Homemade Dishwasher Detergent aka another wingnut

[mrb627]

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[mrb627]

More silly tips.

How did this lady find out that the active ingredient in JetDry is vinegar?

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[neptuneguy27]

I have

seen these two crack-nuts before. Don't they realize that with the money they spend in supplies they could just buy a cheap box or bottle of dishwasher detergent and get the same, if not better, results than with this homemade stuff? And it would be a lot more convenient too. I don't get it!

Chris

 

[sarahperdue]

Hmmm...

Without phospates or enzymes, the detergent recipe sounds self defeating. It brings one back to prewashing.

What do you appliance experts think about all the salt in the dishwasher--is it enough to do any damage?

As for the Jet Dry/Vinegar thing, it seems like giving the Jet Dry a sniff--I'm to lazy to do it now--would be enough to confirm that. But even if vingegar isn't the primary component of Jet Dry, it sounds like it's worth trying. Vinegar does all kinds of amazing mother things that you guys probably don't want to know about like sanitizing breast pumps and nebulizers

Best,
Sarah

 

[sarahperdue]

Frugal Moms

Chris and all,

Whether or not you call them crack-nuts, some of these women are raising families on incomes I, and most of you, cannot imagine. Every penny counts for them. I have a friend who was stretching $7,000 a year to support a family of five. They bought powdered milk because it was cheaper.

Her kids are almost grown now, but I doubt their income has grown much--$13-15,000 maybe.

Best,
Sarah

 

[neptuneguy27]

I don't know...

Frugal or not, this just seems like it is more trouble than it is worth to me. I do know what it is like to have to get by on limited funds and literally live paycheck to paycheck. In those days one did make concessions and tried to purchase cheaper products that would still get the job done satisfactorily and not require much, if any, extra effort on my part. And as the lady said in the first video, her brew wouldn't touch dried on oatmeal or probablly not much of anything else and she "highly recommends rinising" before loading. So now she'll have increased water consumption thus higher utility bills. Where is the cost savings in that?

I am all for saving money, and I can really appreciate the hardships people have on limited incomes. I just think that people need to better choose where it is wise to cut corners and save a buck. But I still think some of these people are crack-nuts, or maybe just somewhat uninformed. Just look at that lady in the "How white are your whites" thread. Now she is crazy!

 

[gmmcnair]

Being one of those people on a fairly limited income...

....being recently single again and with health care costs, I can understand where people want to save.

I just don't see these home brews as cutting it. I've tried a few different recipes for different laundry and dishwasher concoctions, and they simply don't work, or they don't work as well as something you can get just as cheap already made at the store.

My barebones dish and cleaning supplies include Sunsations Powder Dishwasher Detergent, and Sears Ultra Plus bought on sale. Both are extremely low costs per load, work adequately, and require no fuss other than opening a box.

Good intentions, but bad results.

 

[bernina]

Good intentions, but bad results.

I agree. Penny wise and pound foolish.

Knowing how to clean things correctly really helps them last. It's one place I've learned it really doesn't pay to cut corners.

 

[gmmcnair]

Knowing how to clean things correctly really helps them last

Exactly....the few cents you pay for the proper chemicals that let you do the job right are the smallest fraction of the depreciaton and wear that you get by trying to save those cents.

 

[MikeS]

Vinegar Is My Best Friend

I doubted the effectiveness of vinegar until my faithful Roper BOL dishwasher started leaving a film on my glasses and dishes. Then I read about pouring white vinegar into the dishwasher and running a full cycle without detergent. I bought a quart (less than a dollar), poured it into the machine and let it rip. Wow! My dishwasher is film-free and my dishes are coming out shiny again.
In this case, a simple remedy did the trick. Who knew?

 

[jeb]

money saving "homemade" products

One thing they never figure into the "savings" is their time. If it takes 1/2 hour to drive to the store, get the ingredients, drive home and mix it up -- and you make $10.00 and hour at work, this just cost you $5.00 plus ingredients. If it takes you 15 minutes to go to the store, buy a $ 1.00 box of dishwashing detergent and put it on your shelf it costs you $2.50 plus the premade detergent [$3.50 total]You actually save $1.50 (and the cost of ingredients), get a better working product, plus you save 15 minutes of you time ( worth $2.50 ) to do something else. JEB