Question from Lucyhem
I was very excited to try some of the suggestions for alternatives to automatic dishwasher detergent because I do not tolerate the Seventh Generation powder that I have been using. So I followed the recipe with washing soda, one teaspoon of Dr Bronners castile soap and vinegar in the rinse cup. I got a film on my glasses that I cannot get off. I have run them through the dishwasher with my old detergent, with a variation on the recipe and washed them by hand. The white film is hard to remove even by hand. I don’t care that much but my husband is very unhappy about the film. He thinks the glasses are dirty, even though I explained that they are not.
Any recipes for getting this film off, or explanations for what causes it and how to remedy it? I do not have hard water. I am afraid I am back to the commercial stuff because I have spent so much time trying to get my glasses clean.
Frustrated in Montague, MA
Debra’s Answer
Readers?
Hey Frustrated in MA……I feel your pain. After trying what seems like a million different combos, I realized that I was washing my dishes by hand in nothing but soap, so why did I feel I needed to wash them in the dishwasher with anything else? Washing dishes is washing dishes. I just put a teaspoon (I live in a very soft water area so always test this for your water hardness….) of liquid soap into the cup and close it up. That is all I use. My dishes come out sparkling just like they do when I wash them by hand. No spots, streaks, film, grit, scum or anything else but clean. I do use Dr. Bronner’s and Dr. Wood’s liquid castile soaps…and sometimes in the winter months (or if I have visitors with colds) I add a couple of drops of tea tree essential oil for extra power against cold germs, but I havent’ had to do that in more than ten years. The hot water, coupled with the soap does all that I need it to do. Oh, and I only use REAL soap….NOT detergent. It’s not the same thing, even the natural detergents, and they DO NOT work the same. And, if you are not careful, using the same amount will get you a kitchen floor full of bubbles! (Using too much natural soap will get you too much suds also so do a test first.) Also, if you find you have too much suds, just sprinkle a little salt into the bottom of the dishwasher to cut them back. I just try to keep it simple.
When you are using a homemade dish detergent you should always have citric acid incorporated with it. There are many recipes out there that have citric acid and some that don’t. As a rule of thumb, if you have hard water and get the film, you increase the amount of citric acid in the recipe. After the build up is stuck on the dishes, you can still run a load with the recipe including citric acid and it should come off. If it doesn’t get it all, increase the citric acid and run again. I did get all the film off our cups and dishes this way. Citric Acid is the key ingredient. Dr. Bronners always leaves a film on everything in our home. I have used it on many things and in many different ways. It always has a harsh reaction. I wouldn’t use it. Hope this helps. If you have other questions, feel free to send me an email. Thanks!
I use 1 Tbls of baking soda and 1/2 c vinegar in my dishwasher and it works great. The vinegar smell dissipates during the washing cycle. There is no film or residue. I have MCS and this works great.
Finally a dishwasher soap that is non toxic and non fragrance that works great!. Ava Andersson Non Toxic is coming out with new products all the time, this is one of their newest. I was pleasently surprised how well it worked. My husband even noticed the difference. I have used Shaklee for years but this works so much better.
So far I like most of their products, baby products are non toxic but a very strong scent!