Monday, November 8, 2010

Lemi Shine is About to Make Your Day

I had completely given up.  I was frustrated beyond belief and felt helpless and hopeless.  You see, we have a well and our well water is hard.  Hard as in staining the toilets and tubs hard.  The only way I've been able to remove the calcium and mineral deposits in the toilet has been to use a pumice stone and even then, it's hard work and quickly leads to the decision that I don't mind the stains so much after all (but, alas, I do).

What has reeaaaally gotten to me, though, is that over the last couple years (we've been here going on six) the hard water has rendered our dishwasher useless.  The deposits have covered the heating element in the bottom of the dishwasher, making it difficult for the element to get the water to the right temperature to activate the dishwasher cycle.  This makes the cycle much longer than it's supposed to be, thus wasting electricity and likely having adverse affects on the dishwasher itself.

What has reeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaally gotten to me even more is that deposits have formed on my stoneware (everyday) dishes and drinking glasses.  Also, since the dishwasher is messed up, food hasn't been getting washed off, it's been baking onto the dishes, staining them.  This leaves our dishes not only looking frosty from calcium, but looking unwashed as well.  Did I mention they feel rough and dirty?  It's just lovely.  Especially when you have people over.

We've tried everything we could think of.  Jamey soaked and chipped away at the heating element.  I bought special dishwasher detergent.  We tried running the dishwasher with vinegar in it.  Jamey used concoctions he read about.  Nothing.  Worked.  What we really need is a water softener.  And then a new dishwasher.  And then new plates and glasses.  None of which we have money for (or want to spend money on).  This is what I thought.

About two weeks ago, I lost it (once again).  What in the world is the point of putting dishes in the dishwasher if they don't get clean?!!  Tell me!  See?  There is no point.  So, I started boycotting the dishwasher and decided that I was just going to wash all our dishes by hand.  I pretended it was like when we first got married when we had to wash all the dishes by hand.  But that's hard to do when right beside your right leg lies a dishwasher.  A dishwasher that you're furious with, nonetheless.

AND!  Washing all our dishes made my hands hurt.  No, I'm not just a wimp.  I'm a wimp who knows one day I'm going to deal with some heavy duty arthritis in my hands.  It crops up now and then and I have to back off whatever I'm doing.  Hand-washing dishes was not going to be an option.

Am I making this story too long?  Sometimes I think I make stories too long.  I think this is because I type whatever flows out of my head and my head holds all the details of the long version of a story, so that's what flows out and it's hard to hold my head back and convince it that some people might not like the long version and may want me to get. to. the. point.

Back online I went in search for the magic cure for all my dishwasher, dishes and drinking glass woes.  And you know what?  I found it.

I am so very pleased to introduce to you Lemi Shine...


This, my friends, is an amazing product.  It's all natural- made of citric acid.  It's a powder and you put it in your dishwasher where you put your normal dishwasher detergent.  For the first cycle, we used only Lemi Shine.  Jamey and I could not believe the results.  ALL the dishes were clean.  ALL the white residue was GONE.  ALL the dishes felt SMOOTH.  We just stood in the kitchen caressing our dishes.  The drinking glasses showed great improvement and over the next several cycles have lost ALL their frostiness.  After the first cycle and ever since, we've been using about 2 tablespoons of Lemi Shine in the main detergent compartment and filling the rest of it up with our regular detergent.

It seems so ridiculous that something as simple as clean dishes could make a person happy, but it has.  You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning?  You know something good will happen that day or happened the day before, but you can't quite put your finger on it right away?  That's how I felt the morning after we used Lemi Shine.  All of a sudden it hit me- no more embarrassingly dirty and ugly dishes!  No more washing dishes by hand!  No more having to explain to guests that our dishes have been washed even though they don't look it.  No more need to replace the dishes- or the dishwasher!

This stuff has cleaned the inside of the dishwasher good AND the deposits are slowly coming off the heating element.  I also soaked the bottom of our plastic (calcium-encrusted) water pitcher in 1 tablespoon of Lemi Shine and about an inch of water.  After a couple hours, all the deposits washed right out and the container looks as good as new.  With the same technique, I've cleaned water-ring stains out of several glass vases.  If you don't know what I'm talking about here, you don't have hard water and you can count yourself lucky.  My next project is to clean our toilets and put some Lemi Shine in the bowls to soak overnight.  If it works, I'm going to kiss the container of Lemi Shine.  Oh yes, I will.

SO.  If you live out in the country (or not) and deal with hard water that is making you crazy, I wholeheartedly recommend Lemi Shine.

The Lemi Shine folks have no idea who I am.  I wrote this little review because I am smitten with their product.  You can search for a store that carries it and read all about it (including some warnings for certain surfaces) on their website or you can buy Lemi Shine off Amazon (click on picture to left- I got two 12 ounce bottles for the price listed) using Swagbucks.

May you, your dishes and dishwasher live happily ever after.

The End.

UPDATE!  Dustin from Lemi Shine commented below on how you can get a FREE sample of Lemi Shine by going here and requesting one.  Thanks, Dustin and Lemi Shine! Pin It

22 comments:

  1. I've heard this stuff is great! For years a friend of ours used powdered lemonade in their dishwasher because they couldn't find Lemi Shine. (it may not be the same exact name but a product was around in the 50's that worked the same. However it could be the same exact stuff!)

    You know we have Swagbucks so I may have to research this a little more. Our house came with a water softener and really good water but occasionally we have a bad flare-up of minerals. Can't wait to hear how it works in your toilets!

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've been making my own dishwasher detergent for the last several months, the ingredients are 1 part each washing soda, borax and citric acid- it works great. We don't have hard or soft water though. I buy the citric acid in the bulk section of a small local grocery.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did it really get your glassware sparkling! shiny! and perfectly clear! as in absolutely no cloudiness. I find that truly amazing and will invest in some if really does all that.

    We have the opposite problem though. Naturally soft, very acidic water. I wonder if it would help in that case.

    Aunt V.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aunt V., lemi-shine (and citric acid) work specifically because their acidity counteracts the alkalinity (hardness) of their water. So if you have acidic water, it will only make it more so.

      Delete
  4. Aunt V,
    Our glasses (after a few washes) look brand-spanking new (except for a few scratches- not something I expected Lemi Shine to fix). They are crystal clear. Check their website for soft water information...it seems to me I read something about that somewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  5. THHP,
    I have the same problems you describe, but not quite as extreme. In an attempt at being frugal, I just bought some citric acid in the bulk foods section of my HFS. I put one TBSP in the dispenser of my dishwasher and filled the rest with my regular detergent. I ran a load and it ruined my enamelware. Took the shine right off it! Now the paint is chalky and it takes on the stain of whatever I put in the bowl. I was SO mad!!! That's what I got for experimenting. In case you started thinking you could probably make this stuff yourself, I thought I'd warn you in advance. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. So happy for you! And I like the long versions of your stories. I'm a long version kind of gal.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Michelle,
    I'm so sorry! We, too, tried straight citric acid. It didn't help the problem or harm our dishes. I know the Lemi Shine does have some warnings about surfaces- anyone who is thinking about buying it should read up on the stuff on their website. It hasn't changed our dishes at all- just made them clean. Thanks for the warning!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This sounds great. We dont have the prob bad like you. Wow enuf to of knackered a dishwasher! Thank God~ness you found this product and its working wonders on your dishwasher! But our water is hard enuf to have a problem with the toilets. Im going to try it. Let us know how it goes in the toilet ok? Thanks for this info..great post.

    ReplyDelete
  9. You, my dear, need a water softener. But I'm glad you found something to help with the dishwasher problem! I too had a dishwasher ruined by hard water. But now we have a water softener and even though it was an extra expense, it is SO worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We have many of the same issues with our well water. I will have to try this. Thanks for the tip! Oh, and I loved your long story too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you for posting this awesome review, we always love it when people dig our products!

    Your readers can get a free sample of Lemi Shine by going to http://www.MyDishesLookDirty.com.

    and

    They can "Like" us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/lemishine

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks, Dustin, for the link! I added it to the post above:-).

    ReplyDelete
  13. I know exactly what you are talking about. I spent my teenage years with orange hair from our horrible water.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! I mean WOW!!! I recently gave up on our dishwasher and started washing everything by hand because of the exact same problem. It got to the point where I was feeling physically sick just looking at my plate and not wanting to eat off of it! Tired of washing dishes to put them into the dishwasher only to pull them out to have to wash them again! I'm a complete skeptic, but I'm thinking maybe I can give it a try. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I don't have a dishwasher, but I wanted to say that I like long stories! I like details, too.

    We have hard water and our toilet seems to have a permanent mineral deposit. Maybe I should copy you and google some solutions! I have tried white vinegar which helped a little.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for posting this. I felt in shock reading this post because your feelings about your dishes, prior to Lemishine so perfectly describe my problem as well! I didn't know other people struggled with this. I thought maybe it was our dishwasher, or that we weren't rinsing well enough. I bought some Lemishine and have been using it for the last few loads and I can see a SIGNIFICANT difference in my glassware. Thank you so much for the awesome tip!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I just happened upon your blog...and also purchased Lemi-shine recently...and the results are outstanding!! I had quit using my dishwasher for at least a month or more because I would have to rewash many of the dishes by hand afterwards. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fabulous!
    Thanks for telling us about it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sheila in San DiegoAugust 5, 2011 at 1:55 PM

    Very helpful discussion and information. I bought a whole-house water softening system (no salt) and the company recommended that I use Lemishine along with my regular detergent (Cascade). However, I haven't been able to find what are the correct measurements of each product that work best. Sometimes my dishes are clean, smooth and sparkling. Other times there is baked on food. Any suggestions?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Sheila,
    We don't have a water-softening system, but are still having great luck with the Lemi Shine getting our dishes nice and clean and smooth. I use about 1-2 tbsp. in the trap door along with my powder detergent and 1 tbsp. in the open (pre-wash) compartment. This combo works great for us and 8 months of using it regularly has help remove a lot of the hard water build up in our dishwasher and on the heating element. I hope this is helpful. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi! Must say that this is a TERRIFIC product...and you can get it even cheaper at the Lemi Shine website: http://www.envirocontech.com/item/lemi-shine-original.html

    Also try the rinse...it works far better than any other I've used. I also have a jet black sink and because of the hard water problem we have here in St. Petersburg, Florida....I clean my sink once or twice a month with Lemi Shine to keep it from getting too faded looking due to calcium deposits from the bad water we have here. Don't know if this is especially good for the sink, but it works!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

Please choose the Anonymous option if you prefer not to sign in to comment.

Related Posts with Thumbnails