--- slug: how_to_remove_cloudiness_from_glasses category_path: home_kitchen/kitchen_dining/dining_entertaining/glassware_drinkware/tumblers_water_glasses title: "How to Remove Cloudiness From Glasses" lead: "Soak the cloudy glass in warm white vinegar for a few minutes, then rub and rinse — if it clears, the film was hard-water mineral scale, which acid dissolves. If it stays cloudy, the glass is permanently etched by the dishwasher and can't be restored." recommendation: name: "Soak in white vinegar to dissolve mineral film — but permanent dishwasher etching won't come back; prevent it instead" reason: "Cloudy glasses come from two different causes, and only one is reversible, so the first job is telling them apart. Most cloudiness is a hard-water mineral film (limescale) deposited by the dishwasher, and it dissolves in acid: soak the glass in warm white vinegar for 5-15 minutes, or hold a vinegar-soaked cloth against it, then rub with a soft cloth and rinse — lemon juice or citric acid works too. If the film lifts, you're done. If it doesn't, the glass is etched: the dishwasher's heat, soft water, and too much detergent have permanently pitted the surface, and nothing removes that — the glass just looks that way now. Prevent both by using less detergent, adding a rinse aid, not over-drying, and hand-washing thin or delicate glassware. Test any fix on one glass first, and never use an abrasive, which scratches glass into looking cloudy on its own." published: 2026-07-08 updated: 2026-07-08 ---