Dishwasher Soap

Our "appliance elf" told us a few things that really helped:
*Do not RINSE dishes. The detergent needs "something" to "work on" so scrape, but don't rinse.
*Start with a clean dishwasher -- use a cleaner that you buy or run a load with 2 cups of white vinegar
*Never use liquid or gel in your dishwasher--only powder (opposite of washing machines)
*Don't add any extra. The small pre-measured packets are the best way to do this, if, like me, you tend to add a little extra "shot" for "good measure"!

Good luck!

ETA
O&D (who is not me). Interesting. I'm all for doing less work - have to give that a try.

ORIGINAL
That's how dishwashers work - it's not the soap, it's possible, but not likely that it was the dishwasher.

They only spray water to remove stuck on food. My wife blamed me for this for a long time - that I wasn't adequately "pre-washing".

I call BS.

You still need to pre-scrub. Takes 2 seconds and you rinse and brush and throw in dishwasher.

Unless you have the $1000 dishwasher. Those might do it all, but I doubt it.

Or you can take my wife's route: Set dirty dishes aside for a week.
Wait until weekend to then do 2 loads of dirty dishes. Wash until sparkling clean by hand with dishsoap.

Load into dishwasher.

lol Dad on the procrastination!

I use cheap grocery store brands and I don't have residue, even on my wine glasses. I think its how you load the washer rather than what detergent (at least for my washer...its a Whirlpool). If I overload, where the top and bottom jets can't reach any of the dishes facing the middle of the washer, then I get residue.

We have a Kenmore Elite and there are times when food is left behind. I notice that when my husband doesn't scrape off dried on foods is when they are not clean. I also rinse everything because we only run the dishwasher every other day. I think it's gross to just put the dishes into the dish washer without rinsing, aside from the smell the drain will eventually get clogged.

I use seventh generation packets in the dishwasher and they work great.

I had the same problem when we moved into our new house. The water here just has more in it, and leaves more residue. Our city recommended Finish Gelpacs, and they work great! I won't use anything else. They even got some of the old stuff off my glasses that had built up over the years. My mother in law started using them and got the same results.

Be sure and get the gepacs, NOT the powder bar looking ones with the red dot in the center, the gelpacs work much better!

Hope this helps

What does your dishwasher manual say? Mine specifically says the brand and type to use. We also have a newer model (1 year old) and OnenDone is right; the manual says that the soap needs the food/residue to cling to in order to remove it. Also take a look at the drawing in the manual on how to specifically load the dishwasher. This does make a difference, depending on where the water jets are located, etc.

It is entirely possible the water is not hot enough. I know that may not sound right but we got a new dishwasher and it did not clean the dishes and the old one had been. The water somehow got readjusted to being cooler for the kiddos to prevent accidental scalding.

If the water is not hot enough there is nothing you can do to make any detergent work.

We use Walmart brand powder and it has always worked best for us.