When we moved into our home, I was so excited to finally have a dishwasher for the first time! However that excitement quickly faded as I discovered the dishwasher leaving white residue on the dishes!
I tried so many different detergents hoping one would work.
However, every detergent I used caused the dishwasher to leave white film on the dishes and some didn’t even clean very well.
I thought, “What is the use of having a dishwasher if it won’t clean my dishes!”
By the way, some people have asked what the red is behind my bowl in this picture. It’s my floors. 🙂
But I didn’t give up and finally tried Oxiclean Extreme Power Crystals Dishwasher Detergent, and LOVED it. The problem was it seemed like I was buying it every month which was getting expensive.
I decided to give a DIY detergent a try. You can watch a video of the recipe below. You can also download the recipe totally free here: DIY Dishwasher Detergent.
At first, I was so disappointed with the outcome. There was still a white film all over my dishes. It was worse than with the store bought detergent!
I really didn’t want to have to throw out my DIY detergent, and I didn’t want to have to revert to buying more from the store.
I searched and searched for a solution to my filmy dishes. Finally, I came across Jillee’s One Good Thing.
She suggested adding a couple drops of dish soap and some vinegar to the load. The vinegar helps disintegrate the soap on the dishes.
It was a miracle worker!
My dishes came out so clean.
The dishwasher wasn’t leaving white residue on the dishes!
I haven’t needed to continue adding the vinegar and dish soap every time. The dishes look great.
Only once in awhile will I see that the dishes are getting cloudy and then add the vinegar and dish soap.Â
This is the same glass bowl as the picture above. All I did was put it back in the dishwasher (white film and all) and used the vinegar and dish soap. It came out crystal clear!
If you have been getting cloudy dishes from the dishwasher as well, try adding a few drops of dish soap to the detergent.
Then add a half cup of vinegar to your dishwasher.
Also, experiment with using less dish detergent than usual. If you use too much detergent it easily builds up on the dishes especially if you have hard water.
I use vinegar all over my house as a safe household cleaner.
How to Get White Residue Off Dishes:
1. Add 2-3 drops of dish soap to the detergent.
2. Add 1/2 – 1 cup of vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher.
3. Run the normal dish washing cycle.
You don’t have to use the vinegar and dish soap solution every time you run your dishwasher. Instead, use it when you see the dishes getting cloudy.
Some people have said that their dishwasher manual says not to use vinegar, so be sure to check your manual.
Personally, I have never had a problem using vinegar. Another store bought solution is Seventh Generation Dishwasher Rinse Aid (affiliate link).
Why are my Dishes Cloudy?
Hard Water
Hard water occurs when there is a lot of minerals in your water. If you live in an area with hard water, the minerals may be causing your dishes to be cloudy.Â
Some detergents work better with hard water than others. My favorite detergent is Seventh Generation’s powdered detergent.
It doesn’t leave residue and gets my dishes clean. I only use about half a tablespoon each time I run the dishwasher.Â
In the past, I’ve also used Oxiclean’s powdered detergent. It is a bit pricey, but works really well.
Water Temperature
In order for your dishwasher to get your dishes throughly cleaned, it needs to be running at a very hot temperature. I also like to run the heated dry cycle at the end.
That way the water evaporates in the dishwasher and there is less water sitting on the dishes until I’m able to dry them and put them away.
Too Much Detergent
You maybe adding too much detergent to your dishwasher. The extra detergent may not be rinsing fully away during the dishwashing cycle. Try cutting back to half the amount you usually use.Â
If you notice there is detergent that didn’t disintegrate after you ran a cycle, you probably added too much detergent.Â
You also may need to try a different dishwashing detergent. I’ve found that the gel detergents usually cause more build up than when when I use powdered detergents.
8 thoughts on “How to Get White Residue Off Dishes (2 Step Guide)”
Hi Emily!
Thanks so much for this super useful advice, but I would like to ask where to put the vinegar, more exactly. Where to the bottom?
Hi Elena, I just pour the vinegar on the bottom of the inside of the dishwasher. Not really a specific spot.
Hi Emily, I had this same problem I found a product called “Lemi-Shine” it worked wonders.
FYI, I used and loved LemiShine, too — until I found out that it was eating the finish off my Corelle dishes (plain Winter White set). The rims of my plates no longer felt smooth, but rough and bumpy. That got me worrying about what else the lemon product might be eroding, so I quit using it. Sad, because I loved that real-lemon lemony scent!
I’ll have to try this vinegar trick, dishwasher manual restrictions or no, since mine’s out of warranty anyway. I’m thinking even vinegar mixed w a little water might work, too. I think the key is not using too much dishwashing detergent, and I’ve also heard that higher washing temps can cause or aggravate white film “etching” — not sure if that’s true, unless it’s the *combination* of very hot washing temps and thick dishwasher detergent.
I’ve never used that product and my Corelle has the same edge damage.
What if you use the pods, will this still work?
When I stopped using heated dry setting, I stopped having white film issues. Also high setting uses quite a bit of electricity. Just my experience.
Thank you for sharing!