I don't know the water condition but I'm a tea drinker. I clean my cups with baking soda. I keep it in a spice container and just shake a bit on my dish cloth. Works with my cookie sheets and pots & pans also.
gmom

I'm

I can't help but post my chuckle....

Your "old dw" in your post keeps reading as "old dear wife",not "dishwasher".

I never laugh any more. I laughed here. Sorry but thank you.

Did you switch detergents ? that might make a difference.
I rented a condo once where they had a more gentle eco friendly detergent ( can't remember the name) and tea stains would not go away.

emerald, that is funny, I thought about that for a second...

Are the mugs the same at both locations? I have some cups that stain faster then others. A quick wipe with a Magic Eraser before putting them in the dishwasher does the trick.

ML

Ditto baking soda for cleaning the cups. And yes, hard water definitely makes a difference.

Emerald,
Nothing to be sorry about! I'm glad I could provide you a laugh; we all need a ridiculous laugh now and then. I will, henceforth, refer to the old dishwasher as old dear wife.

I'm glad to know that hard water plays a part, I thought maybe I was crazy. And maybe I am about other things (don't get me started on the linens here) but I'm glad to know that hard water is, well, harder.

I like the idea of a shaker full of baking soda. I will add that to my shopping list for next time I'm here.

The mugs are different here and I use the same detergent in both places. I wish I had the same mugs at home, they're a great size and shape. My BFF bought them when she bought the Keurig for me.

Thanks for the affirmations and advice.

We have hard water here, and I was not happy with the way the dishwasher was working. I now add a couple tablespoons of a powdered water softener with each load and it has helped quite a bit. I don't get the hard water scum that I used to. I don't know if that will help with the tea stains, but it should make your detergent work better. We don't have a water softener as they are not allowed here unless you have the kind where a commercial service exchanges the tanks.

I drink green tea and supposedly Dao Ren green tea stains less. I can't say for sure but I like the flavor so that is the tea I have been drinking.

I recently tried different dw detergents and came back to Finish powerballs. My cups stay much whiter than with other detergents.

Our water is slightly hard.

We have hard well water and had similar problems with a kitchen aid superba dishwasher. I replaced it last year with a Miele that has a built in water softener and now our dishes are sparkly clean, like a dishwasher advertisement. However.....the salt for the dishwasher is $13 per box and can only be purchased online! I am using about a half box every month. But our dishes are clean.

Edited to combat autocorrect!

This post was edited by kswl on Sun, Nov 2, 14 at 15:07

Another possibility is to install an RO filter for the water used to make the tea. The Britta filters, etc., do not work for this, but when I make (made; we need to install one in our new kitchen) tea with RO-filtered water, there was no scum left in the mugs. This prevents the scum from forming.

Of course, the general cloudiness from hard water will still be an issue with the dishwasher.

I wish I had the same mugs at home, they're a great size and shape.

==>>> uhmmm... take them home.. and go buy some dark mugs for the cottage ...

problem solved...... lol

ken

We have very hard well water here too. We renovated the kitchen and our new dishwasher leaves my glasses and tea cups and mugs sparkling. I use Finish Quantum now and I think that is what made the difference.

We have pretty hard City water. I occasionally Lemi-shine. It worked good! Available @ ACE's & other places.
There's a dedicated dishwasher-cleaner, & a combo DW detergent/cleaner. I used the combo product. Softens water while washing....as does...

20 Mule-Team Borax!
Obviously, this stuff has been around forever!!
Link below has tons of info. on it. I've used it in the laundry.
It's also effective for some insect-control!!!
(Don't worry!!! It doesn't work CHEMICALLY.)

Faron

Here is a link that might be useful: Borax info...

magic eraser works the best.

I see this is a very old post but it has to be the water. I have discovered the same thing. Previously the stains would be with every use. We moved and have a softener and haven’t had a stained cup at all.

I have just been using distilled water and the mugs are clean. Yay...No more scrubbing spoons and mugs and getting lime. Thanks everyone for your opinions!