How can I make a quality DIY citric acid- based dishwasher detergent?

Marcam1977
by Marcam1977

Hello folks..I'm seeking a quality DIY quality citric based dishwasher cleaner (I've heard and read these are very good, but I will accept all suggestions!) that can POSSIBLY be used to do both things. Clean the dishwasher when empty AND THOROUGHLY CLEAN my dishes when my dishwasher is full. Either way, I'd REALLY love and truly appreciate any and all suggestions submitted!Live in Fl and while I have filtered water, it still is hard water. My dishwasher is a Bosch, left from previous owner, in pristine condition, making it now four years old. I do take care of all my appliances, dishwasher being no exception. I take ALL the necessary steps to ensure the dishwasher remains at its best performance. However, it seems no matter what cleaner I use, a number of my dishes and some glasses come out streaky, gummy and not clean! Gross!!😩 I've checked for trapped "food," all the things that might cause these issues. And the rinse aid as well. Rinse aid was fine. I even tried some vinegar/filtered water sprayed on my dishes before turning my machine on (with the usual detergent in as well). THAT helped somewhat, but not completely. Sigh... I know I'm not alone here as I've read on other sites that others suffer the same if not very similar situations as mine. Now, reaching out to you kind folks and great minds. Would love your suggestions. Thank you kindly in advance!☺

  3 answers
  • Roxy Roxy on Oct 04, 2019

    Check out this web site - I use it in addition to Hometalk for all kinds of help. https://www.hunker.com/13419537/how-to-clean-a-dishwasher-with-citric-acid

    • Marcam1977 Marcam1977 on Oct 05, 2019

      Hey there Roxy (love your name) Thanks so much for the website link. It's always nice to have others as well.


      I'll check it out!


  • JAH JAH on Oct 04, 2019

    We clean our coffee makes with citric acid and you can buy it straight - no other ingredients needed, though you might add some white vinegar - check online -it's cheaper looking for the citric acid in bulk than buying it as "kosher salt" or "citric salt" or "Dip It" coffee cleaner- works great in dishwashers or stainless-steel baskets of washing machine-

    • Marcam1977 Marcam1977 on Oct 05, 2019

      Hi there JAH...I'm SO thankful for this site. I love it! And thank YOU for your response. I do remember my dear mom using "Dip It" for her coffee pot..I didn't even think of this product (or remember! lol). I will try suggestions from the kind responders have posted to me and see which may work best for my "tempermental" dishwasher ;)

      Thanks again!

  • DesertRose DesertRose on Oct 04, 2019

    i use FInish for my detergent but I add LemiShine from Equate brand to boost it. It removes all the minerals and spots off the dishes and dishwasher. I love it.

    • See 1 previous
    • DesertRose DesertRose on Oct 05, 2019

      You are so welcome! We have sooooooooo many minerals in our water, I thought I would never find and answer; but these two combined seems to fix it! It also helps to use it to clean the dishwasher FIRST with no dishes to get the gunk out first. I forgot to mention I did mine empty first then proceeded as usual.