Friday, September 19, 2008

Update: Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap in the Dishwasher?

Well, I tried it tonight. I used Dr. Bronner's Castile Liquid Soap in the dishwasher. Last night I use Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds with great results.

I was too lazy to make up the recipe(see original post), so I placed a few squirts of my 50/50 Dr. Bronner's Castile soap mixture which I use for the bathroom in the dishwasher's detergent dispenser. I refilled the rinse dispenser with vinegar, and the dishes came out fairly clean. I had more plastics than glass this time, but the few glasses that were washed came out clean without any film, and no spots. I did find one glass bowl in the back which still had a bit of oatmeal film. I plan to add more castile soap(70/30) to the mix in order to see if this improves the cleaning power. It still did a good job.

I just got an awesome new dishwasher, so that maybe a contributing factor to the great results here. It's not an expensive one, but it's a nice new Kenmore with lots of fancy jets. I run my dishes on the ecocycle, so it's less water than the normal or heavy wash cycle, and still they look great.

I think what I'll do is use the Sal Suds for the really greasy jobs, and continue to use the castile soap for everyday dishes. I'll keep using these products because of their cost effectiveness and eco-friendliness, not to mention other factors which made me feel good about this product. Dr. Bronner's is certified organic and fair trade, American made, and is still a family owned business that has not sold out to big corporations. A company with integrity, a rare gem, and I'm happy to help them with my purchases of their quality products.

Note: Don't try regular liquid soap, it will bubble too much and possibly break your dishwasher.

6 comments:

Rhoda said...

I tried Dr. Bronner's in the dishwasher this past week too. The dishes did come out clean. The first two times I didn't notice anything but on the third load, it seemed to be running a little slower through the cycle. It didn't flood though,lol! I used vinegar in the rinse cycle too. I have some other dishwasher detergent recipes to try so I'll try them too. I'm wondering if the straight soap is gumming up the motor or something. I'm a new Dr. Bronner's fan & I love the peppermint one!

Alexandra said...

Oh, I hope not too! Thanks for your comment. I may get scared off from the castile soap and just use Bronner's Sal Suds in the dishwasher which has a higher PH. Sal Suds cleaned VERY well. It's a detergent, not a soap.

BellaHayward said...

I tried this recipe in my dishwasher with the unscented baby version of dr. bronners and i got a film left on my dishes and an unpleasant smell.

the thing with my dishwasher's rinse aid(it's an old dishwasher) i'm not sure it works so i just pour vinegar into the dishwasher when it's pulling water in from the tap for the rinse cycle.

i had to run it a second time with borax and baking soda for most of the film to come off but the smell is still there and though the dishes look clean enough they don't feel clean and have a lighter residue...

agh! i hope dr. bronner's works better at handwashing dishes then it does in the dishwasher.

Rhoda said...

I finally found all of the ingredients to make the dishwasher recipe from this site: http://diynatural.com/simple-effective-jabs-homemade-dishwasher-detergent-rinse-agent/
It works very well so far. I still use Dr. Bronner's for laundry and the floor; however, the last time I put a little too much Sal Suds in the dishwasher---what a mess,lol!
rhoda

Alexandra said...

Thanks Rhoda!

Moonbeams and Eco-Dreams said...

Thank you. You saved me tonight. At 9 pm I was doing dishes when I remembered I was out of Seventh Generation automatic dish detergent but I did have Sals Suds. Your concotion is going in my dishwasher right now.