Hard water is a pain in the neck. While generally safe to drink, it can leave unsightly spots of mineral deposits on glasses and silverware. Are there ways to fix hard water issues in your dishwasher?
Hard water spots in a dishwasher can be mitigated by running a cycle with white vinegar or softening water in the kitchen or throughout the home. Other methods involve changing how one does dishes.
Keep reading to learn more about the best solutions for hard water problems in the dishwasher, how to reduce hard water problems, and ways to keep your dishwasher safe and working well, even with hard water.
Struggling with the impact of hard water on your home? Learn how to address the issue effectively.
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What’s a Simple Way to Deal with Hard Water in the Dishwasher?
Hard water can leave behind a cloudy or speckled film of calcium deposits on your glassware. This film shouldn’t make you sick, but it looks unsightly. You wash the dishes, and the dishes still look cloudy and dirty.
This can be especially embarrassing if you have company over, and it seems as though you’re serving them in dirty glasses. So what’s a simple solution for hard water in the dishwasher?
Running two cups worth of white vinegar through the cycle can help eliminate hard water stains. Just load up the dishwasher as you normally would and include a right-side-up dishwasher-safe bowl of white vinegar on the upper level of the dishwasher.
Run the cycle as you typically would, and the white vinegar should prevent the hard water from staining or clouding dishes. It’s fine to use dish soap in this process, too. The dish soap will remove oil, bits of food, and grease from your dishes while the vinegar helps dissolve the mineral components in hard water.
This white vinegar can clean the inside of your dishwasher effectively, too. There is a chance that using vinegar over and over can weaken gaskets or seals in your dishwasher. The main concern is with the seal around your dishwasher’s door. If this does suffer some damage, it’s easy to replace for not a whole lot of money.
So can hard water harm a dishwasher? Is this merely a cosmetic issue or can mineral-rich water decrease the lifespan of my appliances?
Tired of battling persistent stains? Discover a range of hard water DIY solutions to help you win the fight.
Does Hard Water Harm a Dishwasher?
Hard water contains tiny amounts of calcium and magnesium which can leave behind a white, spotty film or specks. This residue can, over time, cause damage to appliances. The build-up of scale can affect water flow into and away from your dishwasher, can clog pipes and hoses, and make it tougher to clean your dishes as hard water interacts poorly with soap. Finally, a dishwasher that is choked with calcium residue can fail.
This scale can also build up on the walls of a dishwasher, and ruin your appliance. Hard water can also damage your home’s pipes, ruin water pressure, and make showering a pain in the neck. So how can you fix hard water issues on a wider scale in your home or kitchen?
If you suspect that you’re dealing with hard water in your home, be sure to familiarize yourself with the common hard water signs to look out for.
Can I Soften the Water in My Dishwasher?
One of the first questions asked is “Can I just soften my dishwasher’s water instead of washing with white vinegar?” You definitely can, and several water softener systems for dishwashers exist. Many of these point-of-use systems hang out under your sink and attach to existing plumbing. They’ll soften the water that flows into your dishwasher as well as from your kitchen sink.
Another option is to purchase an all-new dishwasher with a water softener built in. These tend to be more expensive than conventional dishwashers, but for those who are truly concerned about water spots on dishes, they may be worth the money.
Another solution is to soften all of the water in your home. A point-of-entry water softening system will typically live in your basement and hook up to the plumbing of your home. They’ll soften water as it passes through them, and allow the soft water to flow back into your home’s pipes calcium-free.
This can be especially helpful if you’re struggling with hard water in the shower, as well. Washing with hard water can not only damage shower heads, but it can also leave your skin dry and itchy and can even cause hair to fall out!
If you don’t have the extra resources to invest in a water softener system, are there cheaper ways to beat hard water in your dishwasher?
Washing Glassware by Hand Can Help
Vinegar in the dishwasher is a cheap solution, and works great for most people. If you’d like to avoid getting vinegar all over your dishwasher (it’s perfectly safe but can leave a very faint odor), splitting your dishes up may be the best solution.
Lave your ceramic and plastic dishware in the machine and run it as normal. Go ahead and wash your glassware by hand in the sink, and be sure to thoroughly dry it with a fluffy microfiber towel after washing. The more thoroughly you dry it after washing it by hand, the less moisture is left over to evaporate and leave calcium deposits behind. This principle is similar to the one used when washing a car with hard water. The faster you dry that car out, the fewer water spots you’ll wind up with.
Don’t simply let the glass dishes drip dry, you’ll have to go at them with a dry towel. We recommend having a few such towels on hand to make sure they don’t get soggy and drying the dishes over an absorbent mat as opposed to a hard plastic dish rack.
This can help you get a beautiful streak-and-spot-free shine as well as help you pass the evening without scrolling through your phone.
Conclusion
Hard water spots in the dishwater can be combated with a small bowl of vinegar on the top rack. Just put a bowl right side up in the upper tier, load the machine up, and run as you normally would. The vinegar should eat away calcium deposits and keep your glassware cleaner.
Another solution is to soften water either under the sink or in your entire house. These water softener systems can either eliminate hard water in the kitchen or throughout your home, saving your pipes from damage and keeping dishes cleaner.
Washing by hand is another option. Separating your transparent glassware and washing and drying it by hand can greatly reduce water spots. The drier the dishes are the less spotty they’ll be. Have a few microfiber towels ready for this, and allow your glassware to dry over a towel or mat.
