I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

wrote in message
...
I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

it may take a few applications if it's been operated normally for a long
time without cleaning out the mineral deposits.

try getting some stronger acids. you can buy zep products in home depot, for
instance, that will remove more deposits. follow directions on the
container, and do a couple of applications. come back with the results.

On Sep 10, 2:31 pm, "charlie"
wrote:
wrote in message

...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

it may take a few applications if it's been operated normally for a long
time without cleaning out the mineral deposits.

try getting some stronger acids. you can buy zep products in home depot, for
instance, that will remove more deposits. follow directions on the
container, and do a couple of applications. come back with the results.

Thanks, I will try that. It is actually a rental property. Can I cycle
through the zep product in an hour? Or is zep something I need to have
sit around overnight?

wrote in message
...
On Sep 10, 2:31 pm, "charlie"
wrote:
wrote in message

...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

it may take a few applications if it's been operated normally for a long
time without cleaning out the mineral deposits.

try getting some stronger acids. you can buy zep products in home depot,
for
instance, that will remove more deposits. follow directions on the
container, and do a couple of applications. come back with the results.

Thanks, I will try that. It is actually a rental property. Can I cycle
through the zep product in an hour? Or is zep something I need to have
sit around overnight?

you don't let it sit. you run a normal or extended pot cycle (without the
drying phase, if possible). you might also look to see if the arm holes are
clogged up. poking them open with toothpicks or opening them up, if
possible, to remove gunk that may be affecting things is useful.

On Wed 10 Sep 2008 12:15:57p, told us...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Start using a product called Lemi-Shine with every load of dishes you wash.
It will clear up the problem you now have and prevent problems in the
future. It will also prevent hard water etching of china and glassware.
It comes in a cannister and is usually found where the dishwasher
detergents are sold. It's usually available at Wal-Mart.

To use Lemi-Shine, fill the closed cup with Lemi-Shine and the open cup
with regular granular dishwasher detergent (do use the gels).

We live in a very hard water area and this is the only way we can
effectivelly use our dishwasher. We use it with every load and everything
sparkles. The dishwasher itself it totally free of deposits on the inside.

HTH

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Wednesday, 09(IX)/10(X)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Veteran's Day
8wks 5dys 10hrs 46mins
*******************************************
The wife and I laughed until the
weather came on.
*******************************************

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Wed 10 Sep 2008 12:15:57p, told us...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Start using a product called Lemi-Shine with every load of dishes you
wash.
It will clear up the problem you now have and prevent problems in the
future. It will also prevent hard water etching of china and glassware.
It comes in a cannister and is usually found where the dishwasher
detergents are sold. It's usually available at Wal-Mart.

To use Lemi-Shine, fill the closed cup with Lemi-Shine and the open cup
with regular granular dishwasher detergent (do use the gels).

We live in a very hard water area and this is the only way we can
effectivelly use our dishwasher. We use it with every load and everything
sparkles. The dishwasher itself it totally free of deposits on the
inside.

HTH

what's in it? i found that putting a cup of vinegar in the bottom for each
load does the same thing for us. we're in a very hard water area too.

On Wed 10 Sep 2008 01:39:23p, charlie told us...


"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Wed 10 Sep 2008 12:15:57p, told us...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Start using a product called Lemi-Shine with every load of dishes you
wash.
It will clear up the problem you now have and prevent problems in the
future. It will also prevent hard water etching of china and
glassware. It comes in a cannister and is usually found where the
dishwasher detergents are sold. It's usually available at Wal-Mart.

To use Lemi-Shine, fill the closed cup with Lemi-Shine and the open cup
with regular granular dishwasher detergent (do use the gels).

We live in a very hard water area and this is the only way we can
effectivelly use our dishwasher. We use it with every load and
everything sparkles. The dishwasher itself it totally free of deposits
on the inside.

HTH

what's in it? i found that putting a cup of vinegar in the bottom for
each load does the same thing for us. we're in a very hard water area
too.

The container states "real fruit acids, natural citrus oils, fragrance". I
would assume citric acid.

At what point in the cycle do you add the cup of vinegar? I've tried using
vinegar, first adding it before starting the cycle, but that did not
prevent clouding of glassware. It seemed to work reasonably well if added
to either of the final rinse cycles, but waiting around to do that was a
PITA.



--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Wednesday, 09(IX)/10(X)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Veteran's Day
8wks 5dys 9hrs 59mins
*******************************************
Fifteen cents of every twenty-cent
stamp goes for storage. --Louis Rukeyser
*******************************************

"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Wed 10 Sep 2008 01:39:23p, charlie told us...


"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Wed 10 Sep 2008 12:15:57p, told us...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Start using a product called Lemi-Shine with every load of dishes you
wash.
It will clear up the problem you now have and prevent problems in the
future. It will also prevent hard water etching of china and
glassware. It comes in a cannister and is usually found where the
dishwasher detergents are sold. It's usually available at Wal-Mart.

To use Lemi-Shine, fill the closed cup with Lemi-Shine and the open cup
with regular granular dishwasher detergent (do use the gels).

We live in a very hard water area and this is the only way we can
effectivelly use our dishwasher. We use it with every load and
everything sparkles. The dishwasher itself it totally free of deposits
on the inside.

HTH

what's in it? i found that putting a cup of vinegar in the bottom for
each load does the same thing for us. we're in a very hard water area
too.

The container states "real fruit acids, natural citrus oils, fragrance".
I
would assume citric acid.

At what point in the cycle do you add the cup of vinegar? I've tried
using
vinegar, first adding it before starting the cycle, but that did not
prevent clouding of glassware. It seemed to work reasonably well if added
to either of the final rinse cycles, but waiting around to do that was a
PITA.

i just pour it in when i load the dishwasher. our dishes and glasses used to
come out cloudy, and since i started using vinegar, they look like new. i
don't need to use any rinse aid (jet-dri) now either.

wrote:
I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Did you check the bottom of the dishwasher for debris? Hard to guide you
without knowing what brand model/you have, but the food particles can't
be the effect of hard water. Also I would check if the hot and cold
water pipes are not switched. Finally, make sure that the drain is not
obstructed in any way.

Blattus Slafaly wrote:
wrote:
I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom
full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and
let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no
dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks
horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and
food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Dishwashers are energy wasters. Throw it on the dump and wash dishes
by hand.

Troll plonked.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

wrote:
I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom
full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and
food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Repeat the vinegar cycle a few times.

Find out if your dishwasher has a built in water softener and if so,
make sure it has the appropriate amount of salt in it (there's salt
sold specifically for water softeners--that's what you should use, not
table salt).

If vinegar doesn't clean it you can either tear it down and clean it
by hand or toss it and get a new one, depending on your tastes and
inclinations.

Note--run it through a full cycle with the vinegar--just letting it
sit in the bottom won't run the vinegar through the jets, which you
need to do in order to clear them.

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

On Wed 10 Sep 2008 02:54:43p, charlie told us...


"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Wed 10 Sep 2008 01:39:23p, charlie told us...


"Wayne Boatwright" wrote in message
5.247...
On Wed 10 Sep 2008 12:15:57p, told us...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom
full of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar
and let it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with
no dishes or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get
chunks of stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks
horrible - caked on white film with small bits of white flaky
substance and food particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Start using a product called Lemi-Shine with every load of dishes you
wash.
It will clear up the problem you now have and prevent problems in the
future. It will also prevent hard water etching of china and
glassware. It comes in a cannister and is usually found where the
dishwasher detergents are sold. It's usually available at Wal-Mart.

To use Lemi-Shine, fill the closed cup with Lemi-Shine and the open
cup with regular granular dishwasher detergent (do use the gels).

We live in a very hard water area and this is the only way we can
effectivelly use our dishwasher. We use it with every load and
everything sparkles. The dishwasher itself it totally free of
deposits on the inside.

HTH

what's in it? i found that putting a cup of vinegar in the bottom for
each load does the same thing for us. we're in a very hard water area
too.

The container states "real fruit acids, natural citrus oils,
fragrance". I
would assume citric acid.

At what point in the cycle do you add the cup of vinegar? I've tried
using
vinegar, first adding it before starting the cycle, but that did not
prevent clouding of glassware. It seemed to work reasonably well if
added to either of the final rinse cycles, but waiting around to do
that was a PITA.

i just pour it in when i load the dishwasher. our dishes and glasses
used to come out cloudy, and since i started using vinegar, they look
like new. i don't need to use any rinse aid (jet-dri) now either.

I assume you're using regular 5% white vinegar. I may have to give this
another try.

Thanks...

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Wednesday, 09(IX)/10(X)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Veteran's Day
8wks 5dys 7hrs 39mins
*******************************************
We are sorry, you have reached an
imaginary number. Please rotate your
phone ninety degrees and try again.

In article
,
wrote:

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Other respondents seem to have jumped on the vinegar bandwagon, assuming
as you have that you're root problem is scale. I think it's soap buildup.

wrote in message
...
I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

Speaking from experience, I'd say you need a water softener and then a new
dishwasher.

h wrote:

wrote in message
...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?


Speaking from experience, I'd say you need a water softener and then a new
dishwasher.


Probably good advice, but have you cleaned the filter(s) in your
dishwasher? "Bits" of anything doesn't seem like just hard water.

Another thing to look at is the DiFi. At $50 it's a whole lot less
expensive than a water softener.
http://www.dishwasherfilter.com/main.sc

On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:45:57 -0400, h wrote:

"Boden" wrote in message
...
h wrote:

wrote in message

...

I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?


Speaking from experience, I'd say you need a water softener and then a
new dishwasher.
Probably good advice, but have you cleaned the filter(s) in your
dishwasher? "Bits" of anything doesn't seem like just hard water.

Au contraire. Before we got a softener we had white chunks (likely
calcium deposits) in the pipes. They'd build up in the faucet screens
and block water flow. We'd have to unscrew the heads and clean the
screens at least twice a week to maintain water flow. Once we got the
softener we never saw the chunks again.

I had the same problem. White build up coming from somewhere we couldnt
figure out. Then I drained the water heater. Well, I tried. It was so
gummed up with calcium that I couldnt get it drained. Ended up replacing
it and then at the same time installed a water softner.

Check your water heater for buildup.


coffee

On Sep 10, 3:15�pm, wrote:
I bought a new condo and my water is very hard. Whenever I use the
dishwasher I get white flaky residue on everything. I read to try
vinegar. I let the vinegar sit for several hours with the bottom full
of vinegar. �Then I ran it a little to circulate the vinegar and let
it sit again. �I then ran it through a complete cycle with no dishes
or detergent so as to rinse the vinegar out. �I still get chunks of
stuff on all the dishes. �The silverware especially looks horrible -
caked on white film with small bits of white flaky substance and food
particles.

Do you think I need a new dishwasher or is there some 'smoking gun'
you see?

try turning up water heater temperature, the deposits may be detergent
thats not entirely disolved