Need natural solution for yucky dishwasher

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

We have hard water and the inside of our dishwasher looks terrible. I need to know of something I can use to get rid of the deposits and make the inside look nicer.

TIA

[JLav]

Citric acid? I know that it helps remove stains from tomato sauce from the inside of the dishwasher...it might work for hard water too. You can find it in the canning section sometimes...or if you can't find it it's in Kool-Aide, lemonade works the best (I know, it's not natural at all).
I hope that helps!

[kewb]

I usually use tang to clean the inside. Throw it on the bottome of the empty washer and run a cycle. It smells fresh, too.

My ds was with me one day when I bought the tang and he was so excited to see me buying it. When I explained what it was for he said "But you can drink it, too." Then I asked him if he really wanted to drink something that would also clean dirt from the dishwasher. After he pondered for a minute he said no.

[Rebecca]

We use a couple cups of vinegar and run it on a short cycle. It doesn't take away the pink stains, but makes it smell better.

[alsoSarah]

I have found that for our water, lime juice is more effective than Tang, lemon juice, or vinegar.

We just got a water softener, so I only use the lime juice every few loads now, but previously I added a bit to each load during the "light wash" phase, and it prevented buildup on the machine (and on the dishes--- our glasses slowly turned opaque if I stopped using it! )

To remove the initial buildup, I just used a lot of lime juice in a few loads of dishes in a row.

alsoSarah

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

Wonderful suggestions. I may have some old powdered lemonade in the cabinet so I will try that first. Thank you.