3. Soften up your water.
Hard water can be, well, really hard on your dishwasher. Not only can it leave hard to clean deposits in the dishwasher, it can also make it nearly impossible to get sparkling clean dishes. It tends to leave a white residue on glasses and silverware. If you clean your dishwasher every once in a while with vinegar, that goes a long way to keeping deposits from forming, and you can also use a special water softening rinse aid like Lemi-Shine or Cascade.