Try this homemade dishwasher detergent recipe to save money and use these easy tips to help you get cleaner dishes and spend less time at the dishwasher!
2 Ingredient Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Recipe And Dishwasher Tips
Often, there is a proper way to do things, which make them go faster, easier and allows you to do a better job. This is definitely true with loading a dishwasher. Here are a few tips to help you, along with an easy recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent.
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Use less detergent. I found out the expensive way that if you put too much detergent in the dispensers, it will mess up your dishwasher. You only need to fill the dispenser about half full. Using less detergent will save you a lot of money too, even when you’re using the homemade dishwasher detergent recipe.
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Before you start your dishwasher, run the hot water in the sink to help get the water hot enough to kill the germs.
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Get your family in the habit of always putting their dirty dish in the dishwasher. This may mean a lot of complaining and gnashing of teeth but they need to start doing this. You, mom and dad, need to lead by example. It is much easier and more efficient to load the dishwasher when the dishes are fresh, rather than after the food is stuck on.
If there are still clean dishes in the dishwasher, family members should at least rinse and stack their dishes neatly in the sink so it is ready to load. Like anything else, it is a learned habit.
To make it easier be sure you have a good long handled scrub brush available to scrub and rinse the dishes. The scratchy pads work well but most kids don’t like to use them because they don’t want to touch the “gooey” food that can stick to the dishes. With a brush, the kids don’t have to touch anything.
How To Load a Dishwasher
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Don’t place all the same kind of silverware in the same compartment. It may seem like it will save you time unloading but you’ll either sort the silverware when you load it or when you unload it. I would much rather handle the silverware when it is clean than when it is dirty. Also, silverware doesn’t get as clean when you put like items together because they tend to nest while washing and don’t get properly cleaned.
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Make sure all glasses, bowls, pans and other containers are turned face down and that there is some space between glass items to prevent breakage.
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Place all heat sensitive items on the top rack and put dirtier things like pans on the bottom rack, facing where the most spray will be coming out.
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Place long things like spatulas on the top rack. That way, if they fall through, they will not fall all the way down into the dishwasher works and mess them up.
Here is an easy homemade dishwasher detergent recipe for you to use:
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup baking soda or washing soda
1 cup Borax
1-2 drops of scented oil (optional)
Mix ingredients. Use the homemade dishwasher detergent like you would use regular detergent.
Another option for cleaning your dishwasher: Pour in a package of unsweetened lemonade Kool Aid or a cup of vinegar into your dishwasher.
For more easy cleaning, laundry and homemaking tips to make your life easier, check out our How To Organize And Clean Your Home e-books here.
