Frugal Friday (Dishwasher Tips)
So I am back from the Saddleback Worship Conference and will be posting more about it soon.
The past two weeks I have been dealing with all kinds of broken household items, from dishwashers to air conditioners. My tip today is how to get your dishwasher to perform at it’s best while using a lot less dishwasher detergent.
Only use powder detergent. The water doesn’t get hot enough to break down the gel kind, thus leaving a powdery finish on your dishes. Do use a rinse agent, but to be frugal, vinegar is just fine. Fill the rinse container with vinegar, just as you would with an expensive rinse agent. You don’t want to use vinegar all the time though. Every other time you fill is enough.
If you are using the powder dishwasher cleaner, don’t use one with extra products in it. Cascade with Dawn in it is like putting double soap on your dishes and your dishwasher can only rinse so much soap off. Also, all you need is two tablespoons of powder, no more.
Finally, if you are using tablets with the button in the center, break the tablet in half, as half is more than enough and you’ll get two washes out of one tab. You need to remove and throw away the rinse aid button in the center, if you are using a liquid rinse aid.
Head over to Biblical Womanhood to see other Frugal Friday tips.
Audra Krell 
Thank you so much for the tips..we just got a dishwasher and I was quickly disappointed with the soapy residue. But I bet it is because we were using gel detergent! Didn’t even *think* that the water wouldn’t be able to break it down!
Off to try the powder kind tonight.
TY SO MUCH!
I can recommend the vinegar rinse-aid idea wholeheartedly. It has worked wonders for our dishes.
We also got a little tutorial from our water guy. His rule of thumb is:
1. If you have soft water, use a low or no-phosphate detergent. Phosphates are in there to actually soften the water, if they have no function they will leave deposits and etch your glassware.
2. If you have hard water, you need the detergent with the phosphates. It actually helps the water penetrate the dirt.
I love the idea of using half. I thought I was the only cheap person doing that. I don’t feel so bad now!
Thanks for the tip!