I live in Utah, where we have very hard water. Ideally, I would like to have a water softener installed to treat the hard water. And maybe when I find a spare $3000 I'll add that to my home. But since I don't have thousands of dollars in the couch cushions, here is the next best thing to keep your dishwasher looking like new. I can't take credit for this tip. This one was sent to me by my sister-in-law, Cheyenne.
Lemi Shine Dish Detergent Booster! Lemi Shine also has another product specific to cleaning your dishwasher, but I found this to be just as effective. I was able to find it at my regular grocery store next to the dishwasher detergent. This product can be added to each load to help eliminate that hazy film that sometimes gets left behind on your dishes, often caused by hard water. The instructions are very simple. They suggest that before you start adding this booster to your regular cycles, that you run it through an empty dishwasher to clean existing film. So that's what I did.
I currently use powdered Cascade soap (much cheaper than the packets), along with Jet Dry to eliminate spots and help the dishes dry faster. And I have loved those products. But I noticed my dishwasher racks were getting harder to pull out, and the plastic parts inside the dishwasher were covered in a white film. So after my sister-in-law used this and sent me her results, I had to give it a try. And here are my before and after pictures:
Before
After
I wasn't very good at getting the exact same images for before and after, but I think the results are very east to see! After running Lemi Shine through an empty dishwasher on a regular cycle, I noticed a huge difference. I think the biggest change is how easily the racks glide in and out now. You can clearly see a lot of residue buildup on the rack glides in the before pictures. But in the after pictures it's almost completely gone!
Lemi Shine suggests continuing to add a small amount of the booster to each load in the Prewash section. It does caution that it can ruin some dishes and silverware because it is made out of citric acid. So I haven't tried that yet. I'm a little afraid to ruin my silverware.
One day I'll get a water softener installed. But until then, I will continue to Lemi Shine for cleaning the dishwasher on a more regular basis. If you use this product, send me your before and after pictures!
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