spotless dishes?

[tigger]

Can anyone give a secret on how to get spotless dishes from a dishwasher? Sometimes, the silverware comes out spotted, and looks like they were barely cleaned!

I use the dishwasher liquid gel, and the one I am currently using says its supposed to leave them sparkling clean .... it even has baking soda in it! Very frustrating

 

[catarina77777]

I hate the dishwasher and very rarely use it. I just wash them in the sink and get it over with. My glasses are all spotless and the same with my silverware. Wash, rinse (in hot water) and air dry.
Hey, I sound like a spokesperson for "Dove"! :laughing2

I think if you have hard water, that may be the problem. There's also this stuff I see being advertised on TV lately for the drying cycle...maybe that'll help. Sorry I can't be more helpful; I'm single and it's not like I do a lot of entertaining in my home.

 

[deb25]

There are several additives on the market you can buy for spotting. Jet Dry is one of them.

 

[sunlion]

I have an older machine (came with the apartment) so everything is washed before it goes in - that makes a big difference right there. One of the gel soaps instead of the powder helps because it's already dissolved. I also use the little baskets of Jet Dry. There's a liquid version but I don't have the place for it. I can tell right away by the state of the glasses when it's gone. Just amazing! A friend swears by those tablet things, Electra-sol, I think. I guess it depends on the machine, the water (hard, soft, etc.), and what kind of residue is on your dishes.

 

[cleo]

I'm with Cat on this one.
I've lived in this apartment 11 months, and have used my dishwashe 4 times...once when I moved in, to get everything all spiffed up for putting away and to see how loud it was (very loud, thank you), once after a major camping trip, once afer a major yard sale score, and the lsat time was this past Thanksgiving.
I think doing them by hand gets them cleaner,, plus (call me a freak, if you havent already) I actually find doing dishes relaxing...the hot water, smell of the soap, and feeling of seeing the finished product makes me feel good somehow.

 

[hissy]

They don't actually wash your dishes, they just rinse them. I stopped using mine last summer when our state went into energy crisis mode. I now just use it as a big dish drainer for my dishes to dry in. It not only has cut down on our energy bill, but it keeps that ugly dish-drainer off my kitchen counters. Of course now Bailey has to find an alternate place to park!

 

[deb25]

What a bonus idea to use it as a dish drainer! I never thought of that! My current dish drainer is in one of my double sinks, but I think I'll start using the dishwasher. I love that idea!

I wash by hand the majority of the time, unless I cook a big meal for the kids and myself.

Whenever I even open the door to mine, it's such a novelty that Joey leaps right inside, and it takes me forever to coax him out.

 

[eeva]

In Finland, we have dish drainer cupboards. Yep, we all have a kitchen cupboard with shelves that are made for draining dishes (like hissy's dish drainer, without the sides and larger of course), and it's situated above the sink so that the dripping water goes into the sink. Very handy, no drying of dishes and they're not on your counters and in the way.

Which reminds me, have a heap of dirty dishes waiting for me... Ugh I absolutely hate washing dishes!

 

[sunlion]

Hey, I've seen those!

I watch a lot of British tv, and it's a feature in many of the kitchens I see over there. Plus we used to love to shop in IKEA (though we didn't buy much) and all the kitchens they designed had those. I didn't know they were so common, I thought there were kind of a stylish new thing! lol Americans are so parochial sometimes.