White spots and filmy residue on dishwasher-cleaned dishes are almost always one of three things — and in the Sacramento area, all three are usually working against you at once.
Hard water is the primary culprit. Sacramento municipal water is moderately hard (typically 90 to 170 ppm total dissolved solids depending on the zone), and parts of Roseville and Rocklin run harder. Calcium and magnesium in the water deposit on dishes during the drying cycle. The fix is rinse aid. Fill the rinse-aid dispenser, adjust the dispense rate up if spots persist, and use every cycle. Don't skip this step — rinse aid is not optional on hard water.
Detergent matters. Pods and packs that include rinse-aid chemistry clean better on hard water than basic powders. For very hard water, adding a phosphate-based booster to the detergent cup helps, or switch to a detergent specifically formulated for hard water.
A failed heating element or a broken soil-sensor can produce weak drying and residual film, but these usually come with other symptoms — dishes still wet, cycles running forever. A service call is warranted if rinse aid and detergent changes don't fix it.
For homes with consistently bad spotting, a whole-house water softener solves it at the source. A quality softener typically costs $1,500 to $3,500 installed and benefits the water heater, washing machine, dishwasher, and every fixture in the home.