Update: Dishwasher Soap

My last post detailing a dishwasher soap recipe, I found, has changed slightly during my experimentation with environmentally-friendly choices so I thought it warranted an update post. The recipe I was using worked for a time but if I wasn’t willing to use essential oils and lemon juice every time I didn’t get the results I wanted. I also had a difficult time keeping the vinegar and the castile soap mixed together as it would separate in between uses¹. During this time I even tried a Grapefruit Seed Extract Powder which I really liked but it was still lacking somewhat².

The recipe I use now is alot simpler and still something I have around the house already for cleaning. During my research I found a very simple recipe which suggested using baking soda not only for its scouring/scrubbing powder but also as a filler to prolong the use of your choice of soap powder. I have been using Seventh Generation detergent to fill the cup half way and then filling the remaining space with baking soda. I often forget about the multitude of uses for baking soda. Baking soda should never be overlooked as you can use it to clean almost everything in your home and then some.

The good thing about baking soda is that you can put a little extra³ in for heavy loads and you don’t have to worry about overflowing suds. I have not tried it but I would imagine you could use castile soap or the GSE soap powder as a soap base and then use baking soda for the same scouring/scrubbing power but I have found the cost of the Seventh Generation brand, when using coupons, to be a better deal.

Also, in combination with keeping glasses sparkling as well as making an effort to save on energy use, I now open the door to the dishwasher as soon as the washing cycle has stopped, skipping the automatic dry cycle, to let the dishes air dry. Since everything within is very hot from the rinse cycle, everything dries very quickly and I am able to rinse out any leftover food particles which are very rarely left behind when using baking soda.

Please leave me a comment if you found this post or the previous post helpful. Also, I would love to hear from you if you have any other natural/alternative recipes for dishwasher soap. Happy Homemaking!

Update: Alot of food has recently been left behind on my dishes and all around the inside of the dishwasher so upon further investigation, I have discovered a clog at the bottom of the dishwasher. Since trying to take it apart did not work in freeing the clog, I ended up having to order a new part since it is one complete piece and cannot be separated in order to easily free the clog. The very nice customer service woman suggested I use vinegar (1-2 cups) once per month in a regular wash cycle with the dishwasher empty to keep this from happening again.

1. especially at cooler room temperatures [↩]
2. especially price-wise [↩]
3. or a lot depending on your needs [↩]

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