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There’s nothing more frustrating than pulling a clean glass out of the cupboard only to find that it looks dirty and cloudy. Here’s an easy tip for shining up all that cloudy glassware!
Please, please, PLEASE tell me I’m not the only one with glasses that look like this! I opened my cupboard the other day and I couldn’t find a single “clean” glass in there!
Now, I know they are clean. They went through the dishwasher, at least. But every time they went through a cycle in there, they came out a little bit worse.
So how do you get cloudy glassware all shiny and clean again? It’s easier than you may think!
How to prevent glasses from getting cloudy in the dishwasher
If you live in an area with hard water, switch to air dry instead of heat dry.
What’s the expression? “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.” There’s truth in that!
There are a couple ways to keep your glasses from getting cloudy again after cleaning them up. Hard water leaves deposits, and leaving the dishwasher on “heat dry” will just cook them on.
So use a good rinsing agent in the dishwasher and then set it to “air dry” instead of using the heat.
Use a detergent booster.
It also pays to spend a little more and get a good quality dishwashing detergent. After seeing it so many times in the comments, I finally got a bottle of Lemi Shine detergent booster.
Let me tell you, this stuff is AMAZING. I still had to clean the worst of the hard water stains off by hand, but now I can keep them off for good!
I was stunned by how clean the inside of my dishwasher was after one wash with the detergent booster! This is one of those products that’s absolutely, totally and completely worth the money.
How to Shine Cloudy Glassware: Vinegar.
Distilled white vinegar is like the “cure-all” for home cleaning projects! If you have a lot of glassware to shine, I would suggest letting them soak first in a mixture of one part water to one part white vinegar.
After soaking for a while, scrub with a soft rag and the calcium deposits and water spots should wipe right off.
If you are just cleaning one or two glasses, then dip the corner of a soft rag in straight white vinegar and rub. A little elbow grease will do the trick.
It took me less than five minutes to get this glass clean and shiny again. Look at the difference!
I also use this to help whiten the tile grout on my countertops!
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Veena says
Where did you purchase those glasses?
Nicole Burkholder says
I got them at Kmart years ago when we were first married. 🙂
Pam Baker says
Loved your post! Very helpful.
Thomas says
Great post! Have nice day ! 🙂 crzth
Kübra says
Çok teşekkürler bilgi için ??ben bulaşık deterjanımı evde kendim yapıyorum hiçbir sorunla karşılaşmıyorum tekrar teşekkürler
Thank you very much for the information ?? I am cleaning the dishwasher at home I do not have any problems again thanks
Nicole Burkholder says
You’re welcome!
Patricia says
This can be caused by too much soap in the D/W. Cut in half and dishes will still be clean and no clouding. May need a water softener if water is really hard. Same soap reduction goes for laundry
Nicole Burkholder says
We barely use any soap at all- I did just what you’re suggesting after getting the dishwasher serviced a few years ago. The technician told us the same thing. The main culprit in our area is hard water.
Pats says
using vinegar in your dishwasher or washing machine will damage the gaskets in the machine. Once in a while would be OK I guess but on a regular basis will really harm your machine.
Lori says
I’ve never tried vinegar, but I will now…What I’ve used for years for stains like this, or especially to clean dull crystal or cut glass, is denture tablets. Don’t waste your money on the brand name stuff, the dollar store stuff works better. Put a cloth on the bottom of your sink, put the stuff you want to clean on the cloth, cover with hot water. Drop some tablets in and let soak while you do something else. Rinse well and dry with paper towels. Sparkling glass with very little work! Also works really well for bud vases or anything with a small opening.
Nicole Burkholder says
That is a great idea, especially for the small-necked vases!
Linda Bradley says
It also depends on how long your glasses have been like this. The correct name is etching. The reason that it happens is because if you have hard water, the hot water and heat of the dishwasher burns those minerals into the glass. You can definitely soak in a 50/50 mixture of vinegar and water. But if it’s been years….it may not be able to correct the damage. If you have hard water, we usually suggest that you hand wash your glasses (yuck!) or avoid the highest heat/hot water temp on the dishwasher.
Nicole Burkholder says
I’ve turned off the heat in my dishwasher to keep my glasses from getting worse. The ones that I’ve buffed with vinegar look great and are shiny again. The ones I haven’t done yet still look pretty awful. 🙂 I need to soak them so I can get a larger batch done at once. I did start adding vinegar to the spot where you would add rinse agent (like Jet dry) and that has made a big difference on all my dishes!
Miriam Poole says
And then there are coffee and tea stains in cups, wonder if vinegar would work on them? My cousin put a quarter cup of clorox in the bottom of the dishwasher and that did the trick.
Teresa says
I have hard water and my glasses and silverware were bad. Now I just dump a bit of vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher and use regular detergent. No need for a special rinse agent. My glasses are beautiful.
Roberta says
That sounds great, but what does “dump the vinegar” mean? Where exactly, and how much? Or does it matter? So excited = so many questions.
Kimberly S. says
I pour white vinegar in the rinse agent reservoir. When the indicator says it’s time to refill, I add more vinegar. I hope this helps!
KAD says
Hi Nicole-
I just discovered your blog, and I am enjoying it. However, I was disappointed to see that someone who claims to love “good grammar” has many examples of incorrect grammar in her writing – including a run-on sentence in the opening paragraph of this post! I’m certainly not perfect either, but having declared your love of grammar to the world, you need to be!
Nicole Burkholder says
In an effort to be friendly and approachable, I choose to write my blog as if I am speaking to a friend. I write in a casual, conversational style. If I planned to write a research paper, my “voice” would be much more formal. I appreciate when people take care to spell commonly misspelled words correctly, use the correct “two, too, or to” and bother with punctuation. However, that does not mean that I will always be perfect, nor do I claim to be. I hope you find many useful tips and recipes to enjoy on my site-even if they aren’t perfect.
shelly says
Your name is “Cad” for a reason, get off your high horse and get a life!
Mel says
Your a jerk. If you have a problem with her blog get off of it, you big jerk!!
Susan says
Thanks for reminding me of why I hate most people. You’re certainly a prime example. I hope you have the day you deserve.
Shelly Adams says
I used to have this problem. I then started adding about 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher when I ran it. Adding the vinegar to the dishwasher will keep this from happening again and will slowly remove the build-up on the glasses.
Sondra Whatley says
Been doing this for months now, it really works.
Frema Byrd says
I am happy the vinegar works so well for so many, but as stated earlier, read your manual, it may tell you to NOT use vinegar. Another thing is to never use too much Dishwasher detergent as it is actually toxic to many things. I have a water softening system, (worth every single penny for many reasons. I once went to the local dealer to buy some salt for the machine, they were quite busy that day but a factory rep. was waiting for an appointment and he loaded the salt into my car. I took advantage of the opportunity to ask why my glassware was so cloudy. He said, “first, you are using too much detergent. Never use more than a scant teaspoon and never fill both detergent cups. Why? because that phase of a cycle is simply to rinse the load before washing, the same as you would before putting dishes in a dishpan, no need to waste detergent there, secondly, most newer models have only one detergent cup for that reason.” He also said the clouding is not on the glass, but in it. Get a water softening system, your skin, hair, clothing, and plumbing fixtures will thank you for many years to come. Also, use Calgon dishwashing pods. They even make copper bottom pans look brand new.
Nicole Burkholder says
To be clear, when I’m cleaning the cloudy glasses with vinegar, it’s done by hand-not in the dishwasher. That’s what is referenced in the post.
Tracy says
We use Lemi Shine in with our detergent and it is AMAZING. We have super hard well water and our glasses always come out sparkling and clear. Try it and it will amaze! We had glasses just like you show above!
Lindsy says
I have a equal parts spray bottle of water and vinegar that I spray all over the dishes and dishwasher before running it. Keeps them nice and clear all year long 😉
Nicole Burkholder says
That is a FANTASTIC idea!