Stains on glassware

[Rob2010SS]

Anyone have any solutions to removing these stains from glass? I've tried scrubbing it and it doesn't work. Not even 100% sure what it's from but it fades when the glass is wet and as soon as it's dry, they reappear.

Thoughts?

 

[Vale71]

Are the glasses new?

 

[yoop89]

Hand washed or Dishwasher? Could it be hard water scale? Could try some CLR to see if that clears them up.

 

[Ki-ri-n]

Same questions as above.
Do you know if it's the inside or outside of the glass?
You could also try Bar Keepers Friend if you don't have CLR on hand.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Are the glasses new?

Not really new. I would say 9-12 months old. It's been used a lot as I love this glass.

Hand washed or Dishwasher? Could it be hard water scale? Could try some CLR to see if that clears them up.

It's typically cleaned in the dishwasher. We have well water and a water softener so could be hard water scale... I'll try the CLR, Thanks.

Same questions as above.
Do you know if it's the inside or outside of the glass?
You could also try Bar Keepers Friend if you don't have CLR on hand.

This is the inside of the glass.

I don't have CLR at the moment so i'll give the BKF a shot!

Thanks.

 

[Vale71]

Pictures can be deceiving and all that but to me it looks like the surface of the glass itself has some etching, either chemical or mecanical or a combination of both. Dishwashers tend to do that with time. If that's the case the only way to get rid of it is to melt down the glass and make a new glass out of it I'm afraid...

 

[Rob2010SS]

Pictures can be deceiving and all that but to me it looks like the surface of the glass itself has some etching, either chemical or mecanical or a combination of both. Dishwashers tend to do that with time. If that's the case the only way to get rid of it is to melt down the glass and make a new glass out of it I'm afraid...

Well that would suck! I think it MIGHT be the picture. When I'm looking at it in person, it doesn't look like etching to me but I could be wrong.

 

[jtratcliff]

try a hot oxiclean soak, then follow up with either distilled white vinegar or citric acid...

 

[johndan]

Try denture-cleaning tablets, like Efferdent. I don't have a dishwasher (ok, I am the dishwasher) so maybe this won't work, but I use them to clean stained wine and coffee carafes, etc. and they work great. Worth a shot since they're dirt cheap (under $5 for a box of 100).

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I get those stains. I believe it is from the dishwasher detergent reacting with softened water. Change the detergent or hand wash. As far as removing them, I have tried CLR, vinegar, citric acid and a few other things I forget... Nothing seems to work. My staining is on the outside of the glass.

 

[Nate R]

If none of the above work... and you are desperate... try:
-fresh lemons (two wedges, give a quick squeeze before you drop them in)
-ice
-like a teaspoon of regulat table salt.
- swirl like heck for a minute.

(This is the old school greasy spoon diner method of cleaning coffee urns. And it worked better than any other method i ever saw.)

 

[okiedog]

To me, it does appear to be etching, as Vale71 mentioned above. I have some experience with that type of etching on my beer glasses. Unfortunately, it is permanent. I used to clean my glasses with PBW, which does a great job, but etches the glass if left in contact too long. Now I use Oxiclean, which works great and doesn't etch.

 

[Vale71]

Not really new. I would say 9-12 months old. It's been used a lot as I love this glass.


It's typically cleaned in the dishwasher. We have well water and a water softener so could be hard water scale... I'll try the CLR, Thanks.


This is the inside of the glass.

I don't have CLR at the moment so i'll give the BKF a shot!

Thanks.

In my experience when dishwashers are involved (hate them, can't live without them, much like the other thing...) and no cleaner, whether acid or basic, can get rid of the "stains" then it's etching and it's permanent...

 

[okiedog]

+1 It's permanent. I never put my beer glasses in the dishwasher. I always hand wash with Oxiclean and a bottle brush, and let the glasses drip/air dry on a dish drain mat. The result is clean glasses with no spots.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I'll give some of these methods a shot.

What confuses me though, is that we put ALL of our glasses through the dishwasher. That's never changed. And yet this is the only glass to have this happen. Maybe quality of the glass...? I don't know if that's a thing.

 

[okiedog]

Type of glass must make a difference. I have gotten etching on a few of my beer glasses from leaving them too long in water with PBW but no etching at all on my carboys. Now I just wash all glass with Oxiclean, with no problems. The Jet Dry in the dishwasher kills the head on beer, so I don't use the dishwasher. Otherwise, I don't know how the dishwasher would damage your glasses.

 

[Nate R]

Any chance someone else is using the glass? Maybe stirring in chocolate sauce to milk? Maybe using a steak knife to do it?

 

[pc_trott]

What confuses me though, is that we put ALL of our glasses through the dishwasher. That's never changed. And yet this is the only glass to have this happen.

I've got that same problem with some beer glasses we picked up on a wine walk a year ago. The glass is very thin, but otherwise looks like normal glassware, except that it has an "Alive After Five" logo applied to it through some sort of painting or decaling. None of our regular glassware, much of which has been through the dishwasher a thousand times more than the wine walk glasses, has this staining. Must have something to do with the quality of the glass, or perhaps chemicals left on when they applied the logo.

 

[Vale71]

Otherwise, I don't know how the dishwasher would damage your glasses.

High pressure jets of hot water full of suspended solid particles (the dirt from the glass- and tableware being cleaned) will cause mechanical abrasion of glassware. Dishwashers are great but you must accept the downside that your glass- and tableware won't last as long as they'd do if you hand-washed them.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Any chance someone else is using the glass? Maybe stirring in chocolate sauce to milk? Maybe using a steak knife to do it?

Nope, no one used it for that. It's just my wife and I and our 21 month old son. My wife is just as particular about her beer glass as I am.