natural (DIY?) dishwasher soap

[naturegirl7]

For use within the dishwasher - are there any DIY recipes?
I know baking soda and vinegar work well for cleaning just about everything....can they safely be used there too?

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Originally Posted by naturegirl7

For use within the dishwasher - are there any DIY recipes?
I know baking soda and vinegar work well for cleaning just about everything....can they safely be used there too?

I use a natural dishwasher soap, seventh generation or sun and earth, in the "pre-wash" section and vinegar in the "main wash" section. I don't see why you couldn't just use baking soda.

[SusannahM]

We used baking soda in the soap compartment and vinegar in the rinse compartment very successfully while living in Austin. Now, we live somewhere with harder water and it *didn't* work.

[MissSJ]

Originally Posted by SusannahM

We used baking soda in the soap compartment and vinegar in the rinse compartment very successfully while living in Austin. Now, we live somewhere with harder water and it *didn't* work.

We have hard water too ( I think), how did the baking soda and vinegar not work with the hard water? We buy the "natural" dishwashing detergent but it sure would be a lot cheaper to use something DIY!

[mercy589]

subbing...

[SusannahM]

Originally Posted by MissSJ

We have hard water too ( I think), how did the baking soda and vinegar not work with the hard water? We buy the "natural" dishwashing detergent but it sure would be a lot cheaper to use something DIY!

It didn't get off all the deposits the hard water left on. So, after about two washings, everything had a very hard to get off film.

[acannon]

I've tried baking soda. It seemed to work for me, except the dishes felt grittier than they did with soap. I'll try bs and vinegar.