What can you do about a cloudy film on your glassware?

Answer

Glassware washed in an automatic dishwasher occasionally develops a cloudy film, which may be one of two different problems.

Hard water film is caused by very hard water or not enough detergent to soften the water. A failure of a home or municipal water softening system may temporarily make the water too hard. If vinegar applied to the film spot for a minute or so removes it, this is a hard water film. You can reduce this problem by using the maximum recommended amount of detergent, or stop it by installing a water softener. Also check to be sure the detergent cup fits tight and works all right so detergent is released at proper time in wash cycles.

Silica film is caused by high phosphate detergents in very hot (above 140 F.) water that has been softened. Insufficient rinsing also increases this, since detergent is not removed. This begins as a colored film (like oil in water) which can be removed by scratching with a pin. Later on it become cloudy and cannot be removed by scratching. You cannot remove it with vinegar or other acids; it is permanent. The glass is permanently etched. Some glass is more resistant to this than others. You can slow the buildup by using no more detergent than needed for soil removal, using water no hotter than 140 F., and loading so all detergent is rinsed off.

[Info from the Home Maintenance And Repair Database at the Michigan State University website]

Answer

We live in a city where the water is extremely hard. I've tried vinegar solutions and expensive detergents. The thing that works the best for my dishes and glassware is a product called "Lemishine". We find it at our local store who will special order it for us. It's great on mineral build-up on showers, sinks etc. Ask your local store if they can special order things for you.

There is a new product out that actually filters the water going into your dishwasher. It reduces the minerals in hard water so your glasses are not left with that cloudy filmy look. The first load I ran my dishes came out spotless. I was amazed! You can get the filtration system at www.dishwasherfilter.com and if you enter the discount code DFMTEN you will get 10% off. The product is affordable and has a mone back gurantee. Hope this helps.

First answer by anonymous. Last edit by Mambro1. Contributor trust: 4 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 150 [recommend question]

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