Vickie, In three glasses sitting upright in the top tray.

And get this, while on my mission, I read rinse aids leave a residue on dishes and mixes in with our next meal. Blech. That got me thinking about filling the rinse aid reservoir with vinegar.

Jim and Maria, That makes a lot of sense. On Yahoo Answers people were actually advising a mixture of bleach and vinegar. I knew enough to not do that!

Nutsy you are wacked, wonky and weird.

Nutsy, Here's a fun game for you. Next time you come home from certifrying, tired and dirty, ask Mr. Boss to place three glasses of white vinegar in the top shelf of his dishwasher. Then you hop right into the bottom rack and tell the boss to turn on the extended cycle, the real hot one. Before you know it, you'll be clean and refreshed. Ms. Kate

Jane, just don't let it spill into mechanical parts. I assume that is why my coffee pot died a premature death. BUT! My dishwasher is now c-l-e-a-n. I discovered the problem. Due to Nevada's extremely hard water, the openings that sprayed out clean water had hardened with minerals. The vinegar unplugged them and the Maytag guy is again unemployed.

Jay, good to know. If I have any questions, I will call Croakster.

Nutsy, have you played in the dishwasher yet? I want you cleaned up before the bbq.

Sue, I will not go the route of putting it in the rinse aid reservoir because of what Jim and Maria pointed out. Mixing is never a good idea. I think as long as I run it empty with a cup of vinegar a couple of times a month, it will stay as nice as it looks tonight. I understood today why it was performing so poorly when I noticed its hardening of the arteries big time.

Terry, Cheap too. [not you, the vinegar.] :) :)

Diane, Hey you just made me laugh outloud! YES! A vinegar wash for all short sale execs like a HazMat spray. Spray them, soak them, unclog them... Kate

Matt, except I'd be cautious of the mix producing harmful fumes. Yes, Diane cracked me up too!

Charles, Shhh, if anyone discovers vinegar disolves plaque on teeth and rooter-rooters arteries, its price will sky rocket. In fact, the FDA will declare vinegar available by prescription only.

PS Charles, Rachel Ray's new sensation calls for 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar as the base for pickled squirrel.

James, I love the smell of bleach so I can relate to your wife's love for clean. The last few years I began using vinegar. Now the smell of vinegar also signals "clean" to my brain.

Squeaky clean. Dishes and dishwasher.

And then I was over at one daughter's house for dinner last night and she was complaining of spots on her silverware.... Now she's getting some vinegar. :)

Barbara, fill three glasses with white vinegar, place them upright on the top shelf of an empty dishwasher. Run a full cycle without soap on the hottest setting.

Glassware clear as a bell now with no water spots. Mineral build-up on the heating element gone. The arms spin and water shoots out the sprayers like a geyser.

I think the trick is to repeat once a month in hard water areas like Nevada.

Cheap fix - no harsh cleansers. :)

Susan, I have a sister who uses blech and argh a lot. I picked those words up from her. When you use vinegar on newspapers for cleaning mirrors, does the print come off on your hands etc?