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This homemade dishwasher rinse aid is SO easy to use, but it is helpful in many ways.

Today, we are harnessing vinegar again.

Heated vinegar is a powerhouse for hard water and removing gunk.

We also have another addition to this dishwasher agent which neutralizes odors.

Homemade Dishwasher Rinse Aid

Over the past several years, readers have come to Chemistry Cachet asking what can I use instead of a rinse aid? Or they want to know how to get rid of the odor in the dishwasher. We are going to be sharing a lot o dishwasher tips this year, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social media to get these tips. We are going to be sharing things like cleaning out the filter, removing rust, can you use a homemade dishwasher detergent, and more. Today, we are talking about rinse aids and this homemade option.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup – 1/ 1/2 cup regular 5% distilled white vinegar
• Juice of one lemon
• Glass bowl

How To Use This DIY Dishwasher Rinse Aid:

1. Save a space in the top of your dishwasher for the glass bowl.
2. Fill it full with the vinegar, mine held about 1 cup, but anything around that size is good.
3. Squeeze all the lemon juice into the vinegar.
4. Run dishwasher on a heated dry, regular cycle.

Readers have asked, is a dishwasher rinse aid necessary for the dishwasher?

A dishwasher rinse aid is necessary for keeping the dishes spot free and look clean. What happens if you don’t use one? They will definitely dry without it, but a rinse aid is what keeps dishes spot free and minimizes cloudiness on glass. Vinegar does not work like store-bought rinse aids, but it does work in a unique way to benefit your dishes, dishwasher, and odors. See below.

What Exactly Does Vinegar Do As a Dishwasher Rinse Aid?

Vinegar is such a great household tool, but it is often misused. It is a weak acid, so it is not exactly all-purpose, but it is a fantastic resource for hard water, stuck on gunk, and odor neutralizer. Get more chemist on vinegar in this guide we did a few years ago.

When you add vinegar to a dishwasher cycle, it steams up and will melt away hard water in your dishwasher, hard water on your dishes, and it also helps with funky smells you might have lingering in your dishwasher.

Heated vinegar is so amazing, and it is also what we use in your DIY microwave cleaner.

Why is Lemon Juice Added To This DIY Dishwasher Aid?

This solution would work without the lemon juice, but citric acid (the acid in lemon juice) is a really great odor neutralizer for organic smells (like food, garbage, garbage disposals). Even more than vinegar. After trying out this recipe, I found that added in a little lemon juice enhances the vinegar and completely eliminates odor in the dishwasher! It smells so good too.

We use lemon juice in that microwave cleaner I mentioned, and it is also the same addition we have in our DIY hard water deposit remover.

Can vinegar be used in the rinse-aid dispenser?

No, I do not recommend vinegar be put in the actual compartment which typically contains rubber seals. Since vinegar is acidic, it can damage rubber overtime, so you wouldn’t want it stored in the compartment.

Using it in the top load area allows for the vinegar to steam, and then it is diluted quickly when the water starts to spray. By the time the actual vinegar hits any part or starts to drain, it is diluted.

So, will vinegar damage my dishwasher?

I asked my plumber about this several years ago when he was replacing our garbage disposal and he was changing out the tubes. He said no, he actually recommended using vinegar occasionally as a rinse aid because it was a less harsh option than many store-bought things. He said using it once a month or so was a good way to keep hard water build up lower and eliminate possible food particles in hard to reach places. Following his advice, I started doing this and it helped tremendously with odor.

How Often Can This Vinegar Rinse Aid Be Used?

My plumber said about once a month is best. I do mine once a month or every few months.

Why Don’t  I Use This DIY Rinse Aid For The Dishwasher During Every Cycle?

Like I mentioned above, I use caution with vinegar. I am following the advice of a plumber by using this once per month or so to enhance dish cleaning, odor removal, and clean inside of dishwasher. Your are welcome to use it more or consult your plumber to see what they say about using it more often. I like to be extra cautious with appliances that are newer.

What Results Will You See?

The biggest one for me is odor eliminating and hard water. I still use a store-bought rinse aid, but when I do this tutorial, everything is sparkling clean inside the dishwasher including the dishes. If you have an odor in the filter area or lingering, it completely eliminates it with this.

Remember, vinegar is acidic, so always use caution around rubber, grout, and stone.

I want to mention this again! Vinegar is NOT all-purpose. It should never be used on stone or grout, but also rubber. Overtime (not using it a few times), but overtime it can damage a surface using it. Most of the recipes we share, like this one, are utilizing diluted vinegar. And we only recommend the 5% acidity for household solutions!

If you have be using vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner, it is probably okay, but I would change up your routine soon. Vinegar won’t damage something right away, it is constant use overtime. This is why I like to educate people on DIY Cleaners which are often misused. Rubbing alcohol is a better option for all-purpose cleaning if you want to learn about that.

Vinegar is perfect for glass, plastic, laminate, ceramic, etc

With that being said, vinegar continues to be a good choice for anything non-porous like glass, plastic, laminate, or ceramic.

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