Are you still using the Cascade powder?

I learned a $65 lesson about dishwashing detergent when my dishwasher in Alaska was performing poorly. Dishes literally came out looking worse than when they went in. I cleaned it, checked the filters, everything seemed fine as far as I could tell, so I called the repairman. He checked it over, could find nothing wrong until he looked under my sink. "Is this the detergent you're using?", he asked. It was some generic store-brand liquid, inexpensive. "Try Cascade powder" he said.

I did, the problem went away immediately and never returned.

Here in Mexico I have a nice-looking Bosch dishwasher. It is pretty much their bottom of the line model, perhaps only made and sold in Mexico. Ergonomically it is the worst dishwasher I have ever seen, seemingly deliberately designed to minimize the number of dishes that can actually be put into it. (I improved it somewhat by folding down one of the lower racks so I could lay bowls on it and then moved the silverware holder to a place it wasn't meant to go.) It does an incredible job of cleaning the dishes. They come out quite literally spotless, any clear glass is practically invisible. This is all the more surprising because there is no heated drying cycle, and I don't use any kind of wetting (anti-spotting) agent even though the dishwasher has a place for it. The reason for this rambling discourse is this: my neighbor across the street has a water treatment system for his house (the municipal water is not potable) and his dishwasher cleans so poorly that he washes his dishes by hand. He has been told that his treatment system is to blame.

Probably nothing I have said here will be of any help to you, but you never know...

tanstaafl.