Since there was the thread about home made laundry soap, and I know first hand that that does work, I was wondering if anyone has made their own dishwasher detergent? I have found a few recipes online (using borax, washing soda, and vinegar). I have not liked how my dishes have turned out with several of the dishwashing detergents that are available on the market right now, especially since they came out with those little packets. I refuse to pay that kind of money and still get specks of grit on my dishes. It seems like I am forever putting rinse agent in there, but nothing is working.
I recently made some of my own with borax and washing soda 1:1. It left a terrible powdery film over everything. Just today I found this recipe: 1/2 cup Borax 1/2 cup Washing Soda 1/4 cup citric acid 1/4 cup kosher salt Cover container and shake ingredients to mix. Use 1 Tbs. per load. Here is the link. http://diynatural.com/simple-effective-jabs-homemade-dishwasher-detergent-rinse-agent/ There were a ton of user comments on it. In the end, I decided not to try it, too, since one user with the exact same dishwasher as mine continues to have the white powder on her dishes. It's worth a shot to try it out. A word about the citric acid....I purchase it from our local rural water department and use it to wash the calcium deposits out of my dishwasher about once a month. If you have trouble finding it, you can usually go to a natrual food store (people sometimes use it in canning) or from a brewery.
I have yet to find a dishwasher soap that works well without leaving a film or spots, especially on any plastic ware. I am going to look for the citric acid and give that a try.
About 1/4 c. of vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher keeps the film off of plastic for me. Use it instead of a rinse agent.
I use vinegar as my rinse agent in the dispenser and it has not kept the powder off. You think increasing the amount of vinegar will help? I'm not sure how much comes out from the dispenser.
I've never put it in the dispenser, but I don't think much comes out. I just pour some in the door before I start a load. We have really hard water here, and it had gotten to the point that I thought I would have to replace my dishwasher. Nothing ever looked clean. Someone recommended the vinegar, and after a few loads, it's been fine.
I did try the homemade stuff, and it did not work for me. It may be the water here, but I got the white film on everything.
Thanks for posting that info. At this point, all I have mixed together is the borax and washing soda....I can salvage it to make my next batch of laundry detergent!
I tried using it and after about a month I got the white film too. I quit using it and went back to store bought.
So far, the only bleach-free kind I have found that works is Melaleuca's Diamond Brite. It's around $8 a bottle if you are a member (I order with a friend). It's kinda like buying Charmin toilet paper. There are just some things we don't skimp on! :lol: There are a ton of people who say the homemade stuff works for them, though. If you have the ingredients, it never hurts to try it once or twice.
When I use the homemade stuff, I use half homemade and half store bought. That seems to work pretty well and cuts down on expense.
You may think I am crazy for admitting this, but I am not sure where exactly I am supposed to put the detergent. I have one spot that closes, which I put detergent in, but I have another spot right underneath it that does not close, that I also put detergent in. Are both of these detergent spots? I have noticed that when I do not put detergent in both spots, the dishes do not come out clean at all. But no matter which stopre bought detergent I use, I get this grit on my dishes. The rinsing agent is a small circle, which I have to twist to open. I am going through about a bottle of rinsing agent a month. This does not seem right to me. Thats why I was thinking of trying home made.
Both are for detergent...if you use a dual cycle. I usually only fill one, because I think two is unnecessary. Only liquid detergent doesn't leave grit on my dishes and I was still getting a film- until I started pouring vinegar in. The vinegar also removed hard water build-up that was causing my water jet things to clog.
We use a gel and only put it in the closing compartment. The open one is for a prewash cycle. You are not leaving your rinse agent cap open during the wash cycle are you? You meant you just open it to fill it up, right? I use vinegar in my rinse agent compartment....very cheap!
I use liquid detergent in both cups and do not leave the cap off of the rinse agent, lol Good question, though. I do not know why it is using so much, if it is not really working that well. I tried using those premade packets, and they did no better. I also never use powder store bought detergent- that was horrible in my dishwasher. My dishwasher is only about 5 years old, so I am not sure what it is.
I started using citric acid once a month to clean out my whole dishwasher. You might have to use it several times the first time, but it really, really made a difference in the performance. There are packets of dishwasher cleaner you can get at the store, but citric acid is the main ingredient.....and sorry, I had to ask about the cap being closed! :lol:
