Haze on glasses from dishwasher

[bae]

My old dishwasher finally gave up the ghost. After some trouble, a new dishwasher was procured and installed.

It works fine, except after some months of use, a hazy buildup is accumulating on my clear glassware. It's a film of some sort, I can scrape it off with a fingernail and some effort.

Our water here is a bit hard, but not terribly so.

Q1: Any ideas for removing this haze from the glasses?
Q2: Any ideas how to prevent it in the future?

We're using the same detergent we used to use, and the Jet Dry voodoo stuff as we used to.

[Alan]

I don't have any idea how to eliminate this at the source, but we have had some success by adding a cup of vinegar in the final rinse.

[bae]

As a test, I just soaked a glass in a weak solution of water and vinegar. It started bubbling almost immediately, and after 45 mins, the glass is completely clear. Score.

[Alan]

:+1:

[Sad Eyed Lady]

This was happening to me at one time and I read that using too much detergent can cause this. I use less now and have had no problem since.

[iris lily]

ok you geniuses, I can't figure out what putting vinegar in the rinse means.

Do ya mean I have to stand there and wait for the right time to do it? Then I open the door and throw vinegar inside?

I knlow that vinegar works, my mom tuaght me to do a vinegar wash of my hair because it remoes the soap scum and makes everything sparkle. I just don't know how to apply it.

[Rosemary]

Don't add vinegar if the dishwasher detergent contains bleach!

[redfox]

I don't have any idea how to eliminate this at the source, but we have had some success by adding a cup of vinegar in the final rinse.

Great tip, Alan! thanks...

[Alan]

ok you geniuses, I can't figure out what putting vinegar in the rinse means.

Do ya mean I have to stand there and wait for the right time to do it? Then I open the door and throw vinegar inside?



Yeah, pretty much.

[Anne Lee]

In the past year or so most dish detergents have removed phosphorous from their formulas due to legislation passed in several states. Apparently Proctor and Gambel et al did not want to have create different formulas for different markets. I've noticed the same haze on my glasses since that point. I don't know why phosphorous would help prevent scale build up - maybe because it attracted the lime molecule since P is a very sticky molecule? - but the two events are suspiciously close to my liking.

The haze went away when we upgraded our water softener. Our water is extremely hard so softening really is a necessity or else eventually your appliances start to stain. We were using a $50 second hand softener. The new one was something like $600, so it's obvious the old one was on its way out, probably for quite a while.

The vinegar trick will work too as hard water tends to be lime which is alkali.

[dovergirl]

Lemi Shine dishwasher additive. Citric acid? crystals that you add to the dishwasher.

[Zippy]

I second the Lemi Shine recommendation, which I get from Target. The haze also began for me once the dishwasher formula was changed a few months ago. The Lemi Shine takes care of it.

[Greg44]

I have been experimenting with how little of detergent I use and am amazed how little I need. We don't use any Jet Dry,
short wash, and only part of those one cup thingies (tech term) filled. I even tried plates with dried egg on them and presto they were clean. I felt so smug. It is about half of the amount of "Finish" I normally used. Using 1/2 as much - lasts twice as long! No film on glass issues.

[earthshepherd]

several times a year, my dad soaks his glassware in a bucket of vinegar water to remove the film left on them by the dishwasher. He explained the whole chemical reaction to me, but I don't remember exactly what reacts with what! Vinegar works is all I know.

I don't have this problem because I have two energy efficient dishwashers -- DH, and myself!