Do You Use Your Dishwasher?

I don't have one. I like washing by hand because that means every dish will be clean and spot-free. I also like that I can get a L. meditation done while dishwashing. ;-)

Sounds like a dishwasher issue! I use mine religiously even though it's not a great one -I still like my dishes and drinking vessels to be SCALDED clean! Have you tried different detergents and Jet Dry?

Oh yeah...I use it EVERY day. I would be seriously lost without it. I use the Quantum Finish cubes in the dishwasher and the dishes come out fine...I have never had a dishwasher last too much longer than 5 or 6 years...

Yes, probably every other day. And actually, 10 yrs IS old for a dishwasher. An upgrade may change your outlook.

If we didn't use the dishwasher the dishes would never get clean! I can not stand doing dishes. I think we'd eat off paper plates for everything if I didn't have a dishwasher. We use Cascade gel tablets and have not had any problems at all. We do have a newer machine because our old one was recalled but we used that one all the time too.

Of course I use it--gotta have some place to hide the dirty dishes when we have guests :)

J/K, but seriously, yes, I do, but I also get residue, despite using Jet Dry. I prefer to wash my glasses by hand, but usually I am just too tired to do it, so I throw them in the dishwasher.

Get the lil packets like cascade and it doesn't leave soap on them. Absolutely use mine!! Its my luxury because I loathe dishes! Love my dishwasher!

We always handwash..but right now there's only 2 of us, so it's not too bad. And I'm really picky about how the dishes are washed. I use the dishwasher once during the holidays when I've got 8+ people to serve, but that's it. I'd actually rather have cupboard space.

Can I gave your dishwasher? Mine is broken and I am totally over the time and money I waste everyday doing dishes by hand. Have you tried to clean the trap? If you never have I'll bet that is your problem. Look online, there are lots of helpful sites to show you how. The dishwasher is much more economical to use. And you can use your free time to play with your beautifiul boys.

Sounds like you have a clog or your food trap needs emptying. Both are fairly easy to fix.

I MISS MY DISHWASHER.

It broke, and the past 2 years (since it broke) we've been handwashing.

I cook 3-5x a day... I spend apx 2-3 HOURS every day washing dishes. Hate it. Hate, hate, hate, hate it.

Can I have your dishwasher?! Lol! Our rental doesn't have one and I have a husband and 2 kids... like seriously I'd cut off a finger if I could get my hands on one of those nice, big ones!

I think you may need to repair or replace your dishwasher. I just load and run and they turn out fine. no problems. or just keep doing what you are doing. but what your dishwasher is doing isn't normal.

That's terrible that you have to re-rinse all of your dishes by hand - it kind of defeats the purpose of using the dishwasher. I love my dishwasher and wouldn't want to live without it. I handwash in between using the dishwasher and I always handwash aall of the big things like pots and pans and most baking dishes. I run my dishwasher about once a week.

I replaced my old dishwasher with a new one. The new one has two spray wands. The old one had only one. One of my DIL has a dishwasher with only one water wand and she has the same things happen that you complain about.. It could be she is served by a differnt water company and that is why. I don't know.

Call the company that made your machine and find out from their customer service department.

Good luck to you and yours.

If nothing is working to prevent the soap residue but you still like the idea of the sanitizing that your dishwasher would do, perhaps you could try just running the dishwasher without soap after handwashing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.

I use ours as a drying rack also. It's great as a drying rack since it holds so much and it is all out of sight while drying. Although at the moment my son is using it as his secret toybox.

We have never used ours much... Both my husband and I have this irrational thinking that it'll use more water and since we don't usually dirty enough dishes to turn it on everyday unless we put pots in, we feel like we have to pre wash so much why not just finish the job by hand?... Maybe we need a new dishwasher too but we have this bias. I'm really fast washing by hand but my husband is painfully slow so we really should get a new washer... But I bet we wouldn't use it! After reading your replies, I'm a bit tempted though.

I am under the impression that 10 years is old for a dishwasher.

I have never had one. Someday i will :)

Heck yeah, I do!! We recently went a year without and have one again. Now way would I go back to hand washing, blech!

We use Seventh Generation soap and rinsing agent. Even with very hard water, we never have a residue. We also run an empty dishwasher with vinegar once a month, to keep the washer clean.

We use our dishwasher. If there's residue, might be time to change a filter, use a different soap, use more rinse aid or check the connection. Someone else also suggested cleaning the dishwasher (you can use vinegar and baking soda) or running the hot water for a minute before starting the load.

Yes, yes and YES! If it's not dishwasher safe I don't want it!

I'd agree with some of the other posters. If you still have the manual see what it says or give the customer service number a call for your brand. They may be able to give you some tips to fix the problem yourself without having to replace it or pay someone to repair it.

Ten years old IS old for a dishwasher. It also sounds like you have hard water, and the water isn't heating up properly, which it needs to do in order to dissolve the detergent. Could be something as simple as a heating element repair.

I couldn't live without mine. I had an older one -- and not even a good model (about 10 years) that was doing what yours was, and got a new one and haven't had a problem since.

Sounds like there's something wrong with your dishwasher to me. Use only powder or paks--no liquid or gels. And Jet Dry.
Maybe run vinegar through it a few times.

And yes...I use my dishwasher ALL the time!

10 is old for a dishwasher.

Yes, I use my dishwasher at least once sometimes twice a day. Never any issues with spotting, etc on my dishes.

I don't have the time to wash them before I put them in there either... It is critical that my dishwasher be a good one because I am not going to wash them twice (by hand then dishwasher).

I have a high end Kitchen Aid and highly recommend it.

I use and love my dishwasher. Have you cleaned your dishwasher? I know it sounds counterintuitive but sometimes that helps it to function a lot better and dishes come out without any residue.

I use my dishwasher all the time. I think i'd go crazy if I had to was all the dishes everyday. Had to do that for awhile back when and I have decided I do not want to go back!

Have you tried using a dishwasher cleaner every month?
Cleaning the food trap?
Changing dishwasher soaps until you find one that works better?

All these things work for me when this happens.

use it every day.....sometimes twice!

I have an inhome daycare & it's the only way I can keep up. I used to buy the Jet Finish product to prevent spots/residue.....now I just buy the Cascade "pillows".....works great!

You need Finish Jet Dry to put in your dishwasher...it keeps the soap residue off the dishes.

Something must be wrong with your dishwasher...........time to call the repairman! I have not ever had that problem. My dishes come out beautifully everyday from the dishwasher!

I have a full load of dishes to wash in the washer every few days.
I rinse off the worst of the food before loading, then let the machine wash.
I turn off the drying, open it up and let it air dry.
We never have a residue problem.

I do use my dishwasher but I love your idea of using as a drying rack.
Brilliant.
We had an ancient dishwasher. It worked to perfection.
Got a new pretty one and it doesn't clean worth a lick.
I may steal your idea but w/a family of a million ppl (j/k) I like the idea of getting it all done in one fell swoop w/just minor cleaning before it goes
in instead of me standing in there all day! ;)

We run the dishwasher every other day, if not, every day.

I use two diswashers daily sometimes 2x a day I have a left one and a right one and I find them at the end of my arm. :-)) .

My kitchen is too small for a dishwasher but as soon as I can remodel the kitchen I am getting one.
I have seen countertop dishwashers in stores but now that I could actually afford one I can't find them in a store anymore, only online.

I agree with the other posters there is something wrong with your dishwasher.

I have the same problem. Just wondering if you ever found anything to help.

There was a question about dishwashers earlier this week. A couple of people suggested cleaning out filter or something. I'd call a repairman, tell him your gripe and ask what might be causing this. It's definitely not normal.

You could also try running a cycle with vinegar and no detergent and no dishes.

I might be the only one... but I do the same as you! We do have a dishwasher, but I tend to just use as a drying rack. I kind of find the hand washing therapeutic...

I use jet dry and lemishine with each load. Also I use a gel instead of flakes. Once a month I run the dishwasher empty with a cup of vinegar.

I only hand wash if I have to... plastics, pots etc. My kids mostly use normal glasses and plates so I don't have to hand wash. I love my dishwasher.

When it was just my husband and me, I never used one, but once the kids came, absolutely! I run it once or twice per week, and I've never had a spotting issue. If you've tried different soaps, I'd say it's your dishwasher :(

I'm weaning from my dishwasher! I've been so disappointed in her performance for the same reasons stated here: residue, spots and what i refer to as "clean dirt." If I leave one speck of something on the dish, I get, say, "clean spinache" in return. If I have to scrub my dishes before putting them in the washer, than I might as well do them all myself!

I agree w/ Jim, a 10 yo dishwasher probably needs to be changed out. Anyway, I scrape the plates and load everything in (no rinse, modern dishwashers say this is not necessary and wastes water. Plus the soap needs something to adhere to, otherwise it can build up on your dishes) .

I rinse and use the dishwasher. Maybe it's the soap you're using. I use Sun liquid detergent and my dishes are always clean, no residue.

yes I use it. Everyday! I HATE hand washing and will only do it if there is no way at all that it won't fit

I had so many problems with my 8 yr old dishwasher as I tried everything to not get the residue. And I solved it by buying a new one, better quality , more spraying, less soap and dishwasher magic and it is a huge difference. I also second the HOT water. They say to run the water in your sink for 3 min or so to get it hot prior to starting the dishwasher. Less soap, vinager or dishwasher magic, less items in the silverware area meaning don't crowd them. It has helped a lot. We have hard water and that alone is no fun on the " Cleaning " of everything. But buy new.....start over and enjoy more time doing something else.

I couldn't live without mine but i use those new gel tabs and they work fine. Make sure your water is hot enough, maybe you turned that down and I think 10 years is a L. old for a Dishwasher so maybe it is time to get a new one. I also wash my pots & Pans though and sometimes run your glasses all by themselves for that fresh clean. Also, the super hot water kills germs/bacteria so even when I did handwash, if we all had colds I would use the dishwasher.

Yep. Ours is running now. I hate the look of dishes piled on the counter or in the sink and I don't have time to wash by hand after breakfast even if I want to. They get rinsed and go directly in. I run it at night after dinner then empty in the morning while I wait for my coffee to brew :) SO does wash pots and pans by hand... but he does it whenever he feels like, which frequently means they are "soaking" for a lot longer than I like. I wouldn't want all the dishes in the sink, it makes me crazy :)

Jet dry also did nothing for our dishes. I used lemi shine and it does great! You run it in your dishwasher on empty to clean out all the gunk and flakes etc. You can even run it a 2nd time empty if it is really bad then you use your normal soap with a bit of the lemi shine each time and your dishes will come out beautiful! I think lemi shine now makes a machine wash product that you can use prior to using it with your dish soap. I get mine at Meijer but Wal-mart also has it. And it is backed by a 100% money back guarantee so if you don't like it, they will give you your money back (it is less than $4 a bottle and it lasts for 2-3 months or more)

Yes, I use my dishwasher. I don't hand wash dishes except if we use the good china or if there are pots that need a good scrubbing (usually Dh's job).

Use gel liquid dish washing soap. Sam's or Costco have their brand which is really good and there is never a soap residue. there is also a L. clear fluid you put in for spot removal, but I forgot the name of it. It is all by the dish wash soap stuff.

Unfortunalty I don't have a machanical one that works right now my landlords have not come back to fix it but I have one that's almost 13 but it talks back a lot when I make it work. :)

I use mine. It's 2 years old and it never has residue. If you can't afford a new one, maybe just stick to what you're doing. It's a bummer you have that problem though.

I use our dishwasher often (probably every other day), and it's probably around 15 years old. Sometimes I get residue, sometimes I don't. And I can tell you the difference -- when I stuff a whole lot of things in there such that the water can't get all around each item, I get residue and soap flakes. When it's not as full -- particularly on the top rack, everything gets rinsed just fine. Also, if I put something in the top rack that fits, but is pretty close to the top (especially on the outer edges of the top rack) those items will have soap residue (like wine glasses or tall water glasses). But if I put those same tall items at an angle in the lower center of the top rack, they'll get rinsed just fine. Also, anything concave winds up with residue unless you put it in there at an angle that the water can totally run off. These findings are the result of me experimenting for about 8 years with this machine -- and I feel Iike I just figured all this out over the last year. (It's funny, my mom lectured me about this stuff all growing up, and it took me 8 years to figure out she was right :) "Don't overstuff the dishwasher.") Good luck with yours!

Try using half the amount of soap and rinse with vinegar. I make my own detergent which leaves even more residue than commercial stuff but I still use mine everyday. 8kidsdad made a good point - there is a big difference between one and two water wands. Also, is your water hot enough?

I just read your question and haven't looked through all the answers so I'm sorry if this is a repeat answer. We have very hard water at our house and our dishes/glasses were coming out of the d/w with a film you could literally scratch and flake off. After lots of research, we purchased a product called Lemi Shine. Got it at our local Safeway. I've heard Wal Mart also carries it. Works miracles! :) If you want some reviews of this product, Amazon has good feedback.

I use mine everyday!

Absolutely yes, I use my dishwasher. Most of the dishes go in the dishwasher after a brief rinse. Certain things need to be washed by hand, so I do those by hand, and of course if I need something clean before I'm running the next load, I wash it by hand. I actually like hand washing dishes, but I have so L. time to spare that the dishwasher is an essential.

It sounds to me like your machine is either not working properly or you need to switch to a different kind of soap. I use Ecover dishwashing tablets and they leave no residue at all. You might also try adding a rinse aid like Jet Dry, it really does make a difference.