Hey!

We have a little bit of a problem with kitchen gear made of light plastic and the dishwasher. If you put them to wash on the dishwasher they usually end up brownish.

Is there any solution? Specially if they are already brown

Gosh the water in Zürich is full of lime…

Filters are not an option since we're renting.

Indeed, water in CH is pretty high in minerals. Add some CO_2 with a bubble machine and you have a better beverage than whatever bottle you can buy in shops

Concerning the dishwasher, read the manual. Somewhere, there should be an explanation of how to set it depending on the amount of minerals in water. I think it's carbonate hardness. Then google for Zurich water chemical analysis (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...2HYAK_utLAlC7d) and you'll find the required parameter to set your washing machine.

Also relevant, put salt in the machine as indicated by the manual. Finally, are the dishes made for a dishwasher and which temperature are you using?

Try adding half a cup of white spirit vinegar, it does wonders. Wait until the actual washing cycle has started, open the door and throw it in - otherwise it will just drain away.

Try lemon juice? Citric acid is supposed to be good for removing rust, if that's what it is.

How often do you do this? Each cycle? Or just once in a while to spruce things up?

The problem isn't the regular dishes, but with things that are dishwasher safe and are made of plastic. For example plastic tupperwares or lids of glass tupperwares. Or for example of we just got a knife that is dishwasher safe and and the handle if white. The rugged part of the handle —as anti-slip purposes—has started to become brownish.

I'm not sure about the dishwasher… I bet an arm that it already have those settings on. Of course it has salt.

My believe is that things become brownish on the dishwasher —and other places—when the lime gets hot…

PS/ the manual of the dishwasher is in german… I've tried to find it on english, but this is a swiss model. ¬¬

Perhaps try running the machine on a lower temperature programme?

Yeah… it's something I've been thinking to wash things with plastics, but you have to think that dishwashers aren't washing machines and they don't have "just tap water option". If you want to remove soiling from dishes in the end you need hot water. More hot or less hot, but hot water. I think lime gets brown with hot water from the tap…

For us is really a headache because it's the first time in our lives that we have to face this issue…

Concerning temperature, for sure things will change color in the 70+°C program. I use the 45°C program at home and no problems.

Never assume the machine is properly set, for example a child living there before could have played with the buttons.