Disnwasher- dishes never rinse clean! Soapy film.

[SDSorority]

Hi all! Is there a cheap way to help my dishes rinse clean in the dishwasher? I don't know why, but lately every time I have taken them out, there has been this soapy film (like cloudy) on everything! I notice it on my glasses the most. When I fill them up at the fridge with water, there's a ton of bubbles (GROSS!), but then when I rinse them at the sink and re-fill, the bubbles are gone. I have vinegar as the rinse agent in there right now, and use Method tablets for the dish detergent. I do have hard water if that makes any difference?

THANKS FOR ANY ADVICE!

 

[lukenick1]

I have the same problem......even my silverware are filmy. I know its not my dishwasher its brand new and a kitchen aid.

 

[seashoreCM]

A quick (in terms of your effort and labor) method is to run it another cycle without detergent. Ideally you want to interrupt the cycle just after the dry portion starts, and repeat just the two rinse portions and the full dry portion. On some models it is not possible to restart the cycle in the middle because the dial is not exposed, but you might be able to abort the first cycle just as the dry portion starts and have a short cycle to choose from for repeating purposes.

Hard water may interact with detergent making rinsing off less effective. Here, repeating the rinse portion of the cycle should work.

Other things to investigate:
1. The dishes are not arranged properly or shifted position so as to block the spraying of water inside.
2. A component (such as a rotating boom or spinner that sprays water inside) has failed.
3. You use too much detergent. On the other hand, some hard water conditions make it impossible to cut back on amount of detergent.
4. Not enough water is admitted during each washing portion of the cycle; you may need a service person to come make the adjustment. This is critical because too much water admitted will result in some spilling out onto the floor.

Keeping things clean: http://www.cockam.com/clean.htm

I usually repeat the rinse portion of the cycle (also the pre-rinse) when washing clothes, usually by stopping it just as the main rinse begins and turning the dial around as if to restart with "wash, 5 minutes". The complete cycle goes: wash, pre-rinse, (manual intervention), wash without detergent, pre-rinse, rinse, spin dry.

 

[Lisa_M]

We had this problem when we used "Finish" brand detergent. We now use Cascade original powder and generally have no issues. We also use Lemi-shine. So our routine is have the one container that closes with Cascade, a dash of lemi-shine in it, close it. We have to do a hot pre-wash and then we're fine. However we have a lousy apartment dishwasher that leaks out the jet-dry.

 

[dfchelbay]

We had this same problem and found that if we turned the kitchen faucet on to get the water hot before we turned on the dishwasher it solved the problem. Try running the water in the sink for a few minutes until it's hot to the touch, turn it off and then turn on the dishwasher.

 

[Jajone]

We have a brand new Kenmore and have the same problem. Tried all the above solutions. Had their repair guy look at it and he said hard water was the problem. Hmmm always had hard water, no problems x10 years with the old dishwasher. Because the new ones use less water and more powerful, he says the hard water is the problem. Now we are on to buying a water softener.

 

[Them!]

Use less soap. Sounds funny but it worked for me. I can't use liquid detergents in my dw. I have to break a tablet in half and put one part in the pre rinse and the rest in the regular dispenser. Weird!!!!
Vinegar and lemi-shine both work too.

edit: I also have a problem with hard food and such getting stuck in my dw's grinder assembly. I had service out 3 times in 2 years about this. When that part gets partially clogged the sprayers get weak. We actually had peanuts stuck in there last time.

 

[SDSorority]

Running the rinse is a great idea!!! I'm. Trying that now!!

A quick (in terms of your effort and labor) method is to run it another cycle without detergent. Ideally you want to interrupt the cycle just after the dry portion starts, and repeat just the two rinse portions and the full dry portion. On some models it is not possible to restart the cycle in the middle because the dial is not exposed, but you might be able to abort the first cycle just as the dry portion starts and have a short cycle to choose from for repeating purposes.

Hard water may interact with detergent making rinsing off less effective. Here, repeating the rinse portion of the cycle should work.

Other things to investigate:
1. The dishes are not arranged properly or shifted position so as to block the spraying of water inside.
2. A component (such as a rotating boom or spinner that sprays water inside) has failed.
3. You use too much detergent. On the other hand, some hard water conditions make it impossible to cut back on amount of detergent.
4. Not enough water is admitted during each washing portion of the cycle; you may need a service person to come make the adjustment. This is critical because too much water admitted will result in some spilling out onto the floor.

Keeping things clean: http://www.cockam.com/clean.htm

I usually repeat the rinse portion of the cycle (also the pre-rinse) when washing clothes, usually by stopping it just as the main rinse begins and turning the dial around as if to restart with "wash, 5 minutes". The complete cycle goes: wash, pre-rinse, (manual intervention), wash without detergent, pre-rinse, rinse, spin dry.

 

[StephMK]

I had that same problem when I tried to use an environmentally friendly version - Palmolive maybe? It also happened w/some store brands. When I switched back to Cascade powder, I don't have that issue anymore. Plus I love the way Cascade smells!

 

[eduk8r26]

Another one for Lemi-shine. I've tried everything, and that's the only thing that works. That and Cascade powder.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

Dump two packets of lemonade kool-aid in the soap compartment and run it empty with no heated dry. The citric acid will help clean out any soap and hard water residue from the dishwasher.

 

[MickeyManiac]

We have the same problem with our Whirlpool. The repairman told us to go to the pharmacy and have them order citric acid crystals. (about $20) I am amazed how well this works. We fill the soap dispenser with the crystals and run an empty cycle everytime we start noticing the cloudiness again. I only have to do it every few months. It makes a huge difference. It's been about 2 years and I still have more than half a bottle left.

 

[LMN]

We had this problem when we used "Finish" brand detergent. We now use Cascade original powder and generally have no issues. We also use Lemi-shine. So our routine is have the one container that closes with Cascade, a dash of lemi-shine in it, close it. We have to do a hot pre-wash and then we're fine. However we have a lousy apartment dishwasher that leaks out the jet-dry.

this is funny...we have the exact opposite problem. We had terrible filminess with Cascade and now use Finish and have no filminess at all!

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

Pour a 1/2 cup of vinegar in the bottom when you start it. Really helps out with hard water stains.

 

[Justsyd2]

We use this. It costs about a dollar per month, less with a coupon.

 

[kkfisher]

We had the same problem, and hard water was the cause. My dishes turn out clean ONLY when the salt is in the water softener. If they come out filmy, I know I need to add more salt to our water softener.

 

[DawnM]

We have well water, so I don't know if it is soft or not.

Our problem was the dish soap. We use Cascade liquid or those little gel things (I think they are Finish), and we don't have the problem.

I also run vinegar as my rinse at least a couple times per month.

Dawn

 

[bas71873]

I didn't read the entire thread, but about twice per month, I run and empty cycle with no dishwasher soap, and only a glass full of white vinegar. Seems to work getting the dishwasher itself "clean". Thanks.

 

[maleficentmom]

We had this problem when we used "Finish" brand detergent. We now use Cascade original powder and generally have no issues. We also use Lemi-shine. So our routine is have the one container that closes with Cascade, a dash of lemi-shine in it, close it. We have to do a hot pre-wash and then we're fine. However we have a lousy apartment dishwasher that leaks out the jet-dry.

I second the Lemishine!

 

[SDSorority]

I second the Lemishine!

I am going to have to try this! I tried half of a tablet of the method dish soap and the extra rinse cycle, and it helped some, but there's still cloudiness.