Dishwasher Soap

[ElsieD]

Yeah, after all, the Maytag man has lots of time. Having had 2 Maytag/Jenn-Aire stoves, (one lasted 15 years, the other 9)and (still have) a Maytag fridge, I can tell you that the Maytag man was a busy little beaver around our place. In fact, he could pay us a visit right now to fix the ice maker in the fridge but I'm just hoping that this fridge will suddenly stop working. Having just purchased an induction range, my husband won't let me buy a new fridge, but if I could, I would do that in a heart beat. Sorry, off topic.

[mgaretz]

Maytag had some extremely bad designs and quality issues in recent years - so bad that the company was about to fail and Whirlpool rescued them by buying the company and immediately scrapping all the designs and substituting Whirlpool designs EXCEPT the dishwashers, which was a shame because Maytag dishwashers were terrible. I don't know if "Maytag" dishwashers now use Whirlpool designs at the present (been out of the appliance game for 3 years now), but if they are still using Maytag designs then avoid them like the plague!

[sparrowgrass]

I read a tip on another board--put a small container upright in the dishwasher, and fill it full of white vinegar. I have very hard water and this has solved my waterspot problem--which got really bad this summer, apparently when the formula changed.

Vinegar is much cheaper than the commercial dishwasher cleaning products--I used to run a gallon thru once a month or so. Start the dishwasher, let it begin to fill and then pour the vinegar in.

[Toliver]

I read a tip on another board--put a small container upright in the dishwasher, and fill it full of white vinegar. I have very hard water and this has solved my waterspot problem--which got really bad this summer, apparently when the formula changed.

Vinegar is much cheaper than the commercial dishwasher cleaning products--I used to run a gallon thru once a month or so. Start the dishwasher, let it begin to fill and then pour the vinegar in.

My mom places a one-cup container in the upper rack and fills it with white vinegar then starts the dishwashing cycle. No more spotting or filmy glass.

[sparrowgrass]

Yes, you must start the dishwasher, at some point!! Just putting the vinegar in won't help the dishes much.

[LindaK]

Is the vinegar a replacement for the rinsing agent? You still use some detergent, correct?

[Will]

We recently purchased Cascade (here in California) which, according to the label, contains some amount of phosphates.

Compared to Seventh Generation grapefruit dish gel, it's a lot more effective (and no, we weren't using too much in either case). The grease and bits of food, even with very lightly soiled dishes, simply didn't come off.

I hope to experiment more with more environmentally friendly dishwasher detergent, but so far, my friend's recommendation to get the "good stuff" seems to have worked well.

[weinoo]

We recently purchased Cascade (here in California) which, according to the label, contains some amount of phosphates.

Only stuff I use. And less than a coffee scoop for most loads; a large box of the stuff lasts months.

[sparrowgrass]

Yes, I use detergent along with the vinegar.

I was just majorly unclear, wasn't I? Just don't let me give you directions to anywhere--you will end up in Algeria.

[mhjoseph]

It's probably not your machine. We had the same problem, where suddenly the dishes were dirtier than when they went in the dishwasher. We were using Cascade liquid for years with no problem. After changing to Finish Powerball, it was the good old days again, everything was sparkling clean.

[Beanie]

And for those of you who want clean dishes and laundry, log on to chemistrystore.com and buy a 5 lb tub of STPP, sodium tripolyphosphate, and add a teeny bit to your detergent. I learned this from the obsessive laundry folks at gardenweb. http://ths.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/laundry/2003052601018823.html

[fyfas]

An after-the-holidays followup note...

To all who recommended possible problems with sprayer holes or sprayer arms that might not be rotating, note that my dishwasher is not like the ones used as demonstrator models at some appliance dealers; usually the "high end" places. It does not have a see-through door so if it is running I can't really see if it is running properly. That said, when off, all of the holes look clear. I did slightly adjust a clip that holds the heater element in place since it looked like it might cause some resistance to proper arm rotation. This did not improve things, however.

What has made a difference is switching from Cascade (the soap of choice for more years than I can count) to Finish - Powerball soap (thanks poster mhjoseph). Used three times now with much improved results if not totally perfect.

And, thanks to Beanie for the link to Gardenweb. I've visited there in the past but it never occurred to me to look there for this issue. I will buy the referenced product if it looks like the Finish product is no better than Cascade.

Happy New Year to all here and thanks again for everyone's thoughts.