It’s an absolute nightmare when your glasses become covered in white marks from hard water and limescale damage in the dishwasher. If you find this is happening to your glasses there are some simple things you can do to prevent this and also some simple steps you can follow to clean existing stains.

Preventing Build-Up

To prevent build up in the first place, pour 1 cup of white vinegar into the dishwasher (if you have glasses that are already streaky then add them to the machine) Set to a normal wash cycle.

This can be done once every two months to prevent future build-up. You can also try a limescale and detergent remover in your dishwasher once a month. This will keep glasses streak free and also eliminate lime scale from the inner workings of the machine, allowing it to run more efficiently. It is also recommended you use dishwasher detergents that are designed to combat white streaks such as many Finish brand cleaners.

Top tip: Most dishwashers when first turned on will fill up a tiny bit and then drain to rinse anything left from previous wash. So, it’s best to wait until this first drain is complete before adding bleach, vinegar etc to the wash. This way your dishes will properly benefit from the full affect of the added agent.

Getting Rid of Build-Up

If your dishwasher has left white streaks on your glasses. There are some things you can do to get rid of this.

Method 1

• Put 1 cup of bleach in the bottom of the dishwasher.
• Run through the wash cycle. Do not dry.
• Next put 1 cup white vinegar in the bowl and run through the entire cycle. This should clean the glasses (and will also clean the dishwasher!)

Please note: Do NOT wash the glasses with any pots, pans when trying to remove the white stains.

Method 2

• Fill the sink with warm, soapy water (any standard dish soap will work fine)
• Add two cups of vinegar
• Set the glasses in the water and let soak for at least 15 minutes
• Scrub the glasses with a sponge or soft cloth to remove any film or spots
• Rinse the glasses in clean warm water
• Dry glasses with soft cloth

Please note: It’s also recommended you use a plastic bowl/ tub within the sink to prevent breaking the glasses.

Method 3

• Use toothpaste with water
• With a standard tube of plain white toothpaste take an old small toothbrush and scrub the entire glass.
• When you finish rinse off and touch up any spots you might have missed.
• Then soak in vinegar for about 5 minutes (You can either coat the glass with vinegar or set the glass in a bowl of vinegar)
• After 5 minutes rinse off
• Use a cloth dipped in vinegar to wipe away any leftover residue or dip the glass back in the vinegar and wipe the spots off.

Method 4

• Fill dishwasher with just the glasses
• Add half a cup of baking soda (or more) depending on the size of the load
• Put on normal wash cycle

Baking soda is gentle enough that it won’t damage the glassware but should work to loosen the white film and will also deodorise your dishwasher!

Tags: Dishwasher Maintenance, Limescale and Detergent Remover