My Dishwasher Is Not Cleaning the Dishes and They Are Stained With a White Substance

Hard Water Scale

• Minerals in the water, including lime and calcium, leave behind a white residue on dishes, glassware and utensils. If you have hard water, mineral scale is the likely cause of the powdery buildup on your dishes. Installing a water softener can eliminate hard water buildup; otherwise, it's necessary to regularly clean both the dishwasher and the dishes to remove the scale buildup. Hard water residue doesn't pose a permanent problem, as it can be cleaned away.

Detergent Residue

• Dishwasher detergents don't always dissolve completely during the wash cycle, leaving behind a chalky residue. Powdered detergents combined with soft water have the greatest chance of leaving this sort of buildup on the dishes. Switching detergent brands or using a liquid detergent may eliminate residue problems. The detergent can also build up on the interior of the dishwasher and block the sprayer nozzles, reducing the cleaning power of your dishwasher and leaving white residue on the dishes. This requires a complete cleaning of the inside of the machine to unblock the sprayer nozzles and prevent future buildup problems. Food residue can also block the dirty water drainage basin, causing the dishwasher to recirculate dirty and detergent-laden water over the dishes during the rinse cycle. Refer to the manufacturer of your dishwasher model to determine the proper method for accessing and cleaning this basin.

Dishwasher Cleaning

• Remove hard water and detergent buildup in the dishwasher to eliminate most future residue problems. Running the dishwasher while empty once or twice weekly rinses away light buildup. Deeper cleaning once a month prevents heavier buildup. Run the empty dishwasher on a regular cleaning cycle. Open the dishwasher at the end of the first cycle, once the bottom interior has filled with water. Pour 1 or 2 cups of pure white vinegar into the bottom of the machine and complete the wash cycle. The acid in the vinegar breaks down the buildup inside the machine so the water can rinse it away.

Dish Cleaning

• A vinegar solution also removes detergent and mineral buildup on the dishes. Combine 1/2 cup vinegar with a gallon of warm water. Soak the dishes in the vinegar water for five to 10 minutes to loosen the residue before washing and rinsing them. Scrubbing the spots gently with a paste made from equal parts vinegar and baking soda loosens and removes more stubborn stains. Spotting may occur again as the dishes dry if hard water is the culprit. Dry the dishes thoroughly with a dish towel to prevent this from occurring.