Customer Reviews

Glisten Dishwasher Cleaner

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First of all I need to explain, I am a guy and I do not have much to do with using our dishwasher. We purchased our dishwasher roughly 9 years ago and we have never done anything to clean the inside of the machine. It has a stainless steel interior and I guess I never thought that this type of interior would need cleaning. After all, the dishwasher splashes around extremely hot, soapy water, so it stood to reason (in my own mind anyway) that the dishwasher pretty much cleaned itself. Well my wife came to me about 2 weeks ago and told me that we might need to replace the dish racks in our dishwasher due to the dark stains that had nearly covered the entire surface of both racks and the silverware baskets. When I looked I also noticed a film that covered most of the bottom and sides of the stainless interior as well. I couldn't believe how nasty the inside of our dishwasher looked.

We tried running vinegar through the machine but it barely touched the stains. Some friends stated that we should try bleach, toilet bowl cleaner or even some Muriatic acid, but my wife didn't want to introduce anything that could be harmful to our family or our dishes. Therefore I struck out to research some alternative cleaners on the Internet. This is how I found the Glisten Dishwasher Cleaner. In fact, I found it right here on Amazon.com, and for a great price. Since the product description stated that a deeply stained dishwasher may require two treatments, I purchased two boxes of the Glisten Cleaner.

Glisten Dishwasher Cleaner is manufactured by Phelps Industries, LLC. The product claims to remove built-up soap scum, food stains and discoloration due to iron and other water impurities. They recommend using the product monthly for best results. Well we went for 9 years without using anything, so I figured that if it worked this time then I would probably use it about once per year, or whenever the interior of the dishwasher started to look stained again. The directions instruct you to pour the 3oz powdered contents into the main wash soap dispenser in the dishwasher. You are to pour any excess powder into the bottom of the dishwasher. You then run the dishwasher through a light or regular wash cycle, and you are promised a "sparkling clean" machine. It then goes on to say that for heavily stained dishwashers, a second application of Glisten may be necessary.

I followed the directions and ran our dishwasher on a short wash cycle and waited eagerly for it to finish. My wife and I opened the machine and peeked inside. What we saw completely blew us away. The interior looked like that of a brand new dishwasher! I am not exaggerating one bit. The stainless steel interior was spotless and shiny again, and the dish racks and silverware baskets were bright white. I couldn't believe my eyes. We have looked at the inside of the machine at least a half dozen times tonight, as we just can't get over how bright and shiny the inside of our dishwasher looks. Another perk is that the interior of the machine has a clean lemon scent as well. To think that a product that costs under $5 could make a $900 dishwasher look like new again is simply amazing. We have tucked our second box of Glisten safely away for use in the future. I now feel confident that any time our dishwasher begins to look dingy we can just run 3oz of this product through the machine for a like new finish again. Hats off to Phelps Industries and their brilliant Glisten Dishwasher Cleaner. I can't express enough how much I recommend this product to anyone with a dishwasher.

On another note, the manufacturer also claims that this product can be used to whiten dingy diapers, brighten socks and under garments (and most other whites), and can even be used to clean stains and hard water deposits (including iron) in the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room. It even claims to remove stains from dishes. Please note that I have not tested any of these claims. It is advertised as a dishwasher cleaner and I purchased it for just that reason.


*** Manufacturers Warnings ***
"Do not mix Glisten with bleach. Glisten contains natural food acids, like those found in lemon juice. Contact with sensitive skin or eyes may cause irritation. In case of contact with eyes, rinse with cold water and consult physician. If swallowed, drink plenty of water to dilute. Consult physician if any irritation remains. Keep out of reach of children."

Let me tell you what... I live in an area with VERY hard water. We do not have a water softener. My dishes often come out of the dishwasher very chalky and with scale. The directions say to run the DW empty but I go ahead and run a load of the chalky dishes with this treatment. It works. I can't find this stuff in local stores... you should buy several boxes to keep on hand. You only need to use it quarterly even with hard water like mine.

At our current home we have well water. While this has for the most part been great (it tastes much better than our city water)we have high levels of manganese. Though harmless, manganese is like having rusty pipes, and the dishwasher was constantly getting a brown film on everything (including the dishes). My wife and I tried every home remedy and cleaning product to clean up the mess. We ran cycles with vinegar, bleach and spent many wasted hours scrubbing with products like Comet, Simple Green and Kaboom. Nothing worked. While the cleaners made a minimal impact (through hard scrubbing) we were left wondering if anything could do the job. Finally, I ran across Glisten at the supermarket and decided to give it a try. I have to tell you, there has never been a single product that I've used that has made such an impact with one use. My dishwasher literally looked like it was brand new with ONE wash cycle of glisten. I'm sure if you're a chemist, this is a simple product (some sort of citric acid). However, I'm not a chemist and I just know what works for me.
As a footnote, this product works for more than dishwashers. I used this to clean my washing machine and ran a load of stained whites and I have to tell you the results were equaly amazing (I was about to buy all new undershirts). Bottom line if you've tried everything to get the stains out of your dishwasher, washing machine, clothes and dishes; you can't beat Glisten.

I like everything about Glisten except the cost. Glisten removes hardwater stains (deposits of calcium, magnesium and iron) by using citric acid as its active ingredient. White vinegar also removes hardwater stains because(you guessed it) it's acidic, although the concentration is too weak to do a perfect job. Bleach and baking soda don't work because they are alkaline. Looking for a cheaper version of Glisten? Run your dishwasher with the detergent cup filled with citric acid crystals. You can pay buy citric acid crystals direct from GE and Maytag (part# WD35X151), but it's smarter to shop the internet. Citric acid crystals are widely available on the internet for 1/10th the cost of Glisten (for example, google National Chemical Inc.). Citric acid is also sold as "sour salt" in the canning or spice section of the supermarket, but may be expensive in such small quantities.

this product was recommended by our appliance repair man due to our very hard water, that resulted in considerable mineral buildup. The product works well, and two packages cleared out an amazing amount of "stuff". Be aware that this package is one application, and was smaller than I expected. Would be nice to be able to order this in a multiple package size or in bulk, since we need to use one pack every month to keep the buildup at bay. Also this product is in the Amazon catalog several times at several different prices, but they are all the same size package we have discovered, so pick the one that costs a few pennies more but has free shipping and order 6 months worth, that's what we do.

Glisten does make the dishwasher look better and also cleans out the mineral deposits within that reduce water pressure resulting in less clean dishes. The instructions allow glass to be in the dishwasher when using Glisten so I put in the cloudy, dirty looking glasses on my second use and it got rid of the mineral accumulation on the glasses too. I plan to use it on a regular basis now.

Product excellent. Disappointed because I thought I was buying a box size that could be used multiple times. If you are using the product for the first time, it is not clear that this size is only good for one time. Glisten Dishwasher Cleaner

Really wWorked well but needed to be used twice on serious stains. Definitely worth while purchase.

This product was recommended to me by a dishwasher repairman. Use it periodically to keep your dishwasher clean from hard water deposit builtup. Our dishes were coming out cloudy with a film until we started using Glisten. I ran twy cycles with the Glisten until my dishes started coming out sparkeling clean.....I was amazed at what a difference it made. The dishwasher repairman also added that 1 teaspoon of Glisten could be added to regular dishwasher soap per cycle on an ongoing basis.....I've been doing this and shiney clean dishes every time.

My dishwasher started leaving deposits on my dishes, making my glassware look quite uninviting. I used Glisten, and the deposits ceased. Now, half my glassware already had deposits, and cleaning the *dishwasher* doesn't remove the existing deposits from the *dishes*, but it prevents new ones. The glassware that didn't yet have deposits and was washed after using Glisten didn't get any deposits. That's the job I expected from Glisten, and it worked.

For the dishes that already had deposits, I used LemiShine, which cleans deposits from the *dishes*. Between the two of them, I now have clean dishes, and a dishwasher that is not creating deposits on them.