Here’s How to (Easily!) Fix the Most Annoying Thing About Your Dishwasher

Let me first say this: I LOVE my dishwasher. I have lived in apartments with and without dishwashers, and I truly believe that, despite my best efforts, the machine does a better job than I do at getting dishes squeaky-clean, no matter how well I equip myself with gloves or soap or great-looking sponges. Plus, the dishwasher saves me from having to get too down-and-dirty with dinner plates, overnight-hardened cheese goo, and the like. Again: I’ll do it, but I’d rather not.

There’s just one area where I feel like the dishwasher falls short. Despite its hot water and the dry time and whatever else, I always end up with water spots on my glasses. When I wash glasses by hand and let them dry upside down, I don’t get those spots.

It’s a dilemma, because as I mentioned, I love the convenience of the dishwasher, but would also like for my glasses to come out looking their best. Luckily, I recently observed a brilliant trick at a restaurant that will easily solve the problem.

First of all: Shoutout to Oakwood Pizza Box, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I observed this hack! They have a tight menu of only the best pizzas, plus one salad, a few beers, and cocktails. I go there with the kids whenever I can. It’s the best, and as a former Brooklynite, I take my pizza seriously.

Back to the point of this story: I was waiting for my pizza the other week, and I saw the waitress do something cool. She filled a pitcher with piping-hot water, then reached for a wine glass. She held it over the water until the glass steamed up, then wiped it down with a cloth. SPARKLING! The glass looked perfect!

Maybe all restaurants do this, I don’t know. But it’s such an easy take-home tip if you have a water spot problem! She banged out a dozen glasses quickly, and when she got called away to do something else, she tossed a dish towel over the pitcher until she was ready to start again. I’m guessing you have hot water and a pitcher or bowl, so this seems super-easy to replicate.

Now, I can confidently go back to loving my dishwasher, without sacrificing crystal-clear wine glasses.