If I use soda crystals instead of dishwasher powder will I break it?

[Fluffycloudland77]

I was thinking last night that if you can use soda crystals to wash the inside of the machine it may be possible to use it to clean your dishes.

They are alkaline enough (ph11) and I know that dishwasher powder is alkaline also.

I looked on google and it seems other people use a half and half mix of borax and washing soda eg one table spoon of each.

But wll I break my machine? it's new and DH would kill me if I did.

No idea but I use Daisy dishwasher powder, is less than a fiver and lasts for months, so much cheaper than any tablet or liquid I have found.

It won't break your machine, I use soda crystals to clean it every week and have no problems, in fact it will probably fare better with soda crystals than regular dishwasher tabs.

I have no idea if it is safe for use on your dishes though, or if it would leave a poisonous residue? If your confident from your research I would say give it a go!

And if you're still going strong after a few months I might try that myself

You're not your. FGS

I'm still using my daisy powder so I will post if I'm brave enough to try it.

is your intention to save money?

Some of the "Which" recommended cleaners, like the Tesco Value, or the Aldi one, are very cheap.

Yes, I use one level dessert spoon of daisy powder but I am thinking that maybe all I need is one dessert spoon of soda crystals?

Also they are phosphate free.

One kilo is 65p in homebargains and savers, a level dessert spoon is around 13gr (I weighed it ages ago) so that would be approx 75 washes for 65p. I put the machine on daily. So 0.86p per wash.

Whereas tesco daisy works out at approx 230 washes the way I use it or 2.12p per wash, it was £4.89 a box when I bought it.

Thats assuming all you need is one dessert spoon.

I use dishwasher salt and rinse aid. The rinse aid is one from savers for £1 which has the same active ingredients as Finish.

I have used asda tablets and the finish ones that come with the machine but the daisy powder does the job as well.

I must admit I never bother with rinse aid or salt - don't find it makes any difference at all.

All the women in my family going back 3 generations add soda crystals to 1 mug of boiled water into a pan and leave it on a low heat whenever to release the burnt stuff off pans when we burn them. It comes off a treat and you just need to rinse or given it a normal wash when all the burnt rubbish has lifted. Add soda crystals to reduces hard water, it also releases grease from clothes and increases whiteness so much cheaper than using biological powder and doesn't harm the environment. You can even recycle washing machine water on the garden, if you use soda crystals and other non phosphate chemicals