People are increasingly buying dishwashers because it saves time, effort and resources. At the same time, the equipment requires care and proper maintenance. You need to buy not only detergents, but also rinse aid, cleaning agents and regenerating salt. Sometimes all this abundance of household chemicals hits the budget pretty much. Therefore, we’ll talk about how you can replace the dishwasher detergent in order to wash the dishes just as efficiently, but cheaper.
What manufacturers offer
On the shelves of stores a huge assortment of detergents and cleaners for PMM. Even if you choose the most inexpensive ones, you still need to allocate several thousand rubles annually, which is not acceptable for every family.
This happens:
- powder;
- gel;
- pills or capsules.
Universal 3-in-1, 7-in-1 or All-in-1 universal tablets were especially liked by users. This product is gradually dissolved during washing and rinsing, supplying the necessary substance at each stage. But such a pleasure is much more expensive. With the active use of the dishwasher, you will have to pay from 6,000 rubles, and this only on tablets. This amount makes you think and start looking for a more affordable alternative.
The gel is somewhat cheaper than tablets, but more expensive than powder. The latter is acceptable, but many want to use an environmentally friendly detergent, and the powder can hardly be called such.
When using gel or powder, do not forget about the costs of rinse aid, which protects plates and cups from smudges. Therefore, add at least a thousand to the approximate 3,000 rubles.
Important! Calculating the approximate annual consumption for tablets, gel and powder, we considered the most affordable options from low price categories.
Output. Even with economical consumption and selection of the most affordable means, you need to allocate at least 5,000 rubles for the purchase of all the necessary "chemistry". Unfortunately, you cannot use PMM without salt and detergents, but you can try to find an alternative by replacing expensive products with home-made formulations. It will not be easy, but we will try to offer you the most suitable analogues of purchased funds.
DIY powder: pros and cons
Skillful housewives are still experimenters, so they came up with a recipe for a dishwashing powder from improvised components. According to them, the expenses for it will amount to no more than 700 rubles annually. So, for your own hand-made dishwashing product you will need such components:
- soda - food or soda ash;
- mustard in powder form;
- cheap laundry detergent for white linen.
Mix soda, washing and mustard powder in the following proportions: 100/30/30 g, respectively. The mixture is stored in a glass or iron container. Storage conditions: dry place, low temperature. Subject to storage rules, the composition lies without damage for six months.
Before use, it is sent to the appropriate compartment of the cuvette, then the desired program is selected and the washing cycle is started.
Homemade Powder Benefits:
- Cost price. The components are the cheapest, so they won’t hit the budget.
- Eco-friendly formula. This natural remedy will not cause allergic reactions, unlike factory-made household chemicals.
- Easy to manufacture and no special storage requirements.
- The availability of ingredients - soda, mustard and washing powder can be found in every home.
Of course, there are disadvantages. Mustard powder, like washing powder, negatively affects the dishwasher. An examination during which such home formulations were tested showed: already starting from the third cycle, the spray nozzles began to become clogged with small granules of crushed mustard. Using the tool, you will have to constantly clean the nozzles with a toothpick.
Using mustard, the quality of washing dishes is quite good, but again, no one canceled the costs of the rinse aid. And if you use this powder all the time, you need to make regular PMM cleanings on the mandatory list of houseworks.
On a note! Are you planning to constantly use a composition based on mustard? In this case, reduce its volume to 20 g.
How to replace rinse aid
We have already figured out how to wash, but how to save on rinse aid? A safe alternative is created from the following ingredients:
- 100 g of water;
- 50 g of detergent for dishes (manual);
- 30 g of alcohol.
Mix all the ingredients without shaking the resulting mixture. If after some time the composition has exfoliated, just stir it. Some housewives who regularly use this composition report that it can also be used as a detergent, if we are talking about dishes with light pollution. So in one fell swoop you can cook in 5 minutes an analogue of the 2-in-1 composition.
Attention! Do not increase the concentration of detergent in relation to water, otherwise there will be an excess of foam in the hopper. If you take more gel for dishes, increase the volume of alcohol - it will quench the increased foaming.
DIY pills
Universal capsules that dissolve in stages are very difficult to prepare. But you can make an excellent replacement for classic tablets, such as Finish Classic. What is needed:
- soda ash 200 g;
- borax 100 g;
- Epsom salt 100 g;
- lemon juice 100 g (can be replaced with citric acid).
Mix dry ingredients and add lemon juice. If using acid, mix it with everything else and gradually add water. When the mixture hiss, continue to create a reaction by adding juice or water. When the reaction is over, load the resulting slurry into ice molds and expose it to the sun (or to a heating radiator).
After drying, remove the homemade “pills”, put them in a container and store them out of the reach of children and animals. This tool is ideal for washing dishes - they can safely replace ordinary washing capsules.
As you can see, home-made “spill” remedies are simple to make, easy to store, and their efficiency is sometimes no worse than that of purchased analogues. But always remember that, saving on "chemistry", you risk the serviceability of the dishwasher. If you carefully studied the instructions, you might notice that the manufacturer categorically does not recommend using the "chemistry" of handicraft production. If you experiment, then with machines that have already expired the warranty period, otherwise in the event of a breakdown in warranty repair you may be refused.