I turned to Finish Glass Magic as a ‘last resort’ measure to restore some of the cleaning power of my dishwasher after detergent formulations were changed last year to remove phosphates.  I have been using it for a number of wash loads now.  Since this stuff is expensive, and they recommend 1/4 cup added to the tub at the beginning of the cycle, I modified the use by adding 2 tablespoons to the second fill, which is the main, heated wash portion of the cycle on my machine and cycle I choose.  It is detergent 'booster' and is to be used in addition to the normal amount of detergent one would use for a cycle.

My dishes usually sit for a number of days, and I have purposely left more food residue on the dishes, particularly the casseroles with baked-on foods, to see if it would boost the detergent performance.  Normally, I would do some amount of preparation of casseroles to loosen certain soils that, from experience, I knew I would have to face upon putting my ‘cleaned’ dishes away.

I have been pleasantly surprised to find that my casseroles with dried-on, baked-on soils are now coming out clean (with the exception of a place or two that had some remaining soil, which was easily removed).  Though my glasses seemed to be clear using just the detergent of my choice, they continue to be sparkly.  I have noticed, however, that my plates, some of which would have streaks of film, are now free of the film.  Flatware also seems to be coming out cleaner; it would sometimes have a film or food residue that was not entirely removed.  I am still having an issue with a white residue on the interior of stainless steel pots and pans, so it doesn’t seem to be doing much for that.  I overlook the residue, but I know that would not be acceptable to some folks.

Overall, I am very pleased that I have found a product that helps to restore the cleaning power of my dishwasher.  I’m only going to give it 4 stars, as it is a rather pricey additive, especially if you use it as recommended on the package, and it doesn’t seem to be quite doing the trick for my stainless steel pots and pans.    Hopefully, one day the detergent manufacturers will find a ‘magic’ ingredient that replaces the phosphates.  Until then, I plan to continue using Finish Glass Magic, unless I can find a cheaper alternative that works as well.  I have read that one can purchase trisodium phosphate from hardware stores and mix it with the detergent.  That may be worth a look, especially if it works and turns out to be more cost-effective.

If your dishes are already filmy, and the Finish Glass Magic doesn’t seem to remove it, you may want to try CLR to remove the film.  Simply put the ‘clean’, filmy dishes in the dishwasher on a cycle with a heated wash.  Then use 1/2 cup of the product in the main, heated wash portion of the cycle.  I usually give a few extra rinses after the cycle to ensure all of the CLR is rinsed away.  Then, use the Finish Glass Magic for all wash cycles thereafter.

In the background information below, I discuss the need for products like this and how this product works.  Though it may not be a “cure all” for everyone, it may be well worth a try, if you are going insane trying to get decent cleaning results from your dishwasher but aren’t having any luck.

Background Information, if you care to read it:

For those of you who have read the review of my now 10 year old Kenmore UltraWash dishwasher (henceforth “DW”), you know that I have had to combat numerous challenges over the years to obtain a clean load of dishes, ranging from how to deal with the hard water, to plastic components that failed and caused poor wash action.  I felt well-prepared to give advice a few weeks ago, when some coworkers and I happened to enter into a discussion about the cleaning performance of our DWs.  One mentioned getting ‘dingy’ results from her machine that used to put out clean, sparkly loads.  The other lamented of a brand new, top-of-the-line machine that started leaving a hardened white film within a matter of weeks of use that was nearly impossible to remove. 

I told them of tricks I had used, like using CLR to clean filmy dishes, running regular cleaning cycles to remove deposits from the internal parts of the DW, using the maximum amount of powdered detergent, using the temperature boost option in the main wash portion of the cycle and using rinse aid (and adjusting it to dispense more, if their dishwasher provided that option).  Using those suggestions, the two coworkers were able to achieve better cleaning results.  The one with the new machine still claims to have trouble with stainless steel pots and pans, as I do.    

However, I also turned to the internet to see if I could find additional information about the problem.  I was blown away by the amount of information I saw of all the woes people have been recently experiencing with poor performance of their dishwashers.    People have gone to insane lengths, such as spending hundreds of dollars on repairmen and new machines (and repairmen servicing new machines!), only to find that they are stuck with the same problem.  Much of it seems due to the recent removal of phosphates from detergents, which has turned otherwise good-performing machines into monsters that crank out loads of filmy, dirty dishes, particularly for those who live in areas of the country with hard water.

Since the elimination of phosphates from the detergents in 2010, I have noticed a decrease in cleaning performance.  Over a number of washes my dishes would become cloudy or have spots and film.  When the build-up would get bad enough, I would wash them with CLR in the DW to remove the residue.  I tried switching detergents and found that the Cascade powder formulations seemed to lessen film build-up, but I have never been able to get back the cleaning punch for the tougher soils.  I find it interesting that Consumer Reports is now just starting to include film deposition as part of their tests of dishwasher detergents, and they indeed have found differences among the products.  I found it reaffirming of my observations that the Cascade products fared better than the other products I had used that caused filming over time.

For those of you who are wondering what’s the big deal with phosphates, here is a little history lesson of information I have gleaned from numerous sources.  In a nutshell, the phosphates were the ‘workhorse’ ingredient in detergents that softened the water, boosted cleaning performance and helped prevent redeposition of soils, minerals and other residues onto dishes.  Unfortunately, they also provide a rich nutrient source for micro-organisms, when they make their way from the waste water into the country’s waterways.   They cause eutrophication (nutrient loading), which can, for example, lead to algal blooms, which, as they decay, can eventually lead to lower oxygen levels in the water and kill fish, shellfish and other water-dwelling wildlife.  I’m sure this has a cascading effect on other wildlife, as well.  So, the powers that be have banned them from certain areas, but manufacturers have decided to eliminate them altogether, rather than create different formulations for different areas of the country. 

There seem to be some ‘growing pains’ with this process, in that the manufacturers have yet to find a suitable substitute for the phosphates.  Until then, we are stuck with trying to find products like Finish Glass Magic, Lemi Shine and borax, among others, which might help mitigate the film and deposits from forming on dishes.  Of the products, the Finish Glass Magic restores the phosphates that were banned from the detergents; one of its ingredients is sodium tripolyphosphate.  The Lemi Shine acidifies the water, thereby helping to remove/prevent the film.  The borax claims to soften the water to boost the effects of detergent.  Since there are so many factors that go into the equation, each individual will have to experiment with different products to see if better results can be achieved.  In the end, none of these measures may help, and the only solution may be to get a water softener, which, I believe, dump lots of salt into our waterways, thereby causing another set of environmental problems…Sigh.  :-(

So, stop going insane trying to figure out why your dishes are filmy, and get out there and experiment with the products on the market, until they find the new ‘magic bullet’ to replace phosphates!

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