Seven years ago, I began a journey that has expanded my knowledge base, made me and my family healthier, sent me through long winding rabbit holes and made me look and sound bonkers. I powered on though as I knew what I was learning (and unlearning) was something that everyone in the world should know. It has empowered me tremendously, it has made me stronger in body, soul and mind, it has made my family so healthy, it is unbelievable – and to live like this is such a gift. The earth and nature has so much to offer us in terms of food, herbs, resources…we need to just respect her and use all of these things to benefit us and our fellow human beings.

Okay, so my musings are done with, let’s get onto why we are really here. A fantastic dish washing powder for the dish washer! You certainly can’t find this in the store. I was pushed to finding this by my husband, who is so generous and patient with me using our family as guinea pigs in my quest for clean living.

I began using castile soap in my dishwasher. The glasses came out looking smoky! I moved onto plain bi-carb soda – no good either. I then began using a soap nut solution that I made – still no good.

What was a girl supposed to do with dull glasses and no natural solution in sight???!! I discovered how to make washing soda one day and then decided to use that in my dish washer. Bingo! That was the answer I was looking for all along. My dishes came out squeaky clean and my glasses came out sparkling…until a few weeks later…it all went to pot.

So it works for a while, then it doesn’t. I then began using a glass of white vinegar in the dish washer to clean it once a month or so. It worked for a while, but the results were inconsistent.

My husband was getting tired of dirty looking glasses. That was the push I needed to take my experimenting to the next level. I tried adding citric acid to the mix of washing soda. Voila! It worked a treat. Sometimes I got the ratios wrong though. Through another few years of experimentation, I finally have found the magic solution. Simple and so cost effective.

RECIPE

1 tbsp of washing soda (go here for the recipe)

4 tsps of citric acid

Add the washing soda first to the dishwashing soap dispenser, then add the citric acid. Run the machine on a very hot cycle. DO NOT premix the two and store it. You have to add this combination to the dishwasher every time you run it, so keep the two in separate containers.

A few things to note –

1. Add white vinegar to your rinse section
2. Add regular rock salt to the salt dispenser
3. Thoroughly clean your dishwasher once in a while (once in 2 months or so) – really clean it!
4. You can add a cupful of white vinegar in a bowl, put it on the bottom shelf of your empty dishwasher and run it on a hot cycle at least once a month.
5. Stainless steel still doesn’t come out shiny, however, I’m experimenting with some new things…I will keep you updated.

Happy husband, happy life!