Rust buildup in dishwasher?

[NCTurner]

This is a question for all of you & your s/o that have wells. How do you remove the rust buildup in the dishwasher? Mine is getting bad, and starting to stain my dishes.

 

[JackLeg]

Gary, I presume you are on a well and the "rust" is coming from your water supply? :icon_scra If so, it's iron, probably ferrous iron (dissolved). A periodic cleaning with something like CLR might do the trick. There are also lots of citric acid based cleaners out there. Good luck.

 

[Mark Stewart]

A good water filter in line will help some and the use of a package of lemonaid flavored coolaid (no suger just place it in the soap dispenser) Cherry also works but not as well as lemonaid. In the navy we used this stuff to clean drain line covers. We run a pack through as needed if it is real bad two applications may be necessary.

Mark

 

[Joe Scharle]

Pour Iron Out in the dispenser and run a cycle with the dishwasher empty.

 

[welldigger]

ditto Joe

 

[NCTurner]

Thanks all, I think I'll give the Kool-aid a shot first just cause LOML and I think it's funny and cheap. Gotta see if it works. :thumbs_upIf not then I'll give the Iron out a shot.

 

[Steve W]

I had a well a couple of houses ago, and cleaning out the dishwasher/washing machine won't do much for getting rid of brown on your dishes and clothes. What you really need to do is treat the water before it gets to the "user end." There are units available, and IIRC they're expensive. The problem is dissolved iron in the water and not "rust" from pipes (most pipes are copper anyway, unless you have plastic).

Any of a number of the substances mentioned in previous posts will clean up the interior of the dishwasher, but will not solve the underlying problem...

HTH,

Steve>>:kermit:

 

[MikeF]

I use a whole house filter in the main line right after the tank. Have never had a problem with rust or other minerals, but you do have to change the filter once a month or so. Cost is about $40 and the filters range between $5 and $10 (Depending on what you want to filter out of the water)

[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Culligan-HF-360-4-Inch-Sediment-Filter/dp/B000BQUPZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1247609093&sr=1-1"]Whole House Filter
[/URL]

 

[BobcatBob]

Another option is to install a water softener that is also capable of removing iron. You should have the water tested so you know how much iron you are dealing with.

Bob

 

[NCTurner]

A good water filter in line will help some and the use of a package of lemonaid flavored coolaid (no suger just place it in the soap dispenser) Cherry also works but not as well as lemonaid. In the navy we used this stuff to clean drain line covers. We run a pack through as needed if it is real bad two applications may be necessary.

Mark

Mark,

You are the MAN!!ccasion1 Talk about an easy and thrifty solution..2x $0.20 packs of lemonaide flavored Kool-aid and the diswasher is looking great!

On another rust problem end The Works bowl cleaner works great(on toilets), and at just over $1.00 doesn't break the bank! Thanks to all who responded.

I am also going to check out the whole house filter!

 

[Joe Scharle]

Another great unintended purpose tip! Workbench is probably waiting to hear from you Mark!:thumbs_up