If you live in a hard water area, the bigger lever is the machine's own water softener. Keep the salt reservoir topped up with proper dishwasher salt — not table salt — and keep rinse aid filled even if you use all-in-one tablets, because rinse aid is what stops droplets drying into spots. Together they do more for glassware than any single deep clean.
How often should I clean my dishwasher?
Rinse the filter weekly if you cook most nights, fortnightly if you don't — it takes about two minutes once you have done it a few times and prevents nearly every other problem. Give the spray arms, seal and door lip a proper going-over monthly, and run a hot empty maintenance cycle roughly once a month alongside that. Scraping plates properly before loading, rather than rinsing them spotless, is the habit that keeps the whole routine short.
Why do my glasses come out with a white film?
There are two causes and a simple test. Dip a glass in white vinegar for a few minutes: if the film lifts, it is limescale or detergent residue, which means more rinse aid, more salt, and a cleaner filter will solve it. If the cloudiness stays, the glass is etched — tiny permanent surface damage caused over time by very hot cycles, soft water and too much detergent — and sadly that cannot be reversed, so switch delicate glassware to a cooler programme or handwashing to protect the rest.
