Update: this worked well for the first few loads, but then less and less well as time went on. I’m not sure why. The glasses got cloudy and it just wasn’t cleaning like it used to. Apparently one needs to tweak it a bit to get the right amount of acid to everything else ratio. Hopefully you guys have better luck! I no longer have a dishwasher so I can’t experiment!

I know this isn’t food, but it’s good related and it worked so well that I have to share it.

If you haven’t gathered already, I’m incredibly cheap, and the environment is kind of a big deal to me, so after finding that green automatic dishwasher detergents suck, and conventional dishwasher detergents are full of terrible chemicals, I set out to find a recipe for some dishwashing powder. This stuff is less than 10 cents a load and so far, works GREAT. I did ensure that I scraped off the plates before putting them in, though, which is something I never did before. The glasses came out clear, and there wasn’t any little food bits still clinging to the plates and on the undersides of cups.

Before using this and the rinse aid, make sure to run an empty cycle (with the Jet-Dry® lid off) to wash out all the old soap, or else you could get some weird reaction happening in there.

Dish Detergent:
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup borax
1/4 cup citric acid
1/4 cup kosher salt

Put this all in a container and shake shake shake. It will clump because of the citric acid, but you can chip away at it when you need it. Alternatively, you can put in one of those dry packs they put inside instant noodle packages.

You only need 1 tablespoon of this per load

Rinse aid (otherwise known as Jet-Dry®):
Vinegar.

That’s it, just fill it up with vinegar. This will ensure that your glasses don’t come out cloudy.