3 Homemade Dishwasher Rinse Aids (and What NOT to Use)
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Dishwasher rinse aids work great, but they're pricey and loaded with chemicals you just might not want in your home. Why not make your own homemade dishwasher rinse aid instead? Your dishes, your wallet, and the environment will thank you!
I've got three totally natural recipes for you to try, plus I also share what you want to avoid. Not all recipes for DIY rinse aids are safe!
In an effort to reduce the toxins in our home and environment, I've been making homemade cleaning products for some time.
Some I've made because I just wanted to, but some I've made out of sheer necessity. This time it was a case of the latter.
Dirty Dishes in New Dishwasher
When we had to get a new dishwasher, I chose a really good model (on sale of course) and thought we'd have fabulously clean dishes as a result. Instead, I found myself having to clean at least 1/4 of the top rack every single load. Ugh.
Washing dishes by hand after they've gone through the dishwasher cycle is for sure not efficient and not what this already-too-busy-mom needs at the end of the day. Something had to change.
I called the dishwasher manufacturer and they sent me a few samples of dishwasher rinse aid saying that that would help, plus they recommended a specific and very expensive type of detergent.
Well, the detergent I was open to trying, but this frugal-minded mom was determined not to spend even more money and put even more toxic chemicals into our home and the environment.
So off to figure out how to make an all-natural homemade dishwasher rinse aid, I went.
I read somewhere that putting straight vinegar in the rinse aid compartment was a quick and easy DIY Jet Dry alternative.
So I tried it and it worked.
However, soon after making this “genius” discovery, a dishwasher repairman warned me that the acid could possibly eat away at the seals of the compartment. Yikes!
Instead, he recommended the first super simple homemade dishwasher rinse aid that I am sharing with you here.
WARNINGS ABOUT DIY RINSE AIDS
Before we get to the recipes, however, there are some important things you should know about other homemade rinse aids on the internet. Some are quite dangerous.
Don't Mix Acids with Peroxide
There are some recipes online for DIY Rinse Aid made by combining citric acid with peroxide. This is NOT a good idea.
Also, don't mix peroxide with vinegar. Or with any acid. Mixing peroxide with acid makes a super strong oxidizer that can etch metal.
Be Careful with Essential Oils
Essential oils don't mix with water. So if you put essential oils in with peroxide or with water and citric acid, the oils will sit on top and likely will end up creating gummy residue in your machine that might cause a problem.
Don't Use Rubbing Alcohol
There are also some DIY Rinse Aids that recommend using rubbing alcohol as an ingredient. This might ruin your dishwasher that I know of, but it's pretty noxious and rubbing alcohol's fumes are flammable and should be kept from any heat source.
I don't think that the dishwasher's heat source would necessarily be a problem, but better to be safe than sorry and I think the fumes would get pretty intense. Since rubbing alcohol's fumes aren't considered the best to be exposed to, let's just not do this.
3 DIY DISHWASHER RINSE AIDS
Now here are the 3 Easiest Rinse Aids you can make. So easy, you'll never go back to buying it again!
Vinegar Dishwasher Rinse Agent
- Place a small cup in your dishwasher's top rack.
- Fill said cup with a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of white vinegar.
- Run dishwasher as usual.
I mean, who can beat saving tons of money, doing it naturally, and not mucking up the environment with all of those chemicals and extra packaging?
Here's a photo of our dishwasher. The vinegar is in the little plastic container on the lower left. Side note: this is why we have rubber bands on our glasses.
Now, I know it seems crazy, but this really does work. You'd think that the action of the dishwasher would cause all of the vinegar to be diluted greatly before it could help, but it didn't.
I'm sure the effectiveness of this method will depend on the position of the dishwasher arms in your dishwasher.
If this doesn't work for you, another option is to pour a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher when the rinse cycle starts. Of course, you have to keep an eye on the dishwasher while it's running to do that.
So here is that Super Easy Rinse Aid plus two other options that are basically just as simple!
Peroxide Dishwasher Rinsing Agent
- Hydrogen Peroxide
Instructions
Pour some peroxide into your dishwasher's rinse aid dispenser and run the dishwasher as usual.
Genius Tip: Add a few drops of food coloring (natural food coloring is preferred) so you can see how much is left if you have a compartment that holds a lot of rinse aid.
Pitfalls of this method
Peroxide can bleach cloth, so take care to not get it on your clothes or kitchen linens.
Citric Acid Dishwasher Rinse Agent
- 2 Cups Citric Acid
- 5-10 Drops Essential Oils
Instructions
Mix ingredients and store in a jar.
Place one tablespoon of mixture in the rinse aid compartment prior to each load of dishes.
Pitfalls of this method
Citric Acid can get clumpy if you live in a humid environment. If this happens, you can place a tablespoon or so of bentonite clay in a baby sock or small cloth/rag, seal it with a rubber band, and keep it in the jar with your citric acid blend to absorb moisture.
Other Homemade Healthier Home Products
Looking for more ways to save money and detoxify your life? Here are some other DIY green cleaning formulas to try.
- Easy Homemade Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent
- Homemade Soft Scrub
- Homemade Moisturizing Foaming Soap
- No-Streak Window Cleaner
DIY Dishwasher Rinse Aid
Ingredients
Vinegar Dishwasher Rinse Agent
- 1/4-1/2 cup White Vinegar
Peroxide Dishwasher Rinse Aid
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Food Coloring (natural preferred)
Citric Acid Dishwasher Rinse Aid
- 2 cups citric acid
- 5-10 drops essential oils (optional)
Instructions
Vinegar Dishwasher Rinse Agent
- Place a small cup in your dishwasher's top rack.
- Pour vinegar into the cup.
- Run dishwasher as usual.
Peroxide Dishwasher Rinse Aid
- Fill your rinse aid compartment with peroxide.
Citric Acid Dishwasher Rinse Aid
- Combine the citric acid and essential oils (if using) and store in a jar. Place one tablespoon in your rinse aid compartment before running a load of dishes in the dishwasher.
- You can also blend the citric acid with water and then add that to the rinse aid compartment, if you like, but it's really an extra unnecessary step.
Notes
Problems With the Peroxide Dishwasher Rinse Aid Method.
Peroxide can bleach clothing so take care to not get this on your clothing. NOTE: Some recipes online recommend mixing peroxide with citric acid. Do NOT do that. Also, don't mix peroxide with vinegar. Or with any acid. Mixing peroxide with acid makes a super strong oxidizer that can etch metal.Problems With Citric Acid Dishwasher Rinse Aid Method.
Citric Acid can get clumpy if you live in a humid environment. If this happens, you can place bentonite clay in a baby sock or small cloth, seal it with a rubber band, and keep it in the jar with your citric acid blend to absorb moisture.How to Clean Your Dishwasher
To help your dishwasher rinse aid work even better, try these tips.
If you have particularly hard water, try running your dishwasher with vinegar or citric acid every so often or even once weekly to clean it. Simply put 1 cup of vinegar or 1/4 to 1/2 cup of citric acid, or 1 cup of lemon juice either in the bottom of the dishwasher or in a container of the center rack before running it.
With these tips and recipes, you'll have your dishwasher running great, spotless glasses and silverware, without breaking the bank or spending a ton of time!
Thanks for the great tips – I can’t wait to try the vinegar rinse aid. The Citric Acid is cheaper here and they do bulk discounts too: https://www.ediblenature.com/Citric-Acid-1-lb-package.html
I heart vinegar!! So many uses. Thanks for linking up to the Frugal Tuesday Tip. Always enjoy reading your ideas. Would you mind leaving a link at the end of your post? Thanks.
https://learningthefrugallife.blogspot.com/2011/09/frugal-tuesday-tip-week-35.html
Hi Sara!
Thanks for the compliment! My son handles the link backs and he’ll take care of them later today :-).
Wow. Awesome blog and what great comments too.
Thanks for linking your great post to FAT TUESDAY. Great information! Hope to see you next week!
If you have hard water, this stuff rocks (Glass Magic): https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Glass-Dishwasher-Performance-Booster/dp/B000UCI09G
Not sure how natural it is. I think it is essentially just the phosphates that were taken out of most cleaners in the recent required reformulations.
Use it WITH a dishwasher detergent, I’ve found it does best with powder detergents. It says to sprinkle a 1/4 cup in the bottom of the dishwasher, though I only use maybe 1-2 TBS and it is AWE-SOME! No more spots, film, or white grit left on glassware.
Kind of expensive at $8 a box, but it lasts a long time if you can just use 1-2 T as I do. I do one load a week (single person), and it lasts for 4-5 months at least. I’ve been able to find it rarely in stores (HyVee and Meijer) for somewhat less.
I was so excited to see this title on The Healthy Home Economist blog today. I’ve been using a homemade detergent and I’m pretty happy with it, but it still needs a few tweaks. But I do NOT get sparkly glasses anymore. I have been using vinegar with a bit of food coloring as my rinse agent. I think the hard water we have here in Dallas is the culprit. I was hoping you had a secret I hadn’t heard of yet! Oh well! 🙂
One good thing is I found that I need to use a WHOLE lot LESS homemade detergent than store bought. About 2/3s less! So not only is it cheaper, it is also cheaper because you use less.
Hi Amanda. I am sorry nothing new on the rinse aid for you, but hopefully when I work on the detergent this week – or next – the two together will get the job done for you. Have you thought about a water softening system? The folks whom I got my reverse osmosis from are really helpful and honest. You can read my post on Making Your Water Safe for more info (it’s not the greatest post – I need to rework it – but it does have some good info and the link to Pure Water Products is there. I don’t get anything be referring people to him. He’s just great.)
I can’t wait to try this! I love anything I can make myself in a more natural way. Thanks for sharing!
I just had to comment on this one! 😉
I use Trader Joe’s dishwashing detergent & *love* it. I only use about 1 heaping tablespoon, so it lasts me a long time! I’d definitely recommend decreasing your amount of detergent until you see it’s not working as well & adjust as needed. I was shocked at how little I actually need to use to get the dishes clean!
I use white vinegar (heinz, from Costco) in my “jet-dry” spout as a rinsing agent & pour it into my pre-wash container as well. We have had *no* problems in either of our apartment complex & hard water dishwashers.
Warning: when I first started using vinegar, it cleaned out all the pumps & tubes in my dishwasher & I ended up with lots of nasty stuff on my dishes! It works *that* well! So I’d maybe do a few empty loads (so environmentally friendly, I know) when you first switch. 🙂
Thanks for all the info! We really need a TJ’s here in town so I don’t need a road trip to Chicago to stock up. Hoping my search for a homemade detergent turn out well :-).
I will definitely be trying this. We have been having those white etchings on our glasses (even called in a repairman thinking something was wrong with the pump or something). The repairman mentioned never to use gel detergents and said that powders were the best for the machine and also for not leaving those white marks. I’m going to try the vinegar rinse aid and wait patiently while you experiment with the detergent. Good luck. 🙂
you should be advised that almost all storebrand vinegar, (white and cider), are made from petroleum products. i personally make sure that we don’t use any petroleum products in our house, right down to polyester fabrics. there are almost always petroleum products in boughten hosehold cleaners. you also have to watch out for bleach in dishwasher detergent which plays havic with our water supplies. if you use vinegar i choose heinz white as it is made from grains. you can also get more expensive vinegars at natural food stores. store brand apple cider is the same, only flavored with apple. leave the petroleum for gas.
Petroleum can only be used to start white distilled vinegar. Rice vinegar comes from rice, cider vinegar comes from apples, and so on. Plus the FDA’s not aware of any manufacturers that use petroleum to start their vinegar. And Jeannie Milewski, executive director of the Atlanta-based Vinegar Institute, an international group that represents vinegar manufacturers — including Heinz — and suppliers to that industry, confirms that “We are not aware of anyone who uses petroleum as a starting material for vinegar.” So, just because it is legal for them to do so does not mean they are.