this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2026
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Apparently pre-rinsing confuses the dishwasher or something. Not doing it leaves me with residue all over the other dishes though 🀷

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[–] Funkt4st1c@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago (3 children)
  1. use powdered detergent, the cheapest available. NOT PODS
  2. Buy rinse aid.
  3. fill the rinse aid compartment
  4. fill the given soap cup all the way AND the prewash. Sometimes the prewash is just an indention in the little door flap for the soap cup. If you dont have one, just sprinkle like 30% of the amount of powder you put in the cup.
  5. if theyre still coming out with residue, consider cleaning/descaling the jets, the filter, and try putting less dishes in.
  6. if that all fails, read the manual. The dishwasher company wants it to work. They know how it works. They wrote a guide. Look up something like "whirlpool washomatic manual" or whatever is printed on the front of it/inside the door. Mine has a sticker with instructions.

Ive dealt with 5 dishwashers that "dont work" and after kindly instructimg the owner over the course of maybe 15 minutes, they save 30 mins a day washing dishes. Still less water/energy (water heater) to run twice than handwash once.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 4 points 2 days ago

fill the given soap cup all the way

One thing I've learnt from this thread is that this isn't necessarily right. Its size allows for people with hard water, but if your water is soft then by filling it all rhe way you are likely using too much, which can lead to residue on your dishes. For soft water, half filling is apparently often plenty. Which is another reason to use powder not pods.

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[–] idunnololz@lemmy.world 65 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

People who saw the TC video reading this post:

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 28 points 3 days ago (14 children)

Gotta run that water till its hot, and use the powder, brother.

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[–] Bruhh@lemmy.world 100 points 3 days ago (18 children)
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[–] DigDoug@lemmy.world 217 points 4 days ago (3 children)
[–] slaughterhouse@lemmy.zip 127 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I was ready to riot if I didn't see TC in the comments.

[–] DigDoug@lemmy.world 66 points 4 days ago (9 children)

I was shocked that I had the opportunity to post it, to be honest.

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[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 32 points 4 days ago (2 children)

That was fantastic, thanks!

Some of the key things were to put separate powder in for the pre-wash (mine doesn't have a separate pre-wash section as far as I can tell), and to not put so much detergent in. We have soft water, and apparently that means if you fill the thing up (or use a tablet/pod) then you might be using too much detergent which means it might not all come off in the final rinsing stage.

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[–] ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 24 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Residue is a sign of too much soap in the dishwasher. Try reducing the amount of soap. Also, it massively helps to put a little bit inside the chamber and not just the soap compartment. The dishwasher has two washes, pre-wash and main wash, and without soap, pre-wash will be almost useless. With soap, it will drastically reduce the necessary amount of soap in the main wash, meaning no more residue for you.

[–] TrapRag@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago (3 children)

You mean detergent right?

Apologies for the youtube link but this guy fits in nicely with the lemmy crowd and made a 40min video about optimal use of dishwashers and detergent. He does promote a specific powder detergent... but its from a good company πŸ‘ˆπŸ‘ˆπŸ˜Ž and backed with science.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DAX2_mPr9W8&pp=ygUhdGVjaG5vbG9neSBjb25uZWN0aW9ucyBkaXNod2FzaGVy

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

"This guy"!? How dare you disrespect Alec like that! :P

If you're nerdy enough to be on Lemmy, you're likely nerdy enough to already be a fan of Technology Connections; just sayin'.

[–] TrapRag@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Lmao you right, I was being a little too casual. Gotta put some respec on his name πŸ˜‚

Alec Watson puts out some top notch content

Also very fair point but happy to spread the word just in case

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[–] echodot@feddit.uk 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Hmmm I wonder who it could be.

On an unrelated note, down with blue Christmas lights.

[–] HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You mean detergent right?

Without double-checking your pedantry (or language barrier) via web search, isn't "detergent" a type of soap?

[–] TrapRag@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

That is excellent question of semantics. I dont mean to argue semantics but rather clarify dish "soap" vs dish washer "detergent" as that could be the difference between a successful wash that doesn't leave residue vs any alternative result.

[–] Dave@lemmy.nz 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Someone else posted a video that covered this. Some dishwashers (not mine) have a pre-wash spot for putting the soap. In the video, the guy had his spot actually on top of the soap door, so it would be measured but falls straight in with the dishes when you close the door for the pre-wash. He said in the video to just add a tablespoon of dishwashing powder on the door or in the bottom if yours doesn't have a prewash spot.

I have learnt a lot from that video and all the comments here!

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 2 days ago

It's also worth seeing if the dishwasher you have heats up the water or if it just pulls hot water from the boiler.

You'll be able to tell by seeing which pipe connected to, if it's connected to cold water then you're okay, you're not American and you can relax.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 29 points 3 days ago (8 children)

If you haven't cleaned your filter recently I will recommend you double check it. It's probably not it, but it's an easy thing to check

[–] kungen@feddit.nu 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Also refill the dishwasher salt!

Another tip is to pop out the spray arms in the machine, and clean and decalcify them.

(If you wondered "what's dishwasher salt", you probably have a lot of blockage in the spray arms, and get less pressure as a result)

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[–] Donjamos@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

My dishwasher somehow checks how dirty the water is after the first rinse and adjust ms the washing time accordingly, so getting ketchup and sauces from the plates before makes it run shorter.

[–] JabbaTheThott@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

That may save some time but I don't think it'd save water. Dishwashers don't constantly add new water. Itll add water for a rinse, wash it out, and then more water for the clean. I'm sure some dishwashers do a third cycle as well

[–] JayDee@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

Tips I've learned that helped:

  • use detergent powder instead of pods. It let's you experiment with different amounts and dial in the right amount for a run. Generic is fine, they all do about the same amount of work.
  • Run your faucet till hot water comes out, it makes it so the pre-rinse has more ability to soften crud on the surface of the dishes.
  • pre-rinsing the dishes isn't necessary for cleanliness, but scraping food bits off will mean your debris filter fills up slower so you don't have to do the gross task of emptying it as often.
  • add detergent in the dip on the door. This gives the pre-wash yet again more ability to attack food bits on the first cycle.
  • USE RINSE AID. I helps the dishes dry at the end of the wash.
[–] Krzd@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago (15 children)

Running your faucet only makes sense if your dishwasher is also hooked up to warm water. (In Germany) I've only seen them connected to cold water.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (3 children)

It's an American thing. Our dishwashers get hot water from the line, there is a heating element, but it is not very powerful due to our lower output electrical sockets.

I've heard other countries have washers that are powerful enough to heat their own water, which is why they are attached to the cold water supply.

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[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 3 days ago

Some things you can just put in, some things need a long soak and a steel wool scrub.

Fond on stainless? Baked on protein? Ancient debris? You might need to do it manually.

I don't know, man, just put it through and if it doesn't come off, LEARN what you can and can't like a normal human being, jesus.

A good way to start, if you're an infant, is to soak all your dishes for like 6-12 hours, and inspect to see what comes off easily and what doesn't.

All this talk about soaking or not soaking is like mormon young adults trying to bend the walls that skydaddy built.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 42 points 4 days ago (24 children)

Do you run the water in your sink until it’s hot before turning on the dishwasher? Most kitchens are set up so they use the same water line, and starting with cold water if you don’t do it will make it clean worse.

[–] waigl@lemmy.world 42 points 4 days ago (4 children)

That's a thing with diswashers in North America, but not in Europe. In Europe, dishwasher are almost always connected to the cold water line only. OP seems to be posting from New Zealand, I don't know how they handle it.

[–] Ephera@lemmy.ml 34 points 4 days ago (4 children)

It's handled like that in North America, because their mains electricity doesn't output enough juice to operate a water boiler at a reasonable speed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mains_electricity_by_country

So I imagine, in pretty much the rest of the world, it works like you described for Europe...

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[–] TomMasz@piefed.social 13 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Pre-rinsing is the hill I'm willing to die on.

[–] blackbrook@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

I'd rather pre rinse then always be cleaning all that rotting food out of the filter.

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[–] M137@lemmy.today 8 points 3 days ago

I have an old (must be 20yo) budget bench dishwasher and never have any issue with anything not being clean. Never done pre-wash and often overpack it.

[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago (7 children)

I never pre-rinse and I never have any problems. Not using pods and adding soap to the pre-wash cup as per the manufacturer instructions made the real difference.

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