October's Lemi Shine Testimony Contest winner is Heidi!  Congratulations from all of us at Lemi Shine!

Heidi wrote:

Growing up in Southeastern Wisconsin, I knew about hard water. Tons of water softener salt every year, "floaties" in the ice cubes, the way you couldn't use the tap water when ironing or you'd leave rust stains behind. Mom used to joke that all those extra minerals and iron were good for our bones and teeth and at least we'd never be anemic! Living in apartments for a few years, I used plenty of paper plates because landlords weren't known for keeping up water softeners or replacing broken down, scuzzy dishwashers. The rest of the time I hand washed until I was too pregnant to reach into the sink. When I got my own home, I gave up and decided the powdery residue on the dishes was just part of life. I rubbed it off the glasses and plastics the best I could and kept a few newer, handwashed glasses on hand for guests. Trying to scrub the marks off the silverware and dishes before a holiday meal always took hours. I felt I had to re-wash by hand the things the babies would use - the film on them felt gross. When our water softener died (and was too costly to replace) things went downhill fast. The dishwasher became disgusting and I broke a few nails chipping at the thick layer crusted on the inside. I had bought dark blue dishes just a few weeks earlier. I knew they would need special care, but they were so pretty it was worth it. They ended up looking so bad within a couple months I was nearly in tears. Scrubbing wasn't working and I thought my pretty dishes would meet their fate as I broke them in frustration and used the pieces in craft projects. I decided I better put them in a storage box while I tried to find a way to restore them. Everyone said it was just "one of those things" living in a hard water area brought. One day as I was checking brands of cleaner and dishwasher detergent for something new that might help, I ran across Lemi Shine in one store across town. Having already tried several products and spent too much money on bad results, I figured for under four dollars, it was worth a try.

I expected nothing. I wasn't sure about the instructions saying to not mix with bleach, since my gel detergent listed bleach as a main ingredient, so I ran a load with just Lemi Shine. When I opened the dishwasher and could actually see through the glasses, I was more than amazed. I ran it again with some diswasher detergent, adding the Lemi Shine later in the cycle (the cover to the second compartment was broken.) The dishes were actually clean! I thought it was funny that I should be so surprised by what should have been a regular event.  The plastic containers had no residue to buff off and the silverware actually looked good enough to eat off of for a change! I got out my good blue dishes and sent them through a cycle, crossing my fingers. They came out shiny and looked new again. I set them out for dinner and my family wondered what we were celebrating that I was willing to handwash them again. I showed them the Lemi Shine results by taking a "milky" glass out of the cabinet and a clear one from the dishwasher. My four year old said they were prettier now, and my twelve year old thought I was tricking her by buying new glasses.  With every load the inside of the dishwasher got whiter, newer looking and less gray as the mineral crust was cleaned away. It got plenty of use that first week as I took all the filmy dishes out of the cabinets and finally got them clean again. I have run out of Lemi Shine now and then. The first time, I ran the dishwasher anyway. When they came out spotted I told my husband that I refused to wash any more dishes without it, even though it means going across town to get it. Lemi Shine doesn't just work better than other products, it works when other products don't. Not only does it do just what it says, and does it well, the icing on the cake is that it is made in the USA, is environmentally safe, the company gives to charity, and the package can be recycled. Does it get any better than that?