I love when I can answer a reader’s cleaning questions! That’s why I’m here! This morning, I got an email from one of my readers, Jan. Here is what she had to say… “Do you have any remedies for sediment left on dishes after being washed in dish washer? Mainly on glasses, resembles sand. Thought it might be dishwasher soap, but sometimes it doesn’t happen & other times it does.” I totally understood her frustration, because this happened to me last year, and I was completely perplexed! That sandy looking debris is most likely caused my hard water…it’s lime sediment, and it can build up in the hoses of your dishwasher and leave specks on your dishes. It’s nothing to be overly worried about…I’ve lived with hard water in our home for years. There is a remedy…you can either buy some store bought dishwasher/disposal cleaner, or you can make your own! Here is my secret trick to Clean Your Dishwasher & Remove Hard Water Deposits!
If this is what your glasses look like when you take them out of the dishwasher, then hard water is probably your problem.
Here’s what you do..
Make a mixture of 1/4 Cup of Baking Soda, 1/4 Cup of Citric Acid (found in the canning section at your grocer), and 10 drops of lemon essential oil. Mix well…
And dump it in your dishwasher. Start your dishwasher as normal and let it run for 2-5 minutes. Pause your cleaning cycle and let sit for at least 4 hours. Then resume the washing cycle and allow it to finish.
You are all set and should be able to wash your dishes without lime build up settling on your dishes. If you are still experiencing the build up problem, no worries. You should be able to unscrew a few screws at the bottom of your dishwasher and pull it out. Attached to the top or bottom of your dishwasher is a hose. Simply flush it with hot water a few times and get all of the sediment out! Your dishwasher should work like new!
Thanks to Jan for asking the question…if you have any questions or household tips that you would like to share, feel free to email me at jessica@mom4real.com!
This is a great tip! Thanks but what can you do about the glasses that have water spots on them already? Is there a way to make them go away also???
Thanks, Sandy! You can try soaking the ones that already have spots in a bath of hot water, a tsp. of dish liquid and a cup of vinegar for about 30 minutes, then rinse and dry :) Hope this helps! ~Jess
You are just the go-to girl for cleaning tips! Love this trick for getting my dishes sparkling in the dishwasher. Thanks for sharing with us :) Shan
Thanks so much for this cleaning recipe. I will certainly try this!
Where can I find lemon oil?
Hi, Janna! You can find lemon oil at most health food stores or stores like Whole Foods. You can also buy them online at Amazon.com
You can get any essentials oils at Walmart also
What if I’m out of lemon oil, do you think orange would work??
Yes! Any citrus oil will work just fine!
If you don’t have lemon oil can you use lemon juice instead
How often will this need to be done??
You are awesome! I’m going to try this. I hate hard water stains!!!
Do you mean lemon essential oil.
Hi, Patti! Yes, I mean lemon essential oil. Thanks for pointing that out to me in case anyone else was confused. I fixed it in the post :)
How do you “pause” the dishwasher? Mine does not have a setting for that.
Just unlock the door or pause button.
Can this be done to a stainless steel interior?
I was wondering about too since our dishwasher has a stainless steel interior.
Jessica, When you say pour the mixture into the dishwasher, do you mean to put it into the thing that the regular dish soap would go, or pour directly into the dishwasher? Please let me know thanks.
Thank you I thought I would have to replace the dishwasher.
Does this mixture also clean washing machines?
Thanks!
Sally White
Don’t forget to clean the filters in the dishwasher too!
Do you know how to remove the black mold stain from a front loading washer? Have tried hot water and bleach, hot water and vinager, hand scrubbed with baking soda and peroxide and many other cleaners. Thanks, judy