© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

If Your Detergent Isn't Doing The Job, What Do You Do To Get Clean Dishes?

Morning Edition's report on " Dishes Still Dirty? Blame Phosphate-Free Detergent" has generated quite a few comments.

Many are about the story itself, or the people who appeared in it.

But we want to focus on the tips from folks who say their dishes come out sparkling clean. Some, like commenter Susan Fowler, have offered recipes for homemade detergent:

1.Mix 1/4 C citric acid with 1,1/2 C Borax, add 15 drops of essential oil (optional) and use 1 tbs pf the mix per wash.

2.Put vinegar in the rinse cup and have spot free shining dishes.

(You can find lots of similar recipes on the Web -- many include baking soda and salt in their mixes.)

Others advocate for hand-washing, pre-wash scraping and turning up the water temperature.

What's your solution if your dishes aren't coming out clean?

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.