Why water spots on Grassl but not Zalto?

I have been using Zalto Denk Art glasses and absolutely love them. I put the Zalto glasses in my dishwasher regularly and they always come out spotless. Due to the recent shortage of Zalto glasses (and my propensity from braking glasses from time to time) I purchased some Grassl glasses, which are also very nice.

Now here is where it gets strange. The Grassl glasses come out completely covered in water spots every time. I can even run both Zalto and Grassl glasses in the same cycle through the dishwasher and the Zalto’s will come out crystal clear while the Grassl’s are covered in spots.

Anyone have any idea why this is happening?

Thanks,

Geoff

They’re tossing in the soaker… and the Winner…

Comes out CLEAN! [winner.gif]

Could be to do with the shape of the bowls? Zalto may drain water off the sides easier the way you have them oriented in the DW?

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I thought about that but, but they’re both oriented the same way. Bottom rack, upside down. If this was the case the bottom of the bowls would be clearer than the tops as the water ran down (they’re upside down). The Grassl’s are consistently spotted.

If you rinse clean stems, does water tend to bead on one of them while spreading like a sheet on the other?

-Al

Geoff,
Reach out to me directly. This is interesting.
There is no coating, no process, no film that either brand, so this is odd.

Chris Freemott
chris@cjfselections.com

Thanks Chris. Will do.

I have Zaltos that spot also. Only a few. My Grassl do not spot.

CF - are there mold release reagents? It might have to do with silica content in that particular batch of sand or some other mineral… just guessing though.


George

I think it’s a function of different glass. I have a lot of different kinds of stems – and water glasses – and they vary a lot in how easily they dry and whether they spot. Similarly, I have some decanters that stain easily while others don’t.

Someone commented in another thread recently about microscopic differences in glass surfaces depending on their composition and how they’re made.

And THIS is why I love this forum. “There was a recent thread about microscopic differences in glass surfaces…”. Makes sense!

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You got me curious, so I Googled. Here are some scanning electron microscope images of two glass surfaces. I couldn’t find any of wine glasses specifically. But you can see that, what looks perfectly flat to the naked eye is anything but at high magnification. Glass is not a crystal, so it has lots of imperfections.
Microscope images of glass surfaces.JPG

So are we just gonna skip the fact that some of you people put your stems in the dishwasher?

[stirthepothal.gif] newhere

Always, except for my Riedel Burgundy bowls.

Which reminds me, those old Riedel Burgundy bowls are nasty about spotting. I have to dry them with a towel. There’s something very unusual about the surface of that glass. It streaks easily, too.

What’s a dishwasher?

I break fewer stems now that I clean them in the dishwasher.

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It runs counter to our fussy impulses as wine geeks, but the dishwasher is usually the best way to wash stemware. Better results, less risk of breaking, less effort.

It’s a little scary the first times you put your expensive stems in there, but you quickly realize that it’s the best way.

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With the right dishwasher machine, this also applies to hand washers.

HRH’s pet name for me.

If I call Laura that she’ll hit me!