Film On Dishes

[whirlcool]

My brother called me last night. He has a three year old Maytag Quiet Series 300 dishwasher (same as mine)that once worked well. It still cleans very well, but it leaves a milky film on the glassware for the past three months. He is using Jet Dry and Finish detergent in the machine.
Any idea what could cause this?

 

[iheartmaytag]

I have had this problem with Finish before

To borrow a line from an old dishwasher detergent commercial. "Your problem isn't your dishwasher." It is possible that the detergent wasn't real fresh, or the water hardness changed.

We have that problem with water hardness changing depending if they are pulling water from he Reservoir, or the equis beds.

If it were me, I would try another box, or another brand of detergent and see what happens. If it is a hard water film, you can usually clean this off by adding a cup of white vinegar to a rinse cycle and see what happens.

Let us know what you find out.

P.S. and HIJACK
I have the same machine a 300 Queit series. Have you had any problems with your racks rusting? My lower rack is rusted almost entirely through. May-pool said this is not a warrranty item for the extended warranty (The machine is 18 months old). But they will sell me new racks for 1/2 price.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Jeez. I just noticed this in mine and I thought it to be the watery Finish / Jet-dry rinse aid addtitive.

 

[jeffg]

Allen, water testkits (ones made for freshwater fish tanks are under $10 each at pet stores) can check the water's hardness, total alkalinity and calcium, and that will give him an idea of where the residue is coming from. Even if he's on a municipal water supply, their sources can change over time.

Depending on what the problem is, he may just need to switch detergents or rinse aids, or he may need something more substantial (e.g. in Palm Springs we had a helluva time with white residue, and the only fix was a combined whole-house softener/activated charcoal filter).

 

[westie2]

Alan

What Finish does your borther have. I noticed yesterday that the powdered had 3.0% phorphus (sp) and the 3 in one tabs had 8.7%. That might help the white film problem.

 

[mysteryclock]

Lemishine is your friend!

Our water hardness changed pretty dramatically about 2 years ago for some unknown reason, and now the only way to prevent a white film on our glass / steel items is to put a good shake (1-2 tsp) of Lemishine into the MAIN detergent compartment along with your detergent of choice. For me, that works wonders with Cascade All-in-one gelpacs, but YMMV on the detergent itself.

When I first got it I ran a full load of nothing but glasses and silverware with just Lemishine in both pre and main compartments and everything came out gleaming.

I've mentioned this before, but do not EVER use Lemishine with any porcelain enamel items such as Le Creuset cookware because it will ruin the finish. They state that on the container in small print and I can tell you from (unfortunate) personal experience that they are not kidding.

Let me know how it turns out if you use it.

http://https//www.envirocontech.com/1-888-336-2582/LemiShine/hardwaterexpert.html