap's the problem. (any brands you can recommend?)

I also seem to remember seeing some comments here somewhere about cleaning the washer with some white vinegar .... or was it baking soda ..... or was that to clean the clothes washing machine?

Any suggestions or recommendations ??

Thanks!!

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

My3girls_1 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 22:36:23 GMT

I had the same issue with mine. Tried the vinegar rinse (I googled how to do it), and that didn't really help much. I switched to Cascade Platinum pods and the difference was amazing! I thought I was going to have to buy a new dishwasher. Those pods saved us! They cost more, but so well worth it.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

jenfriday — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:10:31 GMT

I use LEMI-SHINE in addition to my dish washing tablets. The Lemi-Shine gets rid of the spots and film on my dishes.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

RacerGirl — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:13:39 GMT

Even though we have municipal water, the water is still very hard. So, in addition to the dish detergent, we add about 1/2C-1C of Heinz Cleaning Strength Vinegar. Wal-Mart sells gallons of it next to the regular strength -- the cleaning version has green on the label.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

bogeymama — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:13:46 GMT

Run, do not walk, and pick up some Oxi Clean dishwasher detergent. I tried Lemmi Shine, dishwasher cleaner, etc etc. My dishes come out spotless every time. I don't rave about much but this stuff is awesome.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

AnikaBrodie — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:19:29 GMT

I use the Finish Powerball single packets and my dishes sparkle.

<h1 class="product">Finish^® All In 1 Powerball^® Tabs Fresh Scent</h1>

Thanks to its unique technology, our powerful tabs give you an amazing clean and Jet-Dry® shine – which means you’ll never have to re-wash your dishes ever again. Just imagine what you could do with all that extra time!

Our revolutionary Pre-Soaking Powerball® bursts into action to scrub away the toughest food residues like dried on food like lasagna and oatmeal.
Our powerful cleaners remove even the toughest stains, like coffee and tea, and gently scrub your dishes and glasses sparkling clean.
Jet-Dry® rinse aid rinses away residues and helps to eliminate spots and film, delivering sparkling shine.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

millieshops — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:37:32 GMT

On 10/27/2014 AnikaBrodie said:
I use the Finish Powerball single packets and my dishes sparkle.

<h1 class="product">Finish^® All In 1 Powerball^®Tabs Fresh Scent</h1>

Thanks to its unique technology, our powerful tabs give you an amazing clean and Jet-Dry® shine – which means you’ll never have to re-wash your dishes ever again. Just imagine what you could do with all that extra time!

Our revolutionary Pre-Soaking Powerball® bursts into action to scrub away the toughest food residues like dried on food like lasagna and oatmeal.

Our powerful cleaners remove even the toughest stains, like coffee and tea, and gently scrub your dishes and glasses sparkling clean.

Jet-Dry® rinse aid rinses away residues and helps to eliminate spots and film, delivering sparkling shine.

Anika - this is the product recommended to me by the technician I had at my condo last spring. He'd come for a gasket problem which he fixed so quickly that he took time to check more. AS he worked, he talked, telling me the high-level Cascde pods I was using have been giving people problems - too much product, he said.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Dorothy11 — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:51:01 GMT

When I was a kid, My mom would run the dishwasher through a cycle empty with Tang. Remember Tang? The dishwasher came out sparkling clean. She wouldn't let me drink it.

I will occasionally pour about a half cup of bleach in with a cycle. I don't drink that either.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Buck-i-Nana — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 23:54:27 GMT

You should check and see if you have a hard debris filter that probably needs to be cleaned out.

I have a 12 year old Kitchen Aid dishwasher. I use Cascade Platinum, JetDry (liquid) Vinegar rinse aid, and while I don't wash my dishes before putting them in my dishwasher I do ensure they are fairly well rinsed.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

AuntG — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:06:33 GMT

I give my dishwasher thanks and praise (my DH does the dishes).

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Cookie777 — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:09:09 GMT

I use white vinegar rinse when needed and cascade

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Carmie — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 00:41:55 GMT

On 10/27/2014 My3girls said: I had the same issue with mine. Tried the vinegar rinse (I googled how to do it), and that didn't really help much. I switched to Cascade Platinum pods and the difference was amazing! I thought I was going to have to buy a new dishwasher. Those pods saved us! They cost more, but so well worth it.

I loved Cascade Platinum pods until I washed aluminum cake pans with it. They all turned black. I can still use them, but would not feel comfortable serving guests with such ugly pans. I am careful when using this dishwashing agent now.

Just last week, my dishwasher was causing a film on my glasses and dark colored dishes. I replaced the rinse agent, but everything was still cloudy.

My husband cleaned out the filter (he said there was a paste like substance on the bottom of it) and ran a super hot cycle with baking soda and vinegar. Now my glasses sparkle again.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

emmysmom — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:30:20 GMT

Finish Powerballs were the best remedy for cloudiness..it really works! I did run it for a couple of cycles, but it was amazing. I get mine at Walmart..its because they took out the phosphates several years ago for enviornmental reasons,and the cleaning power wasn't the same!

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Q4u — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:39:55 GMT

I use Cascade Platinum pods from the time they hit the market and the difference between what I was using (I switched around a lot) was amazing! Spots and cloudiness disappeared and my dishes and pans look great. I switched back to the plain Cascade and was surprised it didn't do nearly as well. So back to the Platinum I go... for me, it's worth the cost.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Q4u — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:42:02 GMT

Interesting about the aluminum cake pans, I put in an aluminum pizza pan all the time and nothing has happened to it. Thanks for the heads up, I'll hand wash some of my pans from now on....

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

ical — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:43:50 GMT

Finish Quantum!

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

glmama — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:55:12 GMT

We typically use the Finish packets mentioned above, but we use other brands and types on occasion, too. One thing I always do is give the machine a few splashes of white vinegar before running a load (I also put it in the extra detergent area). I think it helps.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

LoreeH — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 02:03:46 GMT

Same problems here, use bleach about once a month to really clean it out. Add it after the first few minutes though so it doesn't drain it out. I use the Cascade pods with Dawn and I love the results. Did use the Finish but seems like they quit working as well after a while where the Cascade is still doing the job.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

ThinkOutsidetheBox — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 06:30:01 GMT

I am wary of using anything with too many chemicals in it on the dishes...shine this, sparkle that, etc. My biggest success with keeping the dishwasher running great and smelling fresh is to periodically do an empty run with something called Dishwasher Magic inside. It cleared up a clogging problem I got a few years back after using Method tablets for a while. I now use DM about every six months for maintenance. Our dishwasher is fifteen years old. It is loud, and I wish it WOULD die so I can get something quieter, but so far so good for the condition of it. We also use Grab Green pods or homemade dishwasher soap using recipes we find on Pinterest.

Re: WHAT KEEPS YOUR DISHWASHER RUNNING WELL ??

Sunshine — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 07:32:03 GMT

We just switched to Oxiclean dishwasher detergent. Cascade and Lemishine wasn't cutting it anymore.