This Dishwasher Hack Will Keep Your Glassware Sparkling

Do you spend hours rubbing spots out of your dinner party stemware wondering how it's possible that some glasses look cleaner before they go into the dishwasher? Appliance experts at Whirlpool explain that the main culprit for cloudy glassware is hard water. Tiny minerals in the water supply essentially scuff up the surface of the glass, leaving tiny scratches known as etching. Cloudiness can also occur when the minerals themselves stick to the glass, leaving behind a hazy film.

Etching is a little harder to reverse, but cloudy haze can be easily removed with a handy hack from Purdy & Figg, a cleaning product company specializing in eco-friendly countertop sprays, hand sanitizers, hand washes, and more. On the company's TikTok profile, they have published a multitude of videos involving home hacks, decluttering tips, and decorating advice. One of their latest videos covers a neat trick to help you achieve smudge-free glassware in your dishwasher — and the best part is you probably already have everything you need to do it. If you're ready to unlock the key to glamorous, glistening glassware with every wash, check out these easy steps.  

With the caption "So many glasses to clean after Christmas Day," Purdy & Figg posted a video to the company's TikTok profile of some post-holiday wine glasses looking foggy and streaky. Even after they'd been run through the dishwasher a few times, the video's creator said the glasses kept coming out smudged. That is, until this handy hack was applied. Start by setting your glasses upside down on the top rack of the dishwasher. Fill a small glass bowl or cup with distilled white vinegar, and place this cup upright on the top rack as well. Next, unroll and cut a large piece of aluminum foil and crunch it into a ball. Place the foil ball next to your wineglasses, then close and start the dishwasher. 

Just before the video ends, the glasses are pulled out to reveal that they look shiny, clean, and totally smudge-free! On their blog Making This Home, homebuilders April and Dan explain some of the science behind what looks like magic. Distilled white vinegar, which contains about 4 to 7% acetic acid, works wonders for dissolving magnesium carbonate and calcium carbonate, two big components of hard water. Why the aluminum foil ball? According to Taste of Home, putting a foil ball in the dishwasher can make tarnished silver looked polished again, but it remains unclear how this part of the hack helps with glassware. Maybe it really is magic!  

Some viewers commented on the TikTok video, wondering why the creator chose to use this hack instead of adding a commercial rinse aid. The company responded kindly to many comments, explaining that the foil and vinegar hack is much cheaper and more eco-friendly than traditional rinsing fluid. This statement regarding price rings true, considering that a 16 fluid oz. bottle of rinse aid will cost considerably more than a gallon of distilled white vinegar. 

Of course, there are some alternative methods to getting spotless dish ware. One such method that others swear by involves adding salt to the dishwasher cycle. Doug Rogers, president of Mr. Appliance, told Realtor.com, "The purpose of dishwasher salt is to help soften the water, and prevent the spots that form on your dishes when they're washed in hard water, which is water that has a lot of calcium and magnesium." At the end of the day, there are plenty of methods that are efficient for removing hard water stains from glasses. Next time you're hosting a holiday dinner party or special occasion, you might want to test the Purdy & Figg hack for yourself.