detergent for dish washer machine

[KellyandKatie]

I am looking for a recipe for dish washer machine detergent... any ideas?
I have never used Borax before, I feel silly even asking, but what is that stuff like?
Thanks
Kelly S

[charmarty]

me too
So far I have been using vinegar and baking soda. Works ok but our water is pretty hard so it leaves a film on samethings.
Better than the poison though!

[RidentMama]

There was an earlier thread about not using vinegar in the dishwasher because it was eating away the enamel interior....

[charmarty]

OH! I did a search and could not find it? Thanks for th eheads up!

[myrrhmaid]

I checked out the label on the ecover stuff-it was basically sodium bicarbonate and other bicarbonate stuff, some kinds of sugars-so i figured I'd try to make my own.
I used about
3 T. baking soda and
1 T. arm & hammer washing soda laundry booster (yellow box) and
1 T. borax.
My dishes came out nice and shiny and clean! And no funky smell as they washed!
I was surprised at how little water the machine uses and may even be able to justify it's use!
i thought of using vinegar but decided not too-though i noticed one of the expensive spot treatment liquids at the store was primarily vinegar-so maybe in the 2nd wash cup(?)
yes, some folks here have said vinegar etched the inside of their dishwasher.

[charmarty]

awesome recipe! I can't wait to try it.Thanks!