Hard water in SA? (Blanco: apartment, buy, living in)

[houstmom]

My in-laws moved to SA recently and are living in an apartment a few miles inside loop 1604 near Blanco Rd. The water seems really hard and is causing problems with washing dishses in the dish washer. Is this true about the entire city? Can you get a water softner installed for an apartment?

[janejanejanejanejane]

We have seriously hard water. I would talk to office at the apartment building about the softener possibility.
If you can't get one installed, you can use vinegar or jet dry in the dishwasher's compartment.

[elnina]

I use this:
Miele Water Softener Salt case lot 7
for the dishwasher and washer.
You can also try adding baking soda or borax when you add the detergent.

[grjr]

LemiShine works really well in the dishwasher. Just a teaspoon of it in with the detergent makes the glasses come out sparkling. I buy it at SuperTarget but HEB may have it too.

[neddy]

A packet of instant lemonade will do the same thing in the dishwasher and smell good to boot!

[wellguy]

Originally Posted by houstmom

My in-laws moved to SA recently and are living in an apartment a few miles inside loop 1604 near Blanco Rd. The water seems really hard and is causing problems with washing dishses in the dish washer. Is this true about the entire city? Can you get a water softner installed for an apartment?

On July 1st 2010 many States banned the use of Phosphates (well they called for a major decrease so the level is almost nill) in Dishwashing Detergents. If the soap was purchased after that date this may be the culprit. Phosphates acted to soften our hard water which in turn as you know reduces /eliminates the hard water film /deposits. Please use a drying agent like Jet Dry, Lemi Shine, etc. as other have suggested. Use the Air Dry feature instead of the Heat Dry. You can still find detergents with phosphates and I have heard that some of the "Green Detergents" work rather well but a drying agent is still needed. I have heard of Folks adding Salt or Vinegar ???? prior to starting the wash cycle and they have had very good luck with the appearance of their dishes.

[wellguy]

Originally Posted by neddy

A packet of instant lemonade will do the same thing in the dishwasher and smell good to boot!

That's a GREAT SUGGESTION and I'm sure it's a lot cheaper than Lemi Shine *(which is a great product)

[TexasRedneck]

Just keep in mind that the lemonade works because it's lowering the pH of the water, so be sure what you're washing can't be hurt by short durations of low pH levels. Most won't be, but keep an eye on things. Small doses of citric acid will do the same, and is even cheaper than lemonade mix.