Dishwasher Care for the Cleanest Dishes

Dishwashers save you time and keep you free of dishpan hands but to ensure your dishes are as clean as they can be follow our care advice. Avoid spotty glasses or crust plates and bowls and keep your dishes spotless and clean with our dishwasher maintenance & care tips.

Tips for Clean Dishes and Spotless Glasses

• Soft water is highly recommended. It helps the dishwasher perform as designed. Test for hard water and purchase a water softener in necessary.
• Scrape the dishes off before putting them in the dishwasher. A restricted wash system results in immediate filming and unsanitary conditions. “Do not wash your dishes before washing your dishes”! Don’t confuse scraping with washing. We need dirty dishes to get clean dishes. The detergent needs the soil to do its thing and break down as it should.
• Always purge the hot water at the sink until it is hot just before running the dishwasher. This will ensure the first fill is hot. Also, check to make sure that your hot water heater is set between 120-125 degrees. Most units are shipped turned way down. Keep in mind that hotter is not better. Any hotter with these new dishwashers and you get what is called flash drying. This is when the environment in the dishwasher is so hot that after the final rinse, instead of the water running off the glass taking with it all its impurities, it is instantly baked on.
• Choose the correct cycle. The average consumer wants to use the shortest cycle possible to save money and then blame the dishwasher for not cleaning. Shorter is not necessarily better. Once you’ve chosen the proper cycle do not interrupt it.
• Don’t use a detergent that has a rinse aid in it and also put liquid rinse aid in the dispenser. This causes suds in the final rinse. Plain CASCADE® and a rinse aid in the dispenser are recommended.
• For getting rid of film try a product called GLISTEN®. Follow the instructions, bearing in mind that you may need to do it twice. If the problem is not corrected, disassembly may be necessary and possibly even part replacement. GLISTEN® is also a deodorizer. It is recommended that you use it twice a year whether you need it or not.  An ounce of prevention is better than a ton of cure.

Return to our Appliance Care Tips resource.