(Sorry I couldn't help myself)
Can anyone tell me the best way to get rust off dishes. This includes glass ware, peorcelean, china, frying pans and cookie sheets. Most of the items in my kitchen are ruined from being left in the dish washer too long and the rust from the water has stained them. So far I have used a hair deoxidizor and comet with bleach. Is there anything else I could be doing that won't be harmful if inhaled?

>Moved from Tips<

Using a rinse or drying agent in the diswasher helps. I hope an expert in chemicals can suggest an easy fix.

Rust, I'm guessing is from iron in the water. If it is accumulating on your glassware, it's definitely coming from the water unless you are washing things along with a cast-iron pan.

The question is, what breaks down rust?

Fine steel wool (with or without soap) can remove most rust stains. That means scrubbing though.

I would go with some of the rust or degressers, maybe purple magic ( or purple power) or look for a cleaner that has a PH over 7.

You then can wash the dishes several times to get the cleaner off them

I'd get rust remover from the hardware store for fabrics, etc.

Whink and Raze can be bought in most hardware stores or even grocery stores. Your issue could be greatly improved by installing a whole house water filter right after the meter. Dissolved iron in the water is your problem and a good filter will trap 95% of the iron or better.

The chemical that will usually remove most iron staining is called oxalic acid. It is the active ingredient in a product called iron-out. You can pick that up at most stores. It does have some odor, but is not totally over-whelming. You can use it on white clothes, and dishes. You'll need to wash the dishes again after using the product.

I've referred many of my customers to this product over the years. I usually tell them how to clean up the iron off everything, so that the water filtration equipment that I installed for them can keep it clean.

BTW, I prefer the powder form. It is highly concentrated. You can mix it with a little water and use according to directions.

ballengerb1 is right. It sounds like you really need a water treatment system. If that is not in the budget right now, you can at least do battle with staining with the oxalic acid.
Al