Dishwashing (and my dishwasher trials and tribulations)

 

For years, my mom rinsed her water glasses after they came out of the dishwasher. Because if she didn’t, her glass of water tasted like her dishwasher detergent smelled. She was not motivated by health concerns. She just didn’t like drinking dishwasher-detergent-flavored water.

Detergent Residue on Dishes Damages the Gut

Recent research confirms what my mom’s taste buds realized long ago. Dishwashing product residue remains on our dishware, where it then comes into contact with our food and drink.

The research discussed at the blog link above focuses on commercial dishwashers and dishwasher products—the kind that restaurants and bars use to clean and sanitize a full load of dishes in just a couple of minutes. Those machines leave behind significant residue—particularly of the rinse aid, which is dried in place and not rinsed off, at all. The study found that residue remaining on ready-to-use dishware was sufficient to increase intestinal permeability, kill cells, and trigger inflammatory and immune system responses.

And as discussed elsewhere on this site, intestinal barrier disfunction—or a “leaky gut”—is now widely believed to be implicated in intestinal diseases like IBS, as well as neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, and a wide range of other maladies.

Residential dishwashers leave behind less residue than commercial dishwashers. But as my mom’s experience shows, that residue is not negligible. (And the team of researchers from the study above is now taking a closer look at residential dishwashers and dishwashing products).

A Simple Switch

Fortunately, it is pretty dang easy to change the products we use for dishwashing.

Washing by Hand

Instead of reaching for a plastic bottle of bright blue Dawn® (as an aside, if you want to see greenwashing in action, look no further), grab your bar or foaming dispenser of a true soap, and use that for handwashing dishes, instead. (If you need it, the roadmap can help you get started with a true soap.)

Automatic Dishwasher

In the dishwasher, you have a few options. I’ll start with the “easiest” option—a simple product substitution and otherwise no changes to your behavioral routine—and then mention a few other ideas.

Dishwasher Powder

There are a couple of off-the-shelf, minimalist dishwasher powder options that I have seen work well for people (one sold here at the Start with Soap Store, and one from another company). They both have very similar ingredients—including baking soda, citric acid (see the section immediately below for more on this ingredient), oxygen bleach, and washing soda—but people have had better luck with one or the other, depending on their machines.

For either product, it is essentially a “plug and play” into your existing dishwasher routine. You can add it to your dishwasher compartment, or just put it straight in the bottom (I always do the latter, but I don’t think I have a compelling reason for that).

Optionally, you can use distilled white vinegar as a rinse aid. You can add it to the rinse-aid dispenser, or you can pour some into a shallow bowl facing upright on the top rack (it will splash out over the course of the cycle) to reduce water spots. The rinse-aid dispenser has the advantage of releasing the vinegar during the latter part of the cycle, which avoids the possibility of the acidic vinegar neutralizing the basic cleaning agents in the powder (which reduces your cleaning power). But there are some rumblings that vinegar can damage components of the rinse-aid dispenser. If that worries, you, then try the upright bowl in the top rack.

If you’re not getting the results you want, I suggest two troubleshooting strategies. First, be sure to pre-rinse your dishes thoroughly, using soap to remove stubborn gunk, as needed. Putting crusty dishes into your dishwasher makes it much less likely that you’ll get the results you want. Second, if you haven’t already, try using vinegar as a rinse aid.

A Note on Citric Acid

The dishwasher powders above contain citric acid. And here’s the truth—I do not love citric acid. I am not talking about the naturally occurring acid found in citrus fruits here. The citric acid that appears on product labels is a manufactured product. It is generally made by fermenting sugar (e.g., corn syrup) using a particular strain of mold. The sugar and the mold are often genetically modified. And there is thought that citric acid as a food additive can trigger inflammation and allergic reactions. So we avoid citric acid as a food additive in our home.

Given my aversion to citric acid, I tried a lot of DIY dishwasher recipes without it. Even some recipes that used lemon as a natural source of citric acid. They all caused my dishes to be more gunky coming out than they were going in.

So I made my peace with citric acid as a dishwasher powder ingredient for several reasons. First, these minimalist dishwasher powders are a tremendous improvement over conventional dishwasher detergents in terms of ingredients. Second, they actually work! Third, if you are not currently avoiding citric acid in your diet (which I must admit is a serious endeavor), then the small amount of citric acid residue that may remain on your dishes is negligible by comparison. And fourth, at this point, very few ingredients are “perfect.” Even distilled white vinegar is often made from corn, which is likely GMO and leaves much to be desired in terms of environmental impact. Alright, that last point is a bit depressing, but hopefully you see my point.

Ultimately, I truly believe that switching to the dishwasher powders above is an action you can feel good about. We have used both of those powders in our home at various times—I would never sell a product that I wouldn’t use, myself.

Washing Soda and Vinegar

I said I have made my peace with citric acid as a dishwasher powder ingredient, and I have.

But, if you know me, you know I’m always experimenting and looking for ways to reduce or eliminate superfluous products and ingredients.

So here’s the latest. I have been putting about 1/2 tablespoon of washing soda straight into the bottom of my dishwasher, and a small bowl of vinegar facing upward in the top rack.

The theory is this.

Washing soda is a strong base (stronger than baking soda), and it is a great for cleaning grime and gunk in areas where you don’t have much skin contact (as in an automated dishwasher) and where it gets rinsed away thoroughly (again, as in an automated dishwasher). Vinegar is an acid, and it works great as a rinse aid, cutting through leftover residue and eliminating water spots.

Here’s the catch—when you mix an acid and a base, they neutralize each other. So you want the washing soda to do its thing before the vinegar joins the mix. By putting it in an upright bowl in the top rack, it splashes out gradually over the course of the cycle, so that it does not immediately neutralize the washing soda. The timing could be controlled more precisely by using the rinse-aid dispenser, but I run the “Express” cycle on my dishwasher, and I’m not sure that includes a rinse-aid release.

(As an aside, this begs the question as to why citric acid doesn’t neutralize the basic ingredients in the powders mentioned above—I don’t know the answer, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem, because these powders work well for a lot of people.)

So far, my results seem good! So if you’re looking for an even more minimalist approach, and you don’t mind doing some experimentation, you can give this a try.

Nothing, At All

Dare I even suggest it?

At some point during my dishwasher experimentation—after many failed homemade recipes, and before I discovered the minimalist powders I now recommend—it occurred to me that maybe I didn’t need a dishwasher product, at all.

(If you’re sensing a theme between this and my approach to hair washing (or lack thereof), you’re onto something. I truly believe we don’t actually need most of the stuff we have been conditioned to believe is “necessary.”)

We have always been thorough pre-rinsers when it comes to dishwashing. So our dishes are pretty dang clean by the time they go into the dishwasher. Typically the only thing that remains is a little oil or grease residue on certain dishes (our glass storage containers are rectangular, and our pre-rinsing doesn’t always get the oily residue out of the corners).

So the point of the dishwasher is basically a final dose of hot water to rinse away and/or kill a few more germs and cut through that remaining grease. And if that’s the case, why add a product you don’t need?

I realize the omission of a dishwasher product is a hard “no” for many people. And if you’re one of those people, I’m not trying to twist your arm here. But just take it as one more example of an almost “essential” product that might actually be unnecessary, altogether.

What I Do Today

So I just shared several different options. And I said that I do all of them. So that probably leaves you wondering—with good reason—what’s the deal?

Today, we alternate between using a dishwasher product (either the Start with Soap Dishwasher Powder, or currently my washing soda experiment) and no product, at all.

The dishwasher can get a little gunky over time with no product, at all. It’s not a huge deal. You’ll realize it’s happening if your dishes have more residue on them than you’d expect. At that point, you clean your dishwasher filter (which you’re supposed to do, anyway, in theory), and carry on.

But using something in the dishwasher at some interval mitigates that issue.

One final note on our dishwasher routine. I have a strong aversion to the smell of steaming plastic that greets me when I open a dishwasher (this smell is from the plastic dishwasher parts, not our dishes). For our dishwasher, the heated drying seems to be the biggest culprit on that front. After reading my dishwasher manual and doing some experimenting, I found that the only cycle that does not include heated drying is the “Express” cycle. So I use that one.