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Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
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Citric acid as an additive for dishwasher
Q. I am looking for the least expensive source of an edible substance that contains citric acid. The water here has minerals that precipitate onto my dishes after using the dishwasher. I am told it is due to the high heat of the dw. No other areas of the house are affected. I used a commercial citric acid product that cleaned the dishwasher beautifully. But I need an edible source so that I can add a little to each load and stop the precipitate on my dishes. I am told that Tang will work, but looking for a less expensive source or more concentrated source since I am told that I need to use approx. 1/2 cup per load. Can you help?
Thanks,
Barbara McGaughran- Mandeville, Louisiana
A. I'm not sure if this is a cheaper alternative but my fiance's mother suggested we use a product called Lemishine
⇦ this on
eBay
or
Amazon [affil links] . I usually find it for about $3.50 or so I think. We get anywhere from 12-16 uses from the container. I hate having to use something this expensive in addition to detergent but our dishes were just having to get hand washed again or we just did not use the dishwasher due to the film from the hard water and minerals. I suspect a bit less can be used from time to time but I usually just fill to the line with the Lemi-Shine and use the other spot for the gel detergent.
Thanks! Hope I have helped perhaps a little bit. Nathan Rhoades
- Indiana, US
March 25, 2012
A. Hi folks,
I haven't needed or used citric acid in the dishwasher myself, so I can't attest to how effective it is, but food grade citric acid is available on line from Amazon or eBay in bulk so it is affordable ⇨
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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