On Mon, 03 Jan 2011 11:38:19 -0600, Steve Barker
wrote:

On 1/3/2011 9:37 AM, Robert Neville wrote:
wrote:

It worked perfectly all year. We went on a ski vacation during the
week before Christmas and were gone for five days, during which time
the dishwasher was not used. When we got back, it started leaving
specks of dirt or food or whatever on some of the dishes. This
condition seems to be getting worse. I can't see why a week of
inactivity would cause this but this is the only time we were away for
an extended period of time and the problem started when we returned.

A couple of months ago, a number of states outlawed the use of phosphates in
dishwasher detergent. Phosphates in detergents act as both a cleaner as well as
holding particles in suspension.

P&G, the largest manufacturer, decided that they would reformulate their
dishwasher detergents in all states as they didn't want the cost of managing
different formulations of the same brand and the other manufacturers followed
along.

As stocks are drawn down and people buy new detergent, they are discovering how
crappy non-phosphate detergents work. Without phosphates, you get the results
you noticed.

That was last July they did that and you are correct. The best way is
to add the phosphate back in by adding a cup of TSP (from the deck
cleaner aisle at the big box store) to a new box of detergent. Also,
adding a cup of distilled white vinegar to each load works wonders also.
One other thing, 140 degree water is essential to clean dishes. Most
people THINK they're saving money or being safer or some other dumbass
**** like that by turning down the water heater, but i can assure you,
if you have a service call, the first thing the guy is gonna check is
the water temp. If it's below 140, he's done.

Get a DW with a heating element. Our water to the DW will never get to 140F.
It's too far from the water heater.