Save me from having to buy a new dishwasher

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m having one of those weeks where everything major breaks at once, but I’m hoping that I can at least salvage the dishwasher.

All of a sudden, we’re getting a very thick, heavy white film on all of our dishes - like heavy enough that we wouldn’t even try to eat off of them. And it was sudden. One load was fine, the next had this horrible film. I made sure the rotor was able to rotate freely. I opened the door in the middle of the cycle and confirmed that water was coming out of everywhere it was supposed to. I checked our water softener, and it still has plenty of salt. As an aside, we do have hard water, but when we moved in, we didn’t use the softener for about a year, and never had this problem with the dishes, even when the shower head was clogging up with scale every few weeks. As far as I can see, there are no broken parts inside the dishwasher.

I’ve seen a few people recommend running it empty with some vinegar a few times - how do you do that, just throw some vinegar in the bottom of the washer before starting? Doesn’t it drain out? Any other advice?

Thanks in advance.

2

I’ve never had a problem with vinegar draining out, but if you’re worried about it, just start the dishwasher and let it begin to fill, then add a cup of vinegar and run it through the rest of the cycle.

Other suggestions. Do you use a rinse agent like Finish or Cascade? If so, is the dispenser working properly?

Can you disconnect the water line and see whether it’s full of scale (or anything else)?

3

We have hard water, and no water softener. What we do is put a mug right side up in the top rack, and fill it with vinegar.

Probably also worth checking that the dishwasher is running hot (let it start to run, then open and check the temperature). Presumably you haven’t changed any settings without noticing?

And yes, check that any rinse agent is being dispensed properly.

There is a decent dishwasher cleaner called Dishwasher Magic, we have used that sometimes when we started getting a film.

4

I once let a broken dishwasher just take up space for several months convinced it was seriously broken and there would be no way around 500$ for a new one!

I hand washed the dishes for a few months, till I had a repairman in for the washer. I asked. He fixed. Took less than 20 mins, cost just over $100.:smack:

I should have just called at the time. If you don’t get any success with thread suggestions consider just calling the guy!

Wish I’d wished up sooner! Still using the same dishwasher 3yrs later without issue!

5

You can buy cleaning stuff for dishwashers, just run it empty with the cleaning stuff in it.

First, make sure you clean the filter.

6

We get the horrible white film build-up, ever since dishwasher detergents were changed (took out phosphates or something). Once a week I throw in a quarter to half cup of white vinegar at the end of the entire cycle and reset to run the rinse cycle. It works.

7

Dishwasher Magic really is magic, in my experience. I found it at the grocery store, near the dishwasher soap.

We also live in an area with very hard water, and find that Cascade liquid detergent with bleach is the one that leaves the dishes most residue-free on a regular basis.

8

All you have to do to get a new dishwasher is have a child, then wait about eight years, until hand/eye coordination really kicks in.

As my dad said, he had three dishwashers, me and my two sisters.

9

If you use a Rinse-Aid (ie Jet Dry), take a look to see if it ran out.

10

There’s a filter on my dishwasher I’m supposed to be cleaning?

11
  1. What brand of dishwasher?
  2. Have you noticed water pooling even after the dish washing cycle is over?
  3. Some dishwashers have traps for large pieces of food and such. Have you cleaned yours lately (if so equipped)?
12

Vinegar.

Pour a half cup in the dishwasher, then put the real dishwasher powder in the correct spot.

I know it seems odd, and you would think the vinegar would just drain right away, but this works! We had the same problem with our relatively new, fairly expensive, dishwasher. After only a few washes using vinegar in every wash, the difference was night and day.

Cheap and effective - and we are proof this works!

We buy the gallon jug of generic vinegar - I think it is about $3 - and it lasts for a long time. And no, nothing comes out smelling like vinegar.

13

There’s a product called “lemi-shine” or something like that which is supposed to be helpful in situations like this. I

If you do end up buying a new one, the Maytag Jetclean ones are pretty awesome.

14

I second the Dishwasher magic and using Cascade. These were tips given us by a dishwasher repair guy. I also throw vinegar in periodically because with a large family, I rarely can spare the dishwasher for an empty load. When you use it, select all the heavy-duty options.

15

We don’t use any sort of rinse aid like Jet-Dri or whatnot. I did run a cycle with vinegar in it, though I couldn’t see any buildup on any of the jets or the screen or anything. The filmy dishes were still filmy after running them through the post-vinegar wash, but new, non-filmy dishes looked great. So the dishwasher was working again, but the film was too strong for it. We had to hand-scrub those to get rid of it.

Anyway, it seems to be working OK now. Weird.

Thanks, everyone.

16

We get the same film periodically and, yes, I can confirm that once it’s baked on there you have to hand-scrub it off with Ajax or Barkeeper’s Friend. :frowning:

17

Dump in a cheap powdered Lemon drink mix package with the Cascade. The citric acid wipes out the white film.

Sounds nuts, but it works.

I buy the cheap storebrand stuff when it goes on sale for “10/$1”.

Try it, really!

Our water is sooo bad, it actually etched the paint on a Honda from sprinkler over-spray. :eek:

18

Eek is right. How close do you live to the treatment plant?

19

Thanks for this thread. My dishwasher hasn’t been the same since phosphates were removed from the detergent. I’m going to try the vinegar thing tonight.

20

It will work.
However, it might take a few times using vinegar to fix it, depending on how hard the build up of calcium is - but you should see a difference by about the 4th or 5th wash at the latest.