In article , Larry Jaques
wrote:
On Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:37:28 -0400, Joe Gwinn
and others wrote:
I'm trying everything. Everything before the Alcojet first -- $35 for
four pounds?? That tilts my cheapskate meter, but if all else fails...
I have a box or two. It stores well, and is very effective.
One of the things I noticed when the detergents changed in ~2010 was
that coffee and tea cups developed a tightly adhering brown film that
even hand scrubbing didn't touch.
Alconox, the original lab detergent (which I first heard of while in
college), is intended for hand washing of labware, and so I tried it,
and noticed that the brown film peeled right off after a little
soaking.
http://tinyurl.com/dxau9av They don't give it away, do they?
$8-10 a pound, delivered.
Nope. But the stuff really works, and the lab community loves it, and
have for decades. I learned of it in the late 1960s, and it was the
standard then.
Coffee and tea stains are still the waterloo of non-phosphate
detergents.
Alconox is also very good in ultrasonic cleaners.
I picked up a little ultrasonic in CA when I was there last year.
Vinegar is likely going to work for me, until proven inadequate.
Actually, what really works is 10% isopropyl alcohol in water,
according to the books on the engineering of ultrasonic cleaning
systems I have read.
What make and model of dishwasher do you have? I think I remember it
was a Bosch.
A buddy of mine worked in the appliance repair biz for a decade and
has made an oath to never buy a Bosch appliance. He said they break
at the tip of a hat and are expensive as hell to repair, with delays
for parts, etc. He really hates them. It surprised me. I've only
seen one and it was on when I was looking at it. I couldn't hear it!
When was that? Consumer Reports gave Bosch good grades, and I've had
the current one for at least 12 years so far. The only repair needed
was to replace a hose. And it is quiet, a big reason I chose it.
And Maytag had a reputation for reliability, but now they are much
worse than average.
Joe Gwinn