Dishwasher Soap Recipes Using Essential Oils

Eco-friendly Automatic Dish-washing; a Contradiction in terms?

Okay. So I get that washing dishes in an electric dishwasher seems just about as green as is a plastics factory, but hear me out. Even as the water usage of a home automated dishwasher is as wasteful as wasteful can be, we can still manage to make it as Eco-friendly as is possible in terms of pollutants. So with this effort in mind, you will find recipes for green dishwasher powder soap that are easy and very effective in the cleaning and shining of your dishes. Your glasses will sparkle, and that hard to clean stuck-on grime will melt away. You don't need to employ the use of harsh chemical cleaners in the battle for bright clean dishwasher washed dishes anymore!

A Dishwasher side note: Fight the over-use of our consumer water supply by using the shortest cycle your dishwasher offers. Running full—but not over packed—loads also helps to reduce the number of times you run your dishwasher. Doing the heavy cleaning items like big pots and pans by hand also saves on the water supply because you won't have to run the much longer heavy-cleaning pots and pans cycle. Running a sink full of hot water saves a ton in H2O consumption! A few of the newer models actually have an economy setting that reduces water consumption per load, choosing this setting will help conserve water to some small degree.

1. Make certain your water temp is set hot enough to clean the dishes, but not so hot that your wasting valuable energy units. (Refer to manufactures guide for this)
2. Check interior floor of machine for cracks and leaks where water can potentially escape.
3. Keep the gasket (rubber seal) around the dishwasher door in good condition, replace if cracking or worn.
4. Run Dishwasher in the evening when no other appliances are being used.
5. For best dish-washing results load your dishes according to the manufacturers suggestions. Over-loading your dishwasher prevents the dishes from getting really clean!

The chart below is centered around the most commonly found herbs in the home garden and can be easily located in either essential-oil, or dried form. Many herbs act as antiviral, antiseptic, antifungal, and antibiotic agents. The chart below does not list all of the herbs by a long-shot, because I decided to choose the more popular and familiar home-style herbs.

Lovely Lavender Automatic Dishwasher Powder

This recipe gives you a gentle up-lifting feeling as the lavender scent wafts from the dishwasher during cleaning, and only cost a few cents per load!

• 2 cup washing soda
• 2 cups borax
• 22 drops lavender essential oil

Combine all ingredients, mixing the essential oil in thoroughly. Store in a sealed plastic or glass container. Use 2 Tablespoons for each load of dishes.

Citrus Shine Automatic Dishwasher Powder

Find citrus acid in powdered form at your local health food store, home brewer's of beer and wine supply houses, soap makers shops, and the never ending Internet sources. You may run across citric acid being called "sour salt" as well.

• 2 cups washing soda
• 2 cups borax
• 6 - 7 Tablespoons citric acid powder
• 25 drops of grapefruit essential oil

Mix all ingredients together very well, and store in a sealed plastic or glass container. Use 2 Tablespoons for each load of dishes.

Ready Rinse for Hard Water Stains

If you continually see water spots on your flatware and glasses, you may be experiencing the hard water blues. Try this SIMPLE recipe for sparkling results!

1. 1 cup distilled vinegar
2. 2 cups green tea

Add the vinegar and 1 cup of tea to the rinse compartment (or cycle) of your automatic dishwasher. Sit back and enjoy the second cup while the washer runs, the tannins in the tea help breakup and rinse away the soap residue on your dishes, while acting as an antioxidant in your body!

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