Stainless Steel Rusting In A Dishwasher

Appearance

Rust marks may appear as very small brown circles and sometimes accompanied by a small "pit" which may be felt by moving your finger across the surface. In more severe cases the rust marks are often seen as streaks of brown which follow the lines of imperfection in the steel. As shown above, this will also happen where a pattern has been imprinted into the steel.

Usually the result of:

Poor quality steel
Allowing the stainless steel to remain in the hot steamy atmosphere of the dishwasher for too long
Presence of salt or acid (from food or filling of the salt or rinse aid containers)
Touching silver cutlery


Cause & Prevention

CAUSE

Rusting is usually seen in areas of imperfection of the steel, for example, along the fine lines of impurities in the steel itself.

Other contributing factors that will contribute to the formation of rust are the presence of steam, salt or acid. Salt and acid may be present when filling the dishwasher salt and rinse aid containers.

Allowing the stainless steel to touch silver items can introduce an electrolytic reaction causing rust to form on stainless steel.

Treatment

Polishing with a METAL polish/cleaner such as Chromol will improve the appearance of rusted items but may not totally get rid of the rust.

Heavily rusted items will be beyond repair.

Prevention

Purchase good quality "Dishwasher Safe" stainless steel. The dishwasher interior is made from a high grade of stainless steel.

Opening the door of the dishwasher or removal of the cutlery early in the drying cycle will minimise the risk of rusting.

Rinse any excess acid or salt from the tableware before you place them in the dishwasher.

Remove any spillage from filling the dishwasher salt or rinse aid containers by running a a "rinse and hold" cycle with an empty machine. Try to fill these when the machine is empty of any items.

DO NOT mix stainless steel and silver.