Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Dishwasher Detergent

My SIL asked if I had a magical cheap dishwasher detergent alternative. Hmmm....I did not. It sounded like something I needed though. Dishwasher detergent is fairly cheap at Sam's, but (as much as I cover my eyes and ears and sing "la la la la la" when I walk through the door) Sam's is really just WalMart and I really really try to avoid giving my money to Walmart. So dishwasher detergent, huh? I was on a search. And I found what I was looking for. Better yet, it uses the same ingredients as the homemade laundry detergent--yay! I found a few theories.....

The one I made (and is washing a load of dishes as we speak) mixes equal parts Borax and Washing Soda. That's it. Why oh why have I been buying cascade all these years????? Most people also recommend filling the rinse aid compartment with plain ol' white vinegar (very cheap at Sam's---grrrrrrrr maybe I can't get away from it after all, though at the rate we're going I need a 50 gallon drum of vinegar). Apparently the homemade detergent will leave spots without the vinegar rinse.

Some people said to use baking soda instead of washing soda, but I think these people are new to frugal/green living and just misunderstood something somewhere along the way.

Some people just use the homemade laundry detergent in the dishwasher as well--apparently, it's non-sudsing enough that it works fine.

In searching for a recipe, I also found the best blog I've ever come across: http://christinemoers.blogspot.com/ I especially love her smooching trees, sex, and breastfeeding posts (click on the appropriate tag links to see the posts).

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