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Home ยป Natural Dishwasher Rinse Aid ~ Important Update

Natural Dishwasher Rinse Aid ~ Important Update

by Adrienne 329 Comments Published August 20, 2012 Updated: Feb 17, 2021

This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission. Learn more in our disclosure.
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Avoid both water spots and harmful chemicals by making this DIY super simple & natural dishwasher rinse aid! Plus instructions on how to properly use it in your dishwasher.

In an effort to reduce toxins in our home, I try to make as many natural home care products as possible, like my no-streak window cleaner, shower cleaner, fruit fly trap, weed killer, foaming soap, and my not-so-homemade laundry soap.

I posted a super simple Homemade Dishwasher Rinse Aid previously, but it's been about a year (I can't believe it's been that long) since and I have a very important update to share with you.

glasses and mugs in top rack of dishwasher using natural dishwasher rinse aid

And this homemade rinse aid is at least as simple, if not more so.

Why the need for an update?  And how could it be very important?

Read on.  Please.

You know I am always looking for easier, more natural, and less expensive ways to do things around the home, right?

Well, when I wrote that first post, I was super excited when I figured out that I could get super clean and shiny dishes and glasses just by putting white vinegar in the rinse aid compartment of my dishwasher.

And, I was pleased with myself when I thought to add food coloring to the vinegar so that I could see when it was time to add more vinegar.

I mean, who can beat saving that much money, doing it naturally and not mucking up the environment with all of those chemicals and extra packaging?  (Not that I've ever bought rinse aid in my life -- I haven't :-).)

So--why the need for an update?

Well, here's what happened.

My super duper homemade rinse aid was doing a great job for awhile, but then our dishes started to have some sort of gritty residue on them.

I thankfully was able to negotiate with our manufacturer to have a repairman come out for free since I had called about the issue when the dishwasher was still under warranty.

Well, I proudly showed the repairman my frugal prowess and felt I had really beaten the system with my homemade rinse aid, but I did ask him about something that had been bothering me.  And I wondered if this was partly the cause of my gritty dishes.  (Turns out we have slightly hard water, but that's a different story.)

See, the rinse aid compartment was still full of green-colored vinegar even thought I hadn't refilled the compartment for maybe 4 months or so.

Well, the repairman told me something that I had no idea about.

The acid in the vinegar can damage the rubber components in the rinse aid compartment.

Well, shoot.

I mean, here I am trying to save myself and my readers money, and I might have created a big problem instead.

Now, I am not for sure about this, but another repairman told me the same thing.

This second repairman told me that on newer dishwashers, the rinse aid compartments have rubber components that aren't really compatible with acidic things like vinegar.

He recommended the technique that I am sharing with you today.

So---first of all, please accept my apologies for possibly steering you down the wrong road.  It's not fun for me  know that I might have steered you all down the wrong road.

And hopefully I can make it up to you with today's tip for a Homemade Dishwasher Rinse Aid that is at least as easy as, if not more easy than the original rinse aid that I shared with you.
glasses and mugs in top rack of dishwasher using natural dishwasher rinse aid

Homemade Dishwasher Rinse Aid

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Instructions

  • Place small cup in your dishwasher's top rack.
  • Fill with a small amount of white vinegar.
  • Run dishwasher as usual.
Tried this recipe?Mention @wholenewmom or tag #wholenewmom!

 

 

So there you have it.  Super simple.  You can avoid the step of the food coloring, but you do need to fill your little cup each time you run the dishwasher.

But at least it will work and you won't be possibly damaging any components in your dishwasher.

Here's a photo of our dishwasher for your enjoyment :-).   The vinegar is in the little plastic container in the lower left.

Dishwasher Rinse Aid

By the way, if you are wondering why we have rubber bands on our glasses, you can read this post here.

I can't confirm that the rubber components on my dishwasher were damaged by the vinegar, or that yours will be, but who needs to find out, right?

And I would recommend that even if you have an older dishwasher, that you use this technique.

Just.  In.  Case.

Or at least call your manufacturer to make sure it's OK to put vinegar in your rinse aid compartment.

Looking for other ways to save money and detoxify your life?  Here are some other posts you might be interested in:

Homemade Foaming Soap
Decongestant Chest Rub (like Vicks Vapo-Rub)
Amazing No-Streak Glass Cleaner
Moisturizing and Exfoliating Sugar Scrub
Jojoba Facial Cleaner
Easiest Baby Wipes 

(Top Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jenny-pics/2896488626/) 

Do you use a rinse aid?

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About Adrienne

Adrienne Urban is the Founder and Owner of Whole New Mom. She has a background in research, journalism, insurance, employee benefits, financial markets, frugal living, and nutrition. Seeking a better life for herself and her family, she uses research and consults with many physicians and other practitioners to find solutions to the variety of issues they have dealt with including life-threatening food allergies and thyroid and adrenal concerns. WholeNewMom.com is the result of her experiences and knowledge gained throughout the process. Posts are reviewed and verified by the Whole New Mom team.

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  1. Emily

    July 11, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    Hi! I am looking for alternative cleaners and right now,specifically rinse agent. Just curious if this is still working for you. I used to use white vinegar in the top rack on an empty cycle to clean my old dishwasher. Never thought of using it with dishes loaded! Do you do this every load you run? Are you still getting cleaner dishes?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      July 15, 2019 at 6:52 am

      Hi there. I actually have forgotten to do this for a very long time but it appears to be working for my readers. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  2. Dawn

    April 25, 2019 at 12:39 am

    You might want to check the vinegar issue out further. When I first saw this article, my first reaction was that the vinegar would disintegrate the rubber seals in the dishwasher. That is because that happened to me in my washing machine over 30 years ago. I was told, to get the sizing out of fabrics, or clothing, to soak them in white vinegar added to a tub of water. So, I thought it would be easier and more efficient to do it in my washing machine, than a big tub. Before too long, the rubber seals in my washing machine got disintegrated. I found out that the vinegar did that. Mind you, I put a few cups of the vinegar in the whole washing machine tub of water (and I had a large tub, so gobs of water), and even being that diluted, it eventually dissolved my rubber seals. I did this with several loads of laundry, over about a week or two to remove sizing from drapery fabric and clothes. I was not doing this every load, forever. So, you might want to research this before the seals on the dishwasher fail and you get a flood on the kitchen floor (which ruins the lower kitchen cabinets, and even gets under the flooring-even ceramic tile, and cause mold. We had a pipe break under the kitchen foundation and had a flood coming up from under the ceramic floor tiles, soaking the cabinets, etc. - 5 months later, we still in the process of getting the kitchen cabinets replaced, new floor tile, etc. and are living in a temporary home due to the mess of taking up the old ceramic tiles). I hope the vinegar won't do that because I'm all into natural also. But, please check it out further as you don't want a catastrophe. Bless you with all you do.

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 27, 2019 at 7:00 am

      Wow - thanks for the tip. This is super confusing! Why the varying opinions?!

      Reply
  3. Pamela

    April 08, 2019 at 8:25 pm

    Great tips and recipes always...used many. Do you have a recipe for actual Dish washing soap for the dishwasher? I recently installed a water conditioner (Nuvo) which I don't like.....my homemade dish washing soap (borax washing soda and salt) leaves a nasty film. Nuvo company says use less....tried still an issue. Currently using the vinegar in a cup on the top shelf with nothing else (no soap) but dishes don't always come out clean. Any ideas?

    Again thanks for all your great information!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 09, 2019 at 12:14 am

      Hi there - I don't have one--yet. I tried but it didn't turn out that well so I moved on to other things. Stick around and hopefully you will like the things I have come up with. Thanks for reading!

      Reply
  4. Win

    April 08, 2019 at 7:04 pm

    In regards to damage caused by vinegar...without question it does. I used a very small amount of regular strength white vinegar in the rinse water for C-Pap water containers to be sure the gentle dishwashing liquid I was using was completely rinsed off. Within a very short period of time, the soft rubber (very small ridge) sealing tightly the top to the bottom of the container started leaking. I thought it was a defect of the item. It was not. Now using no vinegar in the rinse, the unit lasts for many months to years. The vinegar was the issue. You are correct!!! Thanks for your helpful suggestions.

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 09, 2019 at 12:08 am

      HI there. This is so interesting b/c many said that this isn't a problem--you can see it in the comments area. This is confusing to me!

      Reply
  5. Wren

    April 08, 2019 at 5:41 pm

    What these repairmen told you is TRUE TRUE TRUE! I didn't ruin my dishwasher components, but I did ruin my Floor Mate electric mopper. Oh was I mad at myself. The day I found out about it I was rushing with company on the way from out of state and mopping was the last ting I needed to do after rain and a big dog! Oh my. The thing began leaking like a sieve! Yes.... it's true... straight vinegar will eat away at some plastic/rubbery/gaskety/??? parts and it won't be pretty. The only thing I ever put in that mop was warm water until the day I regretfully used vinegar.... maybe it's because it sat with it in there for a couple of weeks, or maybe not, but either way, it was not repairable. We have had a major dishwasher leak (not due to vinegar in the internal parts, but a faulty gasket) that went undetected until it was a horrific mess. Take my word for it. Don't put straight vinegar inside anything with plastic/rubbery/gaskety parts! lol

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 09, 2019 at 12:09 am

      Oh wow - that sounds terrible!!!

      Reply
  6. CarlsPhD

    March 16, 2019 at 9:15 pm

    Thanks Adrianne. I'm a chemist by training and enjoy playing with your recipes to see how they work. Good job. There's one thing you missed, however, so let me point out that if vinegar rinse agent hurt the rubber parts in dishwashers (as is widely claimed), you have just disproved this in the most incontrovertible way imaginable with your rubber band ID system for glassware. Ergo : the conclusion is (almost obviously) that vinegar (unlike acetone or ammonia based window cleaners) does NOT hurt rubber. Even when heated in a dishwasher, your rubber bands just get cleaned by the vinegar rinse! So too with the parts of the dishwasher pump and gaskets (which in my unit are a soft plastic also immune to vinegar ).

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      March 16, 2019 at 9:41 pm

      Thank you! I have wondered about that myself---however, I will say that the rubber bands do get damaged after repeated washing, but I'm suspecting it's from the repeating heating. Would you agree?

      Reply
  7. Anita

    March 14, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    Hi, I'm trying to be a "whole-new-mom" as well here and trying to go all natural! Came across your post...thank you for the tip on the rinse aid! I'm going to try it out for sure. My question is in your instructions you write putting the cup in the top rack but your picture shows the cup to be in the bottom rack of the dishwasher. Should it be top or bottom rack?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      March 14, 2019 at 3:28 pm

      Hi there and welcome! Good for you and glad to have you here! The photo is actually the top rack. You might be interested in our Facebook community--would love to have you join us: https://www.facebook.com/groups/171490083677560/

      Reply
      • Anita

        March 14, 2019 at 5:16 pm

        Thank you! Keep doing the AMAZING work you do!!

        Reply
        • Adrienne

          March 14, 2019 at 5:49 pm

          Awww - thank YOU!

          Reply
  8. TC

    November 26, 2018 at 3:19 pm

    Thank you so much for this post! Recently, I saw the tip about using vinegar in the rinse aid compartment on another website - but it occurred to me that this could possibly erode the compartment over time. So I did a quick online search and found this post. Glad I did - and I'm already a subscriber to your newsletter, yay!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      December 23, 2018 at 5:24 pm

      Thank you so much and glad to have helped!

      Reply
      • TC

        December 24, 2018 at 11:20 am

        *And here's a quick update: I tried it, and the vinegar in a small dish actually works better than the commercial rinse aid I've been using. Although the product I was using is marketed as environmentally kind, the vinegar almost certainly must be healthier for my household - and there is no doubt that it is the cheaper option by far. So thanks again!!

        Reply
        • Adrienne

          December 24, 2018 at 12:07 pm

          This is so great - thanks for taking the time to share! I'm hoping to have some new DIY home care options coming soon--for sure I will be doing more DIY beauty, but this is something I would like to do as well. Thanks again and you are so welcome!!

          Reply
  9. Jenny

    November 21, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    Hi! Can you tell me how much vinegar you use in that cup? For example, a quarter cup for a regular load? This may seem like a silly question, but how does the vinegar get used when the cup is upright? I don't know the mechanical workings of a dishwasher, so perhaps it's obvious but asking anyway! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      November 24, 2018 at 8:07 pm

      Hi there. I used about 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup I think. The water going in has it distribute throughout the duration of the wash cycle. I think that's how at least :).

      Reply
  10. Dawn

    July 12, 2018 at 10:26 am

    Thank you for this article. Is that a plastic cup you use for the vinegar? How much vinegar is in there?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      July 12, 2018 at 10:53 am

      You are so welcome - you could use whatever cup you like. I think I put in about 1/2 cup.

      Reply
      • Peter

        January 01, 2019 at 9:07 pm

        Excuse my ignorance, I thought rinse additive was only for the final rinse. Doesn't the cup method add it to the first wash? Then what is the cup for?

        Reply
        • Adrienne

          January 05, 2019 at 7:09 pm

          Yes I would agree with you but it seems to help regardless. I don't understand it. Maybe the vinegar comes out throughout the wash and rinse since it's in a cup upright.

          Reply
  11. Timothyf7

    June 21, 2018 at 11:35 pm

    But why do you put the rubber bands in the dishwasher? Seems like this would deteriorate the rubber bands.

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      June 22, 2018 at 6:30 am

      Yes you are right. I don't recall if they were dirty or maybe even stuck? But we don't do that any longer. They don't last long in there!

      Reply
  12. Genie

    April 29, 2018 at 7:51 pm

    Love your honesty and vunerability! ??

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 29, 2018 at 9:17 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  13. Taylor

    October 09, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    Is the small cup of white vinegar the only "cleaning product" you use in your dishwasher? So nothing will go in the little compartment where the detergent normally goes?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      October 09, 2017 at 5:01 pm

      Yes, that's correct. I have heard of people doing the other, however, if I remember correctly.

      Reply
  14. Ariv

    August 18, 2017 at 3:18 pm

    is there an alternative for VIneger considering the fact that it is not safe on rubber ?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      August 19, 2017 at 1:05 am

      I have heard mixed things about the vinegar - you can see that in the comments.

      Reply
  15. Frank Divonzo

    June 18, 2017 at 3:15 pm

    When do you add the cup/container of vinegar to the top rack - upon starting the wash cycle or during a rinse cycle? If the latter, how do you know when the rinse cycle begins?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      June 18, 2017 at 3:44 pm

      I do it at the beginning :).

      Reply
      • Frank Divonzo

        June 18, 2017 at 3:55 pm

        Very good! We will try that. We had been using vinegar in our rinse aid dispenser for some time. It no longer dispenses. We also used it in the prewash regularly, which I believe we'll stop doing in case there is the possibility it could impact the dishwasher itself as some have said and which I have read elsewhere. I am going to assume and hope when the vinegar is placed in the cup up top, it has a chance to mix with the detergent thus reducing potential damage to the dishwasher.

        Reply
  16. Lew Gordon

    June 10, 2017 at 3:22 pm

    Thank you for the idea of the vinegar instead of a RIDICULOUSLY expensive rinse aid as much as I do dishes for one person. I have a $1,000 brand new dishwasher. I will try this and post my results. Thanks again. Lew Gordon in Long Beach, CA!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      June 10, 2017 at 4:19 pm

      Thank you and hope to see you around again!

      Reply
  17. Andy

    May 16, 2017 at 11:31 pm

    That's strange, considering that one of the key ingredients in many rinse aids is citric acid.

    Note that not all acids are created equal - citric may be more friendly to the rubber components in the rinse aid tray than vinegar. However citric is MUCH better for anyone with hard water, as it's a chelating agent.

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      May 17, 2017 at 9:45 pm

      I agree.

      Reply
    • Lew Gordon

      June 10, 2017 at 3:24 pm

      We have very hard water here in Long Beach, CA. Should I just try Lemon or Lime juice in a cup? Should I use this alone or with a "vinegar" cup? Thanks a million from the Sunshine State!

      Reply
  18. Amy

    May 16, 2017 at 10:40 am

    Why don't you just remove your last article so as to not cause people confusion and making them do more work by reading one more article?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      June 02, 2017 at 11:04 am

      Good question. I have to work on whether or not to delete posts w/ my IT guy. Also the comments in both posts are very interesting and so it's a conundrum. The back and forth on the vinegar issue shows that it's not a clear cut answer!

      Reply
  19. Ronald

    April 04, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    We have a dishwasher from the mid 1980s that is still preforming well. We always have vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser and I always add about a cup of vinegar to the first rinse cycle after the soap is released. Absolutely no leaks or damage what so ever from the vinegar. I use vinegar for fabric softener in my laundry as well.

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 05, 2017 at 7:22 am

      So good to hear - thanks!

      Reply
    • Mrs Z

      September 17, 2017 at 7:09 pm

      Well, there is something about these new dishwashers, the rubber is cheaper /different... the vinegar turned the rubber strip all around the door of our last dishwasher to mush, and our dispenser stopped dispensing as well. We just got a new dishwasher and our Corningware casseroles are all of a sudden not coming clean since using vinegar and our stainless pots have grit and film all over them. I just doused our dispenser with hot water to clean out all the vinegar. I hope it's not damaged! ? Will not be using vinegar ever again. Back to Amway products I go.

      Reply
      • Laurie

        October 09, 2017 at 6:20 pm

        Try hydrogen peroxide instead. It was on another website as a rinse aide.

        Reply
  20. Pat

    January 05, 2017 at 9:15 am

    Hi, on the last post a user named Jack warned about the gasket vinegar compatibility issue. He got an answer calling him an idiot (from an anonymous user, of course). He was right all along. The point is, there are always many considerations to everything and one should not do whatever without digging a bit. And one should NEVER give advice to others without knowing for sure!! You wanna mess your own stuff that's your problem but just leave others out of it. And people, do your homework. For this issue, it's called chemical compatibility and you can get charts on the web easily. Cole-Parmer is my usual

    Reply
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