I have used Cascade gel tabs, but wanted to use something more natural. My mom swears by the gel tabs. I have used Seventh Generation gel and it works as well as the Cascade gel tabs. I load up my rinse container with vinegar, and never get any residue on the dishes. The secret is turning up your hot water heater to 145 degrees. We had the same problem of not being able to get the dishes clean and were actually washing the dishes before we put them into the dishwasher! My mom told us to turn up the water temperature. Once we did so, the dishes became clean with no pre-washing, just a rinse and brush off of food particles.

The absolute best is Ecover dishwashing tablets. Most health food stores carry them.

I use and sell Ecover's auto dish tablets. They work great even though I don't love Ecover so much anymore most of their products have sodium lauryl sulfate, which is not disclosed on their "full disclosure" labels. Despite the sodium lauryl sulfate in the dish tablets, which I'm sure is in many others, it's still the best natural brand as far as purity and effectiveness on the market, in my opinion. Anyhoo, people can buy it on my webstore.

I use the dishwasher soap from Trader Joe's their own brand. It works very well, my dishes are perfectly clean, I have a Bosch dishwasher.

Note from Debra: This product cannot be ordered online, but you can find a Trader Joe's store near you on their website.

I too have had the problem of white film collecting on my dishes. I currently have Trader Joe's powdered automatic dishwashing detergent and also have some Seventh Generation automatic dishwashing gel lemon scent. I have better luck with the gel. My apartment has hard water. I am able to get rid of most of the white film by opening the dishwasher door when the rinse cycle begins and spraying white vinegar all over everything. If I miss the cycle, I reset it to rinse again. I can sometimes skip the vinegar treatment when I use the Seventh Generation gel. Using too much powdered detergent makes the white film worse.

I have always heard that powders work best in hard water and gels/liquids work better in soft water, but I find the opposite to be true. When the powdered stuff is gone, I will stick with the Seventh Generation Gel. I still use Jet Dry, however, I read somewhere on the internet that you can fill the Jet Dry dispenser with vinegar instead. That will be my next experiment.

I initially switched from Cascade and other brands, to natural products, not only because of the phosphates, etc, but because the strong bleach odor from the Cascade was making me sick.

I use Seventh Generation, unscented and love it.

In regards to the question reguarding dishwasher detergent, I had wonderful luck with Gaiam brand--it's chlorine-free, petro-free, and comes in green apple or lemon. I didn't have any problem with it leaving white although I did use a "green" form of "Jet Dry" I obtained off the same site. Also, I've heard that by using white vinegar in the jet dry "thingy" that it helps soap rinse off preventing the white film. I've never tried that, but vinegar works on everything else I try it on so why not?

Keep up the great website--thanks to your wonderful recipes I have been able to use natural sweetner instead of that artificial "cancer powder".

We use Ecover and love it. A friend told me that Consumer's Report rated it as working as well as chemical detergents.

Where is the jet dry thing in the dishwasher? Is that where you're supposed to pour in that blue stuff?

I've been using Trader Joe's natural liquid but almost switched to Cascade today, and then just couldn't do it.

Sounds like Seventh Generation Gel is working for lots of people here.

Lorrie

Have any of you tried Baking soda and vinegar? I have just tried it, but I think I have too much baking soda as it left white streaks on the glasses...I'm going to try straight vinegar next time. Any other ideas? I cannot use "regular" dish detergents, and "green" detergents like Ecover are bothering me too.
Christine

I use diamond Brite from melaleuca and vinager, no jet dry. I found without using jet dry it cleaned better. I have hard water. I liked the idea of diamond brite as it is a better alternative to the toxic store brand ones. And i use very little of it so it lasts a long time.

A few years ago when we bought new dishes they started getting the white deposit on them (I had no problem with the older dishes). I contacted the dish company, and they suggested several things that didn't fix the problem. It wasn't until I turned up the hot water heater temperature to 140 degrees that the dishes came out clean. Also, I have been using vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser (that's the place you are suppose to put in the blue stuff, Lorrie) for about six months and it works just as well as the Jet Dry I was using, and is a lot cheaper. It's nice to know that any that might remain on my dishes is safe to eat. Who knows what is in the blue stuff.

I have tried multiple brands and I like Ecover powder the best (even over their tablets). I haven't had much luck with any Seventh Generation products over the years, so stopped buying them. I have very hard well water so have to use a hotter cycle than I would like and extra powder, but it works very well for me.

I have also tried multiple environmentally "jet dry" type products and have yet to find one that works successfully, so I too have had to relent and buy Jet Dry.

Baking soda wasn't so successful for me, although I use it all over my house for other items. I would be a bit afraid to put the vinegar into the dishwasher.

My dishwasher is energy efficient.

Hi,

Our, rinse plunger to our dishwasher has a lost washer. What we do

is use Electrosol,but it, like the rest leaves a white film on our dishes AND the Tupperware! I am going to try taking the temperature up a bit,let the water run until hot, and then stop the dishwasher on the rinse cycle and add the vinegar. (It cuts grease and works the same way on your windows. NO streaks). I will keep you all posted as to how it turns out in the next couple of days.

Paulette aka mushtodo in the YUKON, Canada (beside Alaska) 05 01 07

I have had success using Bi-O-Kleen dishwasher powder. Nothing streaks, no white film, and the dishes are always clean. I buy it at my local health food store and it is very reasonably priced. I've tried Ecover and Seventh Generation and have not been happy at all with the results.

The only one that has worked for us is the Sun & Earth. The packaging says that it works optimally w/ water of at least 140 degrees, as others here have noted. The packaging also states that additional rinse aid is not necessary. It comes as individual packs filled w/ powder. It's not always easy to find, so I stock up when I see it. They do sell their products online though.

Seventh Generation did not get my dishes clean, although a friend has told me it works better than any others for her.

For what it is worth, we have very hard water, and use the dry cycle sometimes and just open the door to dry the dishes at other times.

Just a little energy saving tip I've been told while we're on the topic of dishwashers:
Run the hot water in the sink faucet until it is running hot before starting the dishwasher. Element heaters are big electricity draws, so it is worthwhile to heat the water at the sink rather than make the dishwasher heat it up.

I'm in Canada and use Nature Clean's Natural Dishwasher Powder, which can be found in a lot of stores up here. They just started carrying it in the "natural section" of Loblaws. We have naturally hard water at our house, although we have installed a new water softener system to tone it down a notch, and this dishwasher detergent works great here. We use it in conjunction with filling the "rinsing agent" compartment with white vinegar. Nary a spot to be found on our dishes when they come out.

The ingredient list on the box of Nature Clean's dishwasher powder I have in front of me are:

Soda Ash (naturally mined washing soda)
Sodium Sulphate (non synthetic pH neutral salt)
Sodium Choride (naturally mined from ancient sea bed)
Citric Acid (fermented from non-GMO grain or sugar)
Sodium Silicate from Salt or Limestone)
Alky-Oxylated Fatty Alcohol (environmentally safe wetting agent)
Sodium Perborate (oxygen based bleach)
Polymer (a non toxic, environmentally neutral dispersing agent)

**all items in parentheses above are their comments from the ingredients label, not mine.

I tried the recipe for dishwasher detergent (I think I read it on this site ?) mixing borax 1 T to 3 T baking soda. My dishes were clean but everything had a very chalky feel to it and some of the glasses also had a white film. I tried it again using vinegar in the rinse container and still no change. Has anyone had this problem and if so do you have any tips? I would love to make my own version but this 'film' is nasty! Thanks.

Nancy

I have just tried a similar recipe, mixing a c of Baking soda, and a c of Borax together and filling up the dispenser with the mixture. I filled the Jet Dry dispenser with white distilled vinegar and all of my glassware came out with white chalky film all over them. I will try turning up the water a bit to see if it helps at all....
Would love to hear other home made detergent suggestions.

I also use Diamond Brite from Melaleuca. It works great for me. It is very concentrated so that I only fill each soap container 1/4 full. It also does not contain any phosphates or chlorine bleach, which I really like.

I am very pleased with how Shaklee's Get Clean Dishwash Automatic Concentrate is working. I have country well water, and it gets my dishes very clean. I use less than 1 scoop (approximately 1 teaspoon) per load, which means my 2 pound package has lasted me over 5 months now. Love concentrated products like this, this is a truly eco-friendly way to clean, not piling in scoops and scoops of chlorine-gas producing conventional dishwasher detergent. I also have a friend up the road whose jet dry compartment was completely clogged before using Get Clean. She tried to get it out with hot water, vinegar, etc. and it wouldn't budge. With just 1 cycle with the Get Clean concentrate, it was gone. Must be the enzymes. Good luck!

Regarding the natural dishwasher alternatives....I too am very sensitive to the commercial brands but do not like the high prices of the alternative brands.

After researching the ingredients in all brands, I found that I can use a coffee scoop of either baking soda OR washing soda, a small squirt (a scant teaspoon) of liquid soap (Yes, soap!--either something like Dr. Bronner's castile (mmmm, the peppermint and almond are divine!-- Ecover or Seventh Generation, and I have also used my own homemade liquid) and my dishes are wonderfully clean. For greasy loads a squirt or two of lemon juice from the fridge added to the cup is an extra boost. (The concentrate is fine for this....) I add just a tad of the soda to the pre-wash cup.

Whoever said you could not use soap in the dishwasher....you hand wash dishes with soap...why not?? Just keep it to a small squirt and you have lovely suds, scrubbing your dishes clean. The one teaspoon is perfect for mine using the Bronner's. Start with only a half teaspoon if you use the Ecover, etc. and find what works best for you. The sodas alkalize and soften the water, and help to scrub the dishes, and the lemon juice also softens the water and cuts grease although I rarely have to use it as the hot water, soap and soda do the trick. I don't use anything in the anti-spotting reservoir...spots are a minimum.

I do not pre-wash the dishes, and for over two years have tested this method with olive oil tomato sauces, heavily dried-on egg, etc. and it has performed as well or better than any brand I have tried. I have soft water, so if yours is hard, you can use more baking or washing soda. I prefer not to use the borax in my septic tank or graywater systems as some recipes call for.

No recipes to mix up....everything is handy. The baking soda is in the cabinet...keep a box or a jar of the washing soda under the kitchen sink with a small scoop along with the liquid soap and the fridge is just a step away for the lemon juice.

In cold or flu season, I add a couple drops of tea tree, rosemary, or peppermint oil to the cup before closing up. Mmmm....whereas before I had sickening chlorine fumes puffing out from the vent....now just aromatherapy!

For handwashing dishes and pots and pans, you can use the Dr. Bronner's as well, but my favorite is my bar of handmade soap....rich in natural glycerin and it never dries my hands out.

I have just started using Lemishine, and am very impressed - it claims to be a green cleaner, with natural ingredients. In California, I have very hard water - I used Lemishine in the closed cup, as per directions, with 7th Generation in the open cup, and Ecover rinse aid in the dispenser.

In the past, no matter what I used - Electrosol, Cascade, 7th Generation - I had to use Glass Magic occasionally to get the glasses and silverware to come out clean - with one use of the Lemishine, my glasses came out almost perfect, the silverware looked shiny, and my copper bottomed Revere pan had most of the gunk come off the copper bottom, as if I had used Twinkle copper cleaner on it.

My mom is going to try this back in Missouri in the very old dishwasher in her retirement apartment.

There is a lot of testimonials on their website, lemishine.com - many people in small towns seem to swear by it.

I am waiting to here what Debra will says of the ingredients, if it really seems "green" or not - and how much better than Glass Magic - which I think is rather "harsh".

Also, for the person that posted they had a missing washer on their rinse aid dispenser, that should be easily replaceable for not too much. I would contact the manufacturer, or repairclinic.com, whom I frequently use for repair parts. They have accepted returns well also, such as when I bought a top dishwasher rack my mom didn't like - though electrical stuff is generally not returnable.

On the plastic canister of LemiShine, it states real fruit acids, natural citrus oils, fragrance. It states no phosphates, and safe for septic systems. However, it says not to mix with bleach - would that be because of the citrus, or must something else be in it?

It states about not using with painted coffee mugs, aluminum, etc - but I assume that would be because of the citrus.

So why would ammonia be in this product? Does that naturally occur with the fruit type ingredients?

I use a tsp of dr. bronners peppermint hemp castile soap, 2 tsp of baking soda, and fill the rinse agent compartment with white vinegar. This works very well, smells great, is nontoxic, and even if there is a little film from time to time, it is not a toxic film, so I am fine with it.

Shaklee Get Clean products, mentioned above, DO NOT work well and are so extremely overpriced per unit. They also do not list ingredients readily on the label and I have had a tough time getting in touch with them.

When you are washing things like sippy cups and pacifiers, you want to know that your formulation is all natural and could be basically eaten!

vinegar is perfectly safe for your dishwasher and other things like coffee makers etc. my dishwasher's manufacturer recommended running a cycle of vinegar through it without any dishes once a month or so depending on how hard your water is to remove the scale build up that comes with hard water.

Hello,
For those of you using ant kind of vinegar for a rinse aid in the dishwasher, dilute it before putting it into your rinse aid dish. I have heard people concerned about it rusting their dishwasher.

I have found an excellent dishwashing gel packet product from Wal-mart called Simplicity, which states it is hypoallergenic, non-toxic. I love it, no mess, costs $3.99 for 20 packets

An update: Sometime ago I posted a comment on this blog recommending Trader Joe's powdered dishwasher detergent. I loved the stuff. Sadly, they changed the formula about a year ago and it no longer cleans well. My sister used the gel and she told me that the gel had also been changed and no longer got her dishes clean. I have since tried two homemade formulas, Biokleen and Method, but they do not work well with my city water, which is soft.

Hello, I have been using 1 scoop magic oxi or earth friendly oxo brite, 1 Tsp earth friendly free % clear dish soap, and diluted apple cider vingar as a rinise aid. My dishes are shiny, clean and safe to eat off of!

I have been using the Seventh Generation Lemon Liquid Gel for my dishwasher soap and I am very pleased with its performance.

I have an energy efficient dishwasher with a stainless steel inside. This model requires the use of a rinse agent in order to get effective drying.

The stainless steel interior also prevents the regular use of vinegar as it is an acid that will erode the metal over time.

I tried the vinegar at first anyway, and it did not help with the excessive moisture left over in the dishwasher.

I then found a natural rinse agent at Whole Foods called Wave Jet by Earth Friendly products.

The ingredients are: Purified water, Natural Earth Salts and 100% natural aionic coconut kernel oil based surfactant.

This product is phosphate, petrochemical, GMO, chlorine, ammonia and formaldehyde-free as well as SLS free.

This product does an excellent job as a rinse agent and the dishes come out dry and sparkling clean every time.

I am so glad I found this, because there was no way I was going to use Jet Dry.

Shaklee fragrance-free Dishwasher detergent works well for me.
Sold by independent dealers; check yellow pages under "Shaklee."

I had been using Trader Joe's brand dishwashing powder and discovered that Walmart's Great Value brand contains the same ingredients: sodium carbonate, sodium silicate, and enzymes.

Just a question... Regarding using baking soda and a teaspoon of dish soap as suggested above. Wondering if one needs to worry about killing all germs on the dishes, say from raw meat or whatever.

I am just about to try a newly-found recommendation to replace commercial dishwasher detergent (because my name-brand box of detergent is close to empty and I do not want to buy this stuff again) is from Karyn Seigel-Maier's excellent book the Naturally Clean Home. She says to use equal parts of washing soda --- washing soda, NOT baking soda --- and borax as a dishwasher detergent.

Sounds like a good idea to me! She also recommends including lavender essential oil for fragrance. Since lavender is a highly effective disinfectant, that makes this formula sound even better and I am looking forward to trying it.

Maier's book has a second recommended formula that does use baking soda along with borax, but she adds twice as much washing soda to that combination. And, this book is a really helpful resource for many other household cleaners, too.

For those of us who do not like the idea of chlorine-laced steam from a dishwasher, however diluted that chlorine may be, both of these washing soda combinations sound well worth experimenting with.

hello,

someone told me about:
use 1TB washing soda, 1TB borax and fill the other dispenser that usually holds jet dry with vinegar.
we found washing soda at reasors.

I use a mixture that is equal parts borax and baking soda. I only put a couple teaspoons in, though. And I use white vinegar for a rinse. The vinegar keeps the white film at bay.