Lemi Shine Pacs Review

Here's my review of Lemi Shine Pacs, the dishwasher detergent additive for hard water, which helps remove film, spots and build up.

I don't know about you, but in my area we have extremely hard water. Most people around here have water softeners, but we don't (at least not yet -- we're definitely considering it).

Because of that we've got quite a bit of hard water build up in our dishwasher, and recently it actually caused some mechanical problems with it.

We paid money to get it fixed, but were told by the repairman we needed to be cleaning our dishwasher more often, so then began my quest to find a good dishwasher cleaner.

In the process of this I found Lemi Shine, which has an appliance cleaner which I absolutely loved.

So then I began to learn more about their products and low and behold they have a dishwasher detergent additive that you add to each load of dishes you run in your dishwasher to combat hard water spots and build up.

The Original Lemi Shine comes in a powder, and you pour some into the detergent dispenser during each load. (Here is the article on the site which provides many reviews of this original powder version!)

Now, as an alternative to this original powder the company has come out with pacs, which work in just the same way, but with the convenience of it all being premeasured for you. (You can see both types of the product in the picture to the left.)

*** Update: Since writing this review, it appears that Lemi Shine has discontinued the pacs version of this product (since they instead came out with a dishwasher detergent that is supposed to do something similar. However, you can still use the powder version of the dishwasher detergent additive, and in my house we still do! *** End Update

The company was kind enough to send me a couple of bags of these pacs to try, as well as a couple of containers of the original powder. They asked me to try it out and share how it worked for me with you, and I have to say I've not been disappointed.

I've now been using the pacs for about a week, using one with each load of the dishwasher. Since this is also the first full week since school let out, and all the kids have been home all week my dishwasher has gotten quite the work out already, with me doing one load at least per day, sometimes more.

The directions say to add the pac into the main detergent tray, and then add the dishwasher detergent itself to the prewash tray, as you can see I did in the picture to the right.

The directions also recommend using powder detergent when using this product, which works out fine since that is what I typically use anyway.

After using about eight of the packs so far, I'm already noticing some nice changes to the look of my dishwasher itself, plus my plates, bowls and glasses.

As you can see from the picture of the detergent tray above, despite several cleanings lots of hard water has build up on the dishwasher itself, including in and around the detergent tray.

It is not all gone yet by any means, but I have noticed it is getting better looking and shiner inside the machine itself after each load now (see picture to the left). Although with the amount of build up in there I bet it will take at least one bag full of pacs, maybe both, to really get it all cleared out.

What I'm really surprised by is how much shinier all my plates, bowls and glasses look after just these few uses. I don't think I realized how much hard water build up was on them since they all looked the same, but as I put away some of my bowls this afternoon from the dishwasher I noticed how much shinier the ones I was putting away were than the ones still in the cabinet (that hadn't run through the dishwasher recently).

If you suffer from hard water like I do, I definitely recommend trying this product. Do a run through or two with the machine cleaner and then beginning using this additive along with your normal dishwasher detergent in each load and hard water film and spots will hopefully no longer be as much of a problem for you. I know they're not for me!

Where You Can Purchase Lemi Shine Products

Lots of stores carry this product. I personally have seen everything from the line (including the new pacs) at my local Walmart.

You can also purchase them on the Internet through the links below (as noted above, the detergent additive pacs do not appear to be available anymore, but the powder version still is, and it works in exactly the same way):

FTC Disclosure: Lemi Shine provided me with this product for my use, as well as compensated me for the time to use and review this product. However, all opinions and thoughts about this product are my own, and have not been influenced by the company.

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CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.