Liquid Dishwasher Detergent Recipe

[hqueen13]

Update - need some advice.

I noticed that there were drip marks under the dish washer which happened to start after we began using the new soap. We finally ran the dishwasher one evening when we were sitting here, and the other half commented he thought it sounded different. Today I finally ran it while I was here in the house and found suds squishing out the bottom of the machine. Oops. So it appears there is too much soap in the recipe for our machine to handle (I used dawn).

Can anyone give any suggestions for ideas to adjust this recipe? I am very pleased with the way it has cleaned otherwise. I did follow gd's suggestion of not adding the salt. Would the salt reduce the suds?

I would really like to keep using this, but not if it is not working correctly in the machine... :/

 

[Marianne]

I get really nervous about using any recipe that has washing soda. I messed up all my glasses using a homemade recipe. In another thread, ~gd explained the science behind it. The glasses look like they have a film, but no amount of vinegar soaking will remove it.

I also wonder if the salt was to cut some of the sudsing?

 

[~gd]

Ok one more time, First the difference between dishwashING and dishwashER products.
DishwashING products are made for dishwashing in a sink or pan Usually they are high suds producers mostly because people have been brainwashed that suds do the cleaning which they really don't, the only service they provide is to suspend the soil removed by other agents. this is only a help if you rinse before the suds bubbles start breaking otherwise they will redeposite the soil they carry onto other surfaces. Don't beleive me? try this simple test. After washing your usual load try a few clean dishes/glasses in your dishwater let them sit without rinseing until the suds are well broken down. Your clean dishes will now be dirty! If you wipe them your dishtowel will show the dirt. if you airdry the the "clean dishes" may feel slightly greasy and your glasses will have a slight haze. Salt has a tendency to stabilize suds/foam and for that reason is often added to liquid pan products by commercial producers to make you think your product is better than it really is. [I know I have used that trick many times when my factory was producing pan products} It also thickens liquid products so you think they are more concentrated
DishwashER products are entirely different. Suds or High foamers interfer with the high pressure jets that do most of the washing/scrubbing they foul the pump and sprayheads. Enough foam will make the machine leak as mentioned above. Don't beleive me put a teaspoon full of a high sudser in your machine and stand by to clean up the mess. ONLY TRY THIS ON WATERPROOF FLOORS! You used to be able to tell a good cleaner by the amount of Phosphates they had, more was better. The unfortunate side effect was that they are also great fertilizers and they were feeding algee in our lakes,rivers and even the ocean! First the goverenment limited them to 8.7% since I left the industry the limits continued to be lowered and frankly I don't know what the current limits are. So high suds will clog your machine and salt can cause corrosion. Washing soda can convert some of the fats on the dishes to soap...It can also act as a plating solution and remove alumium and add it to the surface of your "silver" which is usually really stainless steel. Real Silver should never be machine washed. and if you have good china with gold or silver edges or rings they should be hand washed to prevent the removal of the metal. Borax? well it will kill insects and tiny amounts added to my garden soil does boost production of beets and some other root veggies [my soil is deficent in boron] frankly I don't know if it belongs in my dishwasher or not [I suspect not] ~gd

 

[lazyday]

Hey marianne good to see you posting again how have you been?


Bambi

 

[hqueen13]

Then the washing soda must be doing the aluminum thing to my silverware in the dish washer. They come out a little bit hazy. All the other dishes have been great, with the exception that I noticed that we have a sudsing issue.

gd - do you have any suggestions on how to adjust the recipe? I'd like to experiment because I think dish washer detergent is over priced, just like most other things, and it seems to me that natural cleaners are able to do just as good a job, and I am always happier to know what is in something!

We have reasonably hard water (when washing dishes with Dawn is almost never foams, so I was surprised to see a sudsing issue in the machine because soap just doesn't stay foamy in our water), and also have an issue where the water gets brown/cloudy due to some leak in the pipe (it always gets worse after it rains) that nobody really wants to investigate because nobody pays the bill.

Suggestions are welcome!

 

[hqueen13]

Found this recipe this evening:

1/2 c liquid Castile soap
1/2 c water
1 tesp fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea-tree oil
1/4 c white vinegar
1/2 c baking soda for every load

Combine the soap, water, lemon juice, tea-tree oil, and vinegar in a 12-oz squeeze bottle. Shake gently to distribute ingredients well and store in a cool, dark place. To use, sprinkle a handful of baking soda over dirty dishes. Place 1 tbs. of the mixture in the soap dispenser. If your dishwasher has another slot of the first part of the wash cycle, add another tbs to that compartment as well. Run dishwasher as usual.

Anybody got any opinions? Is the baking soda going to scratch or is it fine enough that it won't bother the dishes?