Not really sure where to post this.

[chachp]

Has anyone tried White Vinegar in their Rinse Aid Dispensers. Seems like I am always running out of Jet Dry and was researching alternatives and this one popped up.

Seems a number of people are using it and I wondered if anyone here has tried it or have any idea if it would harm the dishwasher.

 

[whirlcool]

I have never put vinegar into the rinse dispenser, but I have added it to the rinse manually. I really didn't notice any difference between using it and not using it.
BTW, Target has the large bottle of liquid Jet Dry on sale for $1.99 each. We bought several.

 

[chachp]

Wow that's a good price.

Price really is only part of it. I just wonder what all is in the Jet Dry. I don't know what half of those chemicals are and what they are doing to us so when a more natural alternative is available I like to try it out. They also said vinegar in your washer rinse will do what fabric softener does with no vinegar smell. Not sure about that one but I may try it out.

I have tried the rinse aid off brands and they don't work but from what I read alot of people are using the Vinegar.

 

[qsd-dan]

I don't know what half of those chemicals are and what they are doing to us so when a more natural alternative is available I like to try it out.

I use Wave Jet which is derived from plants. Surprisingly, it works very well. Much better than I thought a natural product would perform vs. chemical counterparts. Wave Jet won the 2002 Natural Home Magazine Readers' Choice Award for Best Natural Household Cleaning Products.

 

[chachp]

I use Wave Jet which is derived from plants.

Where do you buy it?

 

[lordkenmore]

"I don't know what half of those chemicals are and what they are doing to us so when a more natural alternative is available I like to try it out."

I, too, wonder about those chemicals. I'm sure they are labeled as "safe"--but then, there have been plenty of other "safe" things that later were found to be "unsafe."

I, too, would be interested in Wave Jet when I have a dishwasher again.

I found Wave Jet listed on Amazon. Proving, once again, that Amazon is a lot more than books these days....

Link to Amazon Wave Jet page:

http://www.amazon.com/Earth-Friendly-Products-Dishwashing-Eliminator/dp/B00269ROP2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292190712&sr=8-1

 

[wringersteve]

I use white vinegar in the dishwasher's rinse aid dispenser. It works great (no spots), lasts a long time, and there is absolutely no vinegar odor.

I've used it to rinse laundry, too. It works OK, but pour in too much and you do get the vinegar odor. I prefer liquid fabric softener in spite of all the warnings about carcinogenic chemicals, etc.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Those chemicals in rinse agents are wetting agents to make washer sheet off dishes and metalware.

Vinegar would not accomplish much in a dishwasher's final rinse, especially in the few drops that a rinse agent dispenser dispenses.

If you have a porcelain tub clothes washer, you don't want to use vinegar in the last rinse because you need to rinse the acid off the porcelain before it causes damage to the tub which will be most noticeable in the drain holes where the porcelain coating is thinnest. When that starts to go, if you leave white clothes sitting in the tub after the cycle is finished, you will notice little round rust stains on them.

 

[launderess]

Not The Same At All

Dishwasher rinse agents are combinations of surfactants/water softeners meant to cause water to sheet rather than form drops. This allows water and whatever else to literally "slip" off the dishes leaving them "spotless" or that is how things are supposed to go in theory.

Because the water now has reduced surface tension due to these chemicals it also causes items to dry faster.

White vinegar is a mild acid, and while it will deal with hard water minerals and or results from high alkaline detergents, it does not "soften" water per se, nor does it reduce surface tension the way rinse aids do. Suppose if one rinsed dishes in very hot or near boiling water the drying results (without using a heater) maybe the same as with using a rinse aid. OTHO having tried the vinegar route, am here to tell you quickly went back to Jet Dry.

Without rinse aid dishes still had bits of yibbles and were quite wet the next morning. This does not happen when I use a rinse aid, indeed my dishes will "flash dry" if I open the door right after final rinse.

You can try this for yourself by rinsing some dishes in a sink full of water mixed with vinegar, then trying again with rinse aid instead. Indeed when rinsing dishes after washing by had you will notice water beads up and often will leave marks on glassware/crystal if not dried with a towel.

 

[mrboilwash]

I had read warnings in some operating instructions against the use of vinegar because it might damage the dispenser`s gasket.

Others said it can be used but won`t have the desired effect because of the lack of wetting agents. Isn`t their acidity the only thing rinse aid and vinegar have in common ?
I also wonder if white vinegar could go bad in the warm enviroment of a rinse aid dispenser, not sure about that. Rinse aid seems to be loaded with chemical preservatives.
I have seen mould on top of a bottle of brown vinegar with no lid on it for too long and I think of the naturally occuring slime in some sorts of vinegar. Would not want that in my dispenser, but again white vinegar might be different.