Dishwasher leaving soapy residue on dishes

[Hannah C.]

Our dishwasher, which is fairly old, was still working great - it cleaned dishes, no pre-washing needed, and little soap residue. Recently, I had to buy new dishwasher detergent. I bought the same cheapo store-brand stuff that we'd had before. Since then, the soap residue has been increasing. Today, when I unloaded the dishwasher, pretty much every dish on the bottom rack had soap residue on it. Previously only pots and pans had had the issue.

 

What do I do to fix this?? I hate washing dishes by hand and my toddler makes it difficult for me to do that as well, so I'm feeling rather desperate.

[Jane in NC]

Is it soap residue or hard water spots?

 

Sometimes using too much soap leaves a residue. Have you tried to run a load with a reduced quantity?

[justLisa]

I always spring for the cascade gel. It's more pricey but I've never had a problem with spots. When I decided to buy a c heaper brand once, I had this issue but determined not to chuck it, I filled up the rinse aid thing with cheapo white vinegar and voila, no spots!

[CLBMom]

I second the white vinegar in the rinse aid. Also your dishwasher itself may need cleaning. Try taking a bowl full of vinegar and placing it on the bottom rack of your empty dishwasher and running it through a full cycle. That usually does the truck with mine.

[ktgrok]

we switched to some kind of tabs that I get at costco. NOt the gel ones, these are hard, and came in a HUGE box that will last forever. No more residue.

[RoughCollie]

Lack of phosphates in dishwasher detergent often causes this. I use Finish Powerball Tabs, which solved the problem, and was recommended by Consumer Reports.

[Momof3littles]

If you are getting build up and it isn't soap but more a white film, try Lemi Shine. MIL was using phosphate free cascade and complaining of terrible build up. Lemi shine took it right away.

 

http://www.lemishine.com/

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lemi-Shine-Super-Concentrated-Dishwasher-Detergent-Additive-12-oz/15724190

 

We don't have that problem but we use Finish (formerly Electrosol) or Ecover tabs.

 

THe Lemi Shine is pretty affordable to try and may help depending on whether it is soap residue or hard water, etc.

[magnificent_baby]

Lack of phosphates in dishwasher detergent often causes this. I use Finish Powerball Tabs, which solved the problem, and was recommended by Consumer Reports.

 

:iagree:

 

I had a terrible time with Cascade, switched to Finish tabs, and my dishes come out beautifully clean.

 

No advice on how to remove the film, I just got new dishes (was going to anyway, as they were very old). I would have been furious if I were planning on keeping the dishes, as they looked awful.

 

There are also dishwasher cleaners that you can run on an empty cycle. I did that before switching to Finish, not sure if it helped or not. There are a few to choose from at Target/Walmart.

[TheresaBond]

They eliminated phosphates from dishwashing detergent because it was bad for the environment. I had this problem a few years ago and someone told me to run the dishwasher with white vinegar, no dishes or soap for one cycle. I do that periodically now and haven't had any issues.

[besroma]

I have also read about running the dishwasher empty with lemonade KoolAid powder in the dispenser.

[marilla]

yes - Lemi Shine works like a charm - and smells like fruit loops!

[LaxMom]

We use Method tabs or Seventh Generation powder with good results, but I think it really just depends on your water. Ours is super soft, and everything out there seems to be made to combat hard water.

 

We do clean the dishwasher periodically, either with vinegar or dishwasher cleaner, and we run the heated wash (our dishwasher is hooked up to the cold intake because the machine heats the water anyway, so why burn oil to replace the water in the pipes?), which seems to rinse better.

Edited March 27, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[JFSinIL]

Lack of phosphates in dishwasher detergent often causes this. I use Finish Powerball Tabs, which solved the problem, and was recommended by Consumer Reports.

 

I had to switch to these, too. Problem solved.

[KS_]

Lack of phosphates in dishwasher detergent often causes this. I use Finish Powerball Tabs, which solved the problem, and was recommended by Consumer Reports.

 

I started with Lemi Shine, but it's not inexpensive and then read on here about the Finish tabs. I switched from Cascade to Finish and have not had a problem since with the white powdery residue.

[SweetPea]

I am now adding 1tsp baking soda to my detergent (I use Finish) and dishes are sparkling clean.

[Tammyla]

Switch detergent, use a rinse aid and run it empty with the vinegar.

[Shellers]

I haven't used my dishwasher in 10+ years because of the film it leaves on dishes. The dishwasher was less than two years old when I stopped using it. I figured my well water was to blame. I tried all kinds of detergents and used rinse aids, nothing helped.

[Sandy in Indy]

I put some vinegar in the bottom of my dishwasher every time I run it. I haven't had problems with residue since I started doing that. Vinegar is super cheap at Sam's.

[Brenda in FL]

You might also want to check that the water pump is not leaking during the cycle. We had a leak and once it was fixed - the dishes seemed cleaner.

[Hannah C.]

Thanks for all the suggestions! The only variable was a new box of detergent - the same brand, I believe! Before, we had some minor issues, but it's gotten much much worse after switching to the new box. The old box wasn't old enough for the formula change to be the problem, I think, but I could be wrong.

 

I'm going to try some of these and see what happens. DH brought home some rinse aid so that's step 1. Thanks again!