No detergent in dishwasher?

Question

From a green perspective is it nessasry to use detergent in a dishwasher? Are other things like baking soda and vinager just as good and safer? Can you use laundry soap? In the same way of thinking is there a greener way of doing laundry. The actual green cleaners are very expensive. How about fabric softeners. That may be pushing it. What do you think?

Answer 1

first, i'd suggest you separate dishes from laundry.

(within the question, i mean.  i didn't think you did 'em both in the same machine at the same time. ;)

next, detergent is really good.  what it does is "make water wetter".

that is, it reduces surface tension, and allows water to get around the grease.

you might consider biodegradable detergent.

but i'd not skip it altogether.

nor do i think that baking soda or vinegar, or anything else i can think of, will do the job.

as for fabric softener, i don't use it.

i find it interesting that you do, and are considering not using soap.

Answer 2

Stuff for cleaning your clothes = not food safe, never mind that it’s far more concentrated than dishwasher formulations and you’d end up with so many suds, you’d probably have water pouring out of the dishwasher. That’s what happened when my clueless dad used regular Dawn once.

Yes you need soap. It helps dissolve food bits and dirt. I’ve accidentally blocked my detergent dispenser a couple of times so it couldn’t open and can tell you that water alone will not clean your dishes.

You can probably find a green dishwashing detergent if you look. Go to Whole Foods if you have to.

BTW, I’m not really sure dish soap is all that bad for the environment. If it touches everything we eat off of, how toxic can it be? For that matter, they clean oil off wildlife with Dawn after spills. I don’t think it’s particularly harmful.

Answer 3

http://natural-products.suite101.com/art...

You can make your own laundry soap pretty cheaply.  For softener, you can use 1/2 cup white vinegar in the rinse cycle, this also help prevent buildup in your washer.  It works GREAT on towels.....leaves them nice and fluffy.

The vinegary smell goes away when they dry.

For dishwasher.....http://natural-products.suite101.com/art...

♥☺♥

Answer 4

I do know you can't use laundry detergent or dish soap in the dishwasher. You'll have suds pouring out the door. The rest would be trial and error

Answer 5

From a green perspective, its better to wash your dishes by hand using soaps rather than detergents which may contain phosphates. It saves water and hydro-electricity.

Answer 6

Fabric softeners won't do anything in this situation. They are just made of cheap perfume and oil

I have discovered that vinegar and baking soda do work, especially if you live in an area that has soft water; however vinegar and baking soda don't hold up well in the detergent cup, unless you make a past of it before hand. It's best to wait till the main wash cycle and manually add these additives. Hydrogen peroxide is anotheer great alternative

Answer 7

Check your local stores. There are several products out now that are made with "green" alternatives that are said to be just as effective as those with harsh chemicals.

Try http://www.greenworkscleaners.com/?WT.sr... It gives you information on a cleaner made by Clorox that is all natural.