Automatic Dishwasher Powder
A five-ingredient powder that cleans your dishes and the inside of your dishwasher at the same time, no plastic jug required.
What It Is
Most dishwasher detergents are ninety percent filler and packaging. This one skips both. The five ingredients do specific jobs: sodium percarbonate lifts stains and sanitizes, sodium carbonate cuts grease, sodium citrate softens hard water so spots don't form on glasses, sodium chloride helps the whole thing rinse clean, and sodium gluconate keeps mineral deposits from building up on the machine itself.
That last part is what the subtitle is about. Regular use actually cleans the interior walls, spray arms, and filter of your dishwasher, not just the load inside it. Hard water is tough on appliances, and this formula works against that.
What To Do
Use about one tablespoon per load in your detergent compartment. If your water is very hard or your dishes are heavily soiled, bump it to two. For a dedicated machine cleaning cycle, run an empty load on hot with two tablespoons in the compartment and another tablespoon dropped into the bottom of the machine.
Store it somewhere dry. Sodium percarbonate starts to break down when it gets damp, so a sealed container away from the sink splash zone is the move. A little goes a long way, so even a small amount lasts most households several weeks.
