Dull thing: That's why glasses become cloudy in the dishwasher

If the glasses come out of the dishwasher dull or cloudy, this can have various reasons.

Dull thing: That's why glasses become cloudy in the dishwasher

If the glasses come out of the dishwasher dull or cloudy, this can have various reasons. A search for clues.

If white deposits form on the glasses during the wash cycle in the dishwasher, this can indicate a defect or operating error. Here's how to find the cause of the stains:

The Washing Forum advises first checking whether the dishwasher is still sufficiently supplied with regeneration salt to prevent limescale build-up. Dishwashers should actually use service lights to indicate that their regeneration salt is running low or has been used up. A defect in the display can be detected by cleaning the machine with a special care product and also adding salt.

If the glasses continue to become cloudy, it may be that the salt container is leaking or its lid is not properly closed. Then the water softening agent gets into the wash cabinet. The white spots are not limescale, but salt residues.

This can also be a cause of the residues: if you accidentally spill the salt into the interior when filling up the salt, salt stains will form on the next wash cycle. The Washing Forum recommends running the short program without loading in this case in order to wash away the salt.

Dishwashers contain what is known as an ion exchanger, which extracts calcium and magnesium ions from hard tap water. This makes the water softer. However, the ion exchanger needs sodium ions for this. These provide him with the regeneration salts. But that's not all: the dishwasher must be set to the correct water hardness. The local water supplier knows how hard the water is where you live.

If you use multi-tabs, you usually do not need to use extra regeneration salt. The water softener contained in the tabs should only be added to prevent limescale deposits when the water has a total hardness of 21 degrees.

(This article was first published on Saturday, September 10, 2022.)