Sodium Tripolyphosphate

[Icu4dzs]

...So I put about an eighth of a cup of "the works" toilet bowl cleaner (similar stuff to CLR but way cheaper and works great!) into our dishwasher with each load... everything comes out spotless... Also keeps the dishwasher from gunking up with all the lime as well...

Only other natural thing I tried that sorta worked was adding vinegar to the dishwasher... But I had to use a TON of it to make a difference and it seriously stunk up my whole house for the hour or two the dishwasher was running... The kids were gagging and all... LOL Vinegar is fairly cheap but you have to put one to two cups per each load and it adds up fast... Not to mention the gag factor... So I use the works for now till I can find a better solution...

All of these chemicals work to do exactly what you need done but please remember that they are all going into the water supply in one form or another. All the chemicals mentioned are acids of one sort or another.

"The Works" is Hydrochloric acid. Vinegar is Acetic Acid and Citric acid is just that. In and of themselves they are relatively harmless, but just keep in mind they may have serious effects in other ways.
For instance there may be some reaction in your septic system. You need to be certain you replace the "live" part of your septic system from time to time to ensure adequate digestion of the "waste" that you "deposit".

Another very important consideration is that mixing some of these chemicals with others can have "deadly consequences". You must be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you do NOT put a sulfur containing compound in there with The Works. It will release H2S (hydrogen sulfide) which in adequate concentrations will kill. This has become a very popular "suicide" technique among folks who wish to committ suicide. It came here from Japan where suicide is rather common and popular. We had an incident not long ago where a man was found in his car on the interstate having taken his life with this chemical mix.
PLEASE BE CAREFUL, PARTICULARLY IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN IN YOUR HOME!!!!

So, getting those glasses clean can have some consequences. I have to say that vinegar is probably second to citric acid in safety though.

YMMV

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