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!
It does work in the dispenser?That is awesome! Thank you for the blog. I have always been afraid to try. I use the homemade powder and found a way to accommodate the issues. The method I used that worked well was I,1)rinse well before loading 2)run wash cycle 3)splash in a few chugs of vinegar and run the rinse cycle 4)dry by hand. My dishes get clean and I have no spots or film, plus I save the electricity needed for a heated dry. =]
Yes, Robyn – it does work. I couldn’t believe it either. Now I am just working on my own dish detergent. I thought I almost had one, but it wasn’t great. Which homemade powder do you use? Do you rinse them completely off? I just make sure that there are no big pieces of food on them, but the top rack is never cleaned well w/ the homemade versions that I have tried. I take that back – once it worked pretty well and then never again. :-(. Take care.
I used a mix roughly 50/50 of borax and washing soda, I also added a tablespoon or so of salt. I rinse with a brush to get most of the food off. My machine allows a separate rinse, and I don’t use the dry cycle, so the remaining water would polish of any film (if any) that was left behind. I think the tip about too much probably hits the nail on the head, the less I used the less film was on the dishes before the rinse cycle. Though I haven’t figured out the right amount (as you can tell I don’t exactly measure lol) before the heating element burned out. For now I’m back to hand-washing, but I plan to try the other tips from here after we replace the broken machine =]
P.S. that’s roughly 1/2 c each powder with about 1 Tbls salt, not 1 Tbls for each load lol
Hmmm.. maybe I’ll have to try it. Thanks!
Oh, also I should point out that the combination of vinegar and salt will instantly rust many lower quality metals. (I just came across my sifter to remind me lol) I never had a problem with my stainless steel flatware or pans, but my aluminum cookie sheets turned dull. I still added the salt though because it seemed to me to make my ceramic dishes and glassware sparkle, I just left out any dollar store metal utensils I have ;P
Thanks, Robyn! I really need to try to sort something out again once things calm down a bit around here. :-).
Automatic dishwashing detergent in very TOXIC, in fact they say it is one of the most toxic cleaning substances in the house! Since I have yet to find a good homemade replacement I have found that just by filling the prewash compartment 1/2 full of the commercial stuff the dishes get very clean, plus they get several rinses. Now when someone else does a load for me and puts it in full strength we can all taste it :-(.
I have been using the vinegar for the rinse aid for nearly a year- it works great and is sooooo much cheaper!
Carolyn, I think I have a dishwasher detergent that really works! I am going to give it a second try so stay tuned!
Adding this to my to-try list too! Our dishwasher was leaving a horrible residue on our dishes and it really bothers me.
Thanks for linking up to Momtrends this week.
~Shannon, Food Channel Editor, Momtrends.com
This is an excellent recommendation! I’m definitely going to give it a try! Thank you for linking to Foodie Friday!
Another great way to use vinegar!
Thank you for your submission on Nourishing Treasure’s Whole Health Weekend Link-Up.
Check back tonight when the new link-up is running to see if you were one of the top 3 featured posts! 🙂
THANK YOU! i love using vinegar for everything!1
I use white vinegar so much around the house, but I have never used it as rinse aid. That is a great idea! Thank you for sharing this post with the Gallery of Favorites.
I am soooo going to make this! I will no longer stand to spend oodles of money on name brand items when I can make my own! So much less waste and less money! Unbelievable!
So glad I saw you featured over on Milk and Cuddles!
-Robyn from https://tipsfromtheheart.blogspot.com
Thank you for linking up to Mommy Club! What an awesome idea this is- and so thrifty!
I will be featuring you on this weeks Mommy Club Link Up as one of my 3 fave posts of the week!
As always thank you for taking time to link up with such fab stuff!!
Hugs,
Shannon
Thank you Shannon!
I am ABSOLUTLY in LOVE with white vinegar. LOL I know that sounds a little nuts but I use it in my laundry, cleaning supplies, to clean make-up brushes with and now in my dishwasher 🙂 so happy thanks for this 🙂