Hard-water build up in dishwasher

ashleybunny8 · June 2013

Yesterday I ran our dishwasher in our new house for the first time. When I put the dishes in, they were completely rinsed- no food residue at all! But when I took them out, they were gross! Food particles and water stains were on them, and they felt so disgusting. I ended up hand-washing all of them.

The dishwasher has quite a bit of hard-water build up in it, but I am honestly clueless when it comes to deep cleaning a dishwasher. I used dishwasher cleaning tablets twice on the hottest cycle right when we moved in (before I used it), but clearly that did nothing...

Any tips? What should I use? Will I need to take the dishwasher apart?

ashleybunny8 · June 2013

Nest Cayla:
There has to be some sort of cleaner that you can put in your dishwasher to help not only clean your dishes but to help this problem.
What detergent do you use?

I use cascade gel tablets. I have used them before in our last two dishwashers with no problem..

All of the dishwasher cleaners I have used are labeled "deep-cleaning" and whould not be used when dishes are in the washer, but they have not helped... I am thinking I may need to resort to a scrub brush and good, old-fashioned elbow grease.

musictchr25 · June 2013

Check the trap in the bottom of the dishwasher for food debris and hard buildup. You will likely need to remove the bottom pull out and the "strainer" at the bottom of the dishwasher to clean this out. If you use any type of cleaner aside from traditional dishwasher detergent, make sure that you rinse it well and that it's not a sudsy soap - if any sudsy material is left in the dishwasher, it will likely leak out during the next load is run. Typically, vinegar is a common household cleaner and is safe for cleaning your dishwasher.

SoyJoy222 · June 2013

musictchr25:
Check the trap in the bottom of the dishwasher for food debris and hard buildup. You will likely need to remove the bottom pull out and the "strainer" at the bottom of the dishwasher to clean this out. If you use any type of cleaner aside from traditional dishwasher detergent, make sure that you rinse it well and that it's not a sudsy soap - if any sudsy material is left in the dishwasher, it will likely leak out during the next load is run. Typically, vinegar is a common household cleaner and is safe for cleaning your dishwasher.

Agreed....I put a vinegar in a coffee mug and place it on the bottom rack of the dishwasher every other wash...the vinegar gets the hard water stains off of the dishes, the inside of the washer and gets rid of any odor build up. I do this in conjunction with my dish detergent/pre rinse...the vinegar just gives it a boost every once in a while.

mdupon70997 · June 2013

I've heard that running a cycle of apple cider vinegar (without the dishes) really helps with the hard water build-up. I've also heard that using it in conjunction with your detergent to clean your dishes really makes them sparkle.

Hard-water build up in dishwasher

Re: Hard-water build up in dishwasher

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