During the rinse cycle, water naturally wants to form droplets. As those droplets dry, they leave behind dissolved minerals, especially in hard water areas. That's what causes spotting and cloudy glass. This solution uses citric acid to stop it.
An acidic rinse aid works by:
Try reducing the amount of dishwasher powder used, check the filters and spray arms for blockages, and run a cleaning cycle with just citric acid to remove built-up residue. Cloudiness is often a sign of hard water or residue already present in the machine.
Yes, you can. In fact, I've recommended vinegar as a rinse aid in the past and still use it myself from time to time. Vinegar helps reduce mineral spotting and can improve the final rinse.
You may hear that regular use of vinegar contributes to wear on seals over time. The risk is often debated, and many people use vinegar for years without issue, but it's worth being aware of.
For that reason, I generally prefer citric acid. It serves a similar purpose, is odourless, easy to store, and gives you a more consistent and controlled solution.
Citric acid
Lowers the pH of the rinse water, which neutralises alkaline detergent residue and stops water clinging in droplets, so glasses and cutlery dry spot-free instead of cloudy.
