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jmfromil

lemonade mix in the DW?

jmfromil
16 years ago

I don't know if anyone else saw this on the Today show, but a woman from Real Simple was on talking about easy 'clean fixes' in the kitchen. Well, she said you can put lemonade mix in the detergent dispenser and run an empty cycle to get rid of that unpleasant dishwasher smell. I don't have any smell problems with my Bosch, but was wondering if anyone had ever tried it? It sounds odd to me.

Comments (12)

  • dadoes
    16 years ago

    Lemonade mix, Tang or other orange drink, etc. The "magic" ingredient is citric acid. There are also dishwasher cleaners on the market (such as Jet Dry, comes in a white bottle) that are more concentrated than drink mix. White vinegar also can work, add two cups when starting the machine, or later during the main wash phase if you can figure out when is that.

  • cpovey
    16 years ago

    While the citric acid in beverage mixes can do some good, feeding the remaining little critters the sugar in the mix is counter-productive. In addition, the citric acid concentration is around 5%, not very strong. The same applies to vinegar-only 5% acid, just not strong enough to do a good job.

    The DW cleaners like Dishwasher Magic have roughly 50% citric and a mechanism to dump the cleanser during the hottest part of the wash, thus are much more effective. If you have hard water, this is a good thing to do on occasion.

  • Joe Blowe
    16 years ago

    FWIW, pure citric acid can be purchased at your local grocery store (in the canning or Kosher section), or at your local Indian/Pakistani goods store. Paid 2 bucks for my last 5 oz. bottle...

    (And, of course, it's available in bulk quantities online. But sometimes just a lil' dab will do ya!)

  • jmfromil
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    wow! I knew you guys were a knowledgeable bunch. But you never cease to amaze me! Thanks, everyone!

  • chipshot
    16 years ago

    What's next, beer in the laundry?

  • jessyf
    15 years ago

    Hai guys - I don't want to start a new thread.

    I am trouble shooting some white residue left all over my Kitchenaid (stainless steel interior) dishwasher and dishes. Any water that pools like in the rim of tupperware/food processor bowl is 'gritty'. Yeah, it could be because I'm trying out Trader Joes detergent :-/ I could spike it with some STPP from my laundry room....

    I happen to have 'Sour Salt' or straight Citric acid in my pantry. Any suggestions how much to use? Should I fill my main wash dispenser, or just put in a couple of tablespoons?

    All arms are free and spinning, loaded, and the overfill protection doohickey moves freely. I also checked the airgap, there was a little bit of crud to clean out, but not much.

    How much straight citric acid should I add to an empty load?

    To use asolo's grammer, 'suspect its the Trader Joes detergent' but I think the problem started before I switched.

    Thanks in advance.

  • Joe Blowe
    15 years ago

    Jessy,

    I'm guessing your water is just as hard and miserable as mine! Try running a tablespoon in the main detergent compartment on a 'normal load' with no dishes -- you may need to do it twice. That should get rid of a lot of gunk.

    For the last couple of months, I've been adding two teaspoons of citric acid to the main compartment along with my detergent. Every load. The dishes have never looked better, even more so than when using Lemi Shine as directed...

  • jerrod6
    15 years ago

    I've had this problem only with 7th generation detergent. Grit on sides, wall, and dishes. Never tried Trader Joe's but I think others have had good results. JessyF - Danby washer?

  • jessyf
    15 years ago

    OK I got home from Ralphs with Cascade Complete with Bleach, I figure THAT oughta clean out anything. I ran a half load of dishes, emptied the washer, and filled the main wash (not prewash) with citric acid.

    On one hand all the grit and white residue is gone, gone gone. On the other hand, there are still a smidgen of food particles floating around (this is a Kitchenaid, KUDSO2 series). This is NEW 'behavior' in a 2-3 year old DW. Until now this dishwasher has performed flawlessly. Joe, I don't think our water has gotten any harder the past few weeks, but I could be wrong. I did stop by an Indian grocer today to check out Citric acid. Yup, they got it.

    Now that I am back on Cascade and grit free, if I continue to see food floating around (I rinse briefly, mostly trying to get rid of stuff like rice and carrot shreds that find their way into fork tines etc.), I'd like to think about taking some things apart. The online manual says nada about checking under the main arm on the bottom.

    Any suggestions? I do have an extended warranty but I would rather try to fix this myself.

    Jerrod6 just for you:

  • jerrod6
    15 years ago

    Thanks

    Just wanted to see if you were the person I remember!
    Proud looking washer too.

  • cpovey
    15 years ago

    jessyf,

    DW detergents containing bleach are generally NOT recommended for modern dishwashers. They are designed to use DW detergents with enzymes.

    If you still have little particles running around, I strongly suggest using a DW cleaner line DW magic or the Jet Dry DW cleaner in an empty load.

  • jessyf
    15 years ago

    eeeeeeeeeekkkkkk cpovey I ran to my box and phone. (1) Small print says 'also sold as Cascade Advance powder' (2) I called P&G at 6:30 this AM (you got me out of bed to do this!) and I asked the rep what exact bleach agent is used. He said 'oxygenating' which I took to be the safer sodium percarbonate.... am I right? I specifically asked that he look to see if it was that or chlorine based, and he said no - no chlorine.