Home Improvement → Dishwasher leaves a thin film on plasticware, teflon stuff.

We purchased a new Kenmore dishwasher 3 years ago that was highly rated by Consumer Reports, and it generally does a great job washing dishes. But in the past year or so, I notice that it leaves a thin orange film on stuff like Gladware (disposable plastic containers) and our teflon coated pots and pans. Doesn't leave it on the silverware, plastic cooking utensils, or ceramic dishes. I can wipe it off with a paper towel.

This dishwasher has the food grinder (for lack of a better term) in the bottom. Could it be that it's grinding the food up but not filtering it out of the water as it recirculates it? Or could it be something in the water already before it gets to the dishwasher? If I leave a glass of water sitting long enough to dry out, there is white stuff in the bottom of the glass. We drink our water filtered through the fridge dispenser because otherwise it has a bad taste to it. There's definitely stuff in there.

Any ideas? I've thought about getting a whole house filtration system, but not sure that's the total cause of it.

TD

This is quite common. Your problems are probably caused by the same thing that frustrates many dishwasher users - phosphate free detergent.

+1 on the detergent. If you can remember- splashing some vinegar in the rinse cycle seems to solve it for me.

Another +1 on the phosphate-free detergent. I don't know the law in Illinois, but in NJ we're still "allowed" to use phosphates although we can't buy it in dishwasher detergent anymore because the manufacturers stopped using it.

However, if you can find Finish Glass Magic--Hard Water Performance Booster, just add it to your dishwasher as per the directions. It has phosphates in it and has returned my dishwasher to its previous cleaning abilities.

If you can't find it in a store and phosphates are still allowed in Illinois, try looking for it online.

As well as the advice by others here, be sure you are using the right amount of detergent for the hardness of your water. Check out the washers owners manual to determine this. Using too much can leave a film and even etch glassware.

That's it Nunya. Consumer Reports explained it with their dishwasher detergent testing.

They rate these for being effective now.

1. Finish Quantum
2. Finish Powerball tabs
3. Cascade Complete
4. Cascade with Dawn Action Pacs

Thanks everyone. I had read about the phosphates before, but never put the two together. I'll hunt for the Glass Magic stuff.

EDIT: Found it:

»www.amazon.com/Finish-Gl ··· 8&sr=8-1

Just in case I can't get it in stores, or if anyone else is looking for it.

TD

So apparently Illinois has a limit on phosphates in dishwasher detergent. Does that make Glass Magic illegal to use? Or is it just illegal to sell in Illinois? If I order it online, am I breaking the law?

Anyone in Illinois know?

TD

I'd speculate to say that it's simply illegal to sell. This way, they eliminate 99% of the problem... How many people are really going to hunt for d/w detergent that still contains phosphates and buy online ? Fact is, 99% of people don't know why it's occurring and will just live with it.

I looked it up. It's illegal to sell or use it.

»law.justia.com/illinois/ ··· 905.html

quote:

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(415 ILCS 92/5)
Sec. 5. Prohibition; definition; exceptions.
(a) On and after July 1, 2010, no person may use, sell, manufacture, or distribute for sale any cleaning agent containing more than 0.5% phosphorus by weight, expressed as elemental phosphorus, in Illinois, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

---

TD

Yup, I wondered wth our dishes were not getting clean. I then realized by now most if not all detergents are now phosphate free. So now the only way is to have the setting on the pots and pans to effectively clean the dishes, when in the past all it took was a normal cycle. Hope you're happy fishes.

I've read some people "making their own" by using TSP in the mix.

I'm not a big environmental person, but there's a large lake near here, Grand Lake St Marys, that has been closed-down due to, among other things, phosphate contamination, albeit from farm fertilizer, not people's dish soap. Last year no one was allowed to even boat in it (or maybe they strongly advised people not to). Swimming and eating fish from it were obviously not wise ideas either and actually, they've said for numerous years to not eat bottom-feeding fish, i.e. catfish, carp, etc, from there.

You could also just buy this:
»www.restockit.com/Cascad ··· ml?prd=1

Foodservice detergents are exempt from the ban.

Great site and great prices. Thanks for suggesting it.

Some counties here in WA are outlawing phosphate free detergents. I buy 2 bottles of cascade almost every 2 weeks in case they make illegal in my county.

As an aside, I always heard you can't wash Teflon coated pots and pans in the DW.

52 dollars for commercial DW detergent? I'm telling ya- buy a 99 cent bottle of vinegar and after the dishwasher's been running an hour or so, open the door and splash a few tablespoons worth in there.

I've got about a 5 year supply of the "Good Stuff" stocked. No immediate issue with this problem. The Vinegar is a good idea for those who can't get the "Good Stuff".

$51.99 for a case of six 5.3 lb. boxes, comes out to about $8.67 a box.

You hit the nail on the head. In addition to the Finish Glass Magic, I've been stocking up on that Cascade through Restockit. I had been getting it through another foodservice/office supplier, but they no longer carry it.

I'm not sure how long I'll be able to get the "good stuff" so I think ordering by the case is a great thing. I keep it stored in a cool and dry environment, and so far it's all been good.

I join Reg in recommending the Web site and the product.

I always ended up with some chaulky white film on everything from glasses to silverware.

That was with the cascade powder. I also tried those jet dry glass magic baskets that hang from the rack. They last a few loads until all the solid inside each basket dissolves completely. This helped a bit, but it still wasn't perfect.

Then I found that Glass Magic Hardwater Performance Booster at the grocery store. That fixed the issue, provided I used enough of it. I think instead of the 1/2 cup recommended, I need 2/3 cups.

I also ran the Dishwasher Magic cleaner on an empty load (it was free with mail in rebate). I also tried the vinegar on an empty load. Even tried lemon juice. Dishwasher and it's jets itself seem clean and not clogged.

So instead of having to spend money on all this stuff 1. Cascade detergent 2. Jet Dry 3. Glass Magic Booster ... I am now trying those Finish powerball tabs. So far that is much better than the cascade, however there are still some spots on silverware on occasion. The glasses are not as bad as they were before. I only did 2 loads so far with this stuff, so I'll have to experiment.

I might need to use the performance booster with it, but I don't think I would need as much as when I used Cascade. I know what hard water looks like, because my Dad has hard water in his well. Every 2 years we have to drain his water heater and replace the scaled and destroyed bottom heater element. Plus you can see the scale in their dishwasher and on their shower heads. In my house I do not see this level of scale on my fixtures. The dishwasher tub is smooth and nothing is caked on inside. The heating element has some white spots though indicative of potential hard water, however it's nowhere near the condition of the private well water at my dads. I have PA American Water company. It's about $50 to $60 a month depending on usage. They supposedly have "pride in the quality of their water". That must be marketing speak.

For our pots and pans, we have T-FAL ones, and we do those by hand in the sink.

if it's real teflon you absolutely can. ymmv with the cheaper knockoffs

I posted about this last Fall. To lazy to look it up. I live in AZ, very hard water. No more Cascade phosphate in it. Just gross looking glasses and silverware. Tried CLR. Worked great but a real hassle, wash with CLR, wash with nothing. 6 hours of wasted time. Repeat every week.

Yesterday morning hubs was sick of the gross glasses to, so he hand washed them with a little Dawn and some vinegar. Very clear glassware like before the new Cascade.

I decided tonight to do an experiment. cup of vinegar, maybe a couple table spoons of Cascade and let it ride. Waiting for the explosion all night. Nothing happened. Beautiful, clean, clear glasses. And silverware. I just threw a cup of vinegar in the bottom of the DW, little bit of Cascade in the dispenser. I hope my 6 mth problem is gone.

Edit: I have septic so don't care about the lakes. etc.