The Detergent Duel: Solid VS Liquid

Dish Soap

Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way first; dish soap, alone, should not be used as a supplement for dishwasher soap. Although it may seem like a viable alternative, you’ll actually end up with nothing but a huge surprise mess in your kitchen. Dish soap is meant to create a large amount of suds with little effort. Pair that with a machine that’s essentially washing harder than you ever could and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a very soapy disaster. So, do yourself a favor and avoid the temptation before it’s too late.

Dishwasher Liquid

Dishwasher liquid is more likely to reach farther throughout the dishwasher during a cycle because, since it’s liquid, it’s able to mix easier with the water inside the washer. Because of this, hot water should always be used with dishwasher liquid to ensure a proper mixture. Since dishwasher liquid is evenly spread throughout the dishwasher so well, it’s likely to stick to some hard to reach areas within the machine and lead to some minor corrosion over time. However, this isn’t a huge risk to your dishwasher, and it can be cleaned up rather easily.

Solid Dishwasher Detergent

As you may have guessed, solid dishwasher detergent does not break apart and disperse throughout the dishwasher as easily as liquid soap does. Because of this, some prefer dishwasher liquid for larger loads. Dishwasher detergents provide the luxury of ease. They are premeasured and therefore take less time to load into the dispenser. Once again, it’s advised to use hot water to ensure that the dishwasher detergent fully breaks apart during each cycle.

DIY Alternative

Now, what if you want to save a buck or two and avoid using a premium detergent or dishwasher liquid? Well, you’re in luck, because there are some easy DIY alternatives out there that use common household products.

Take baking soda and dish soap. Yes, dish soap. And yes, we did just warn against using dish soap in your dishwasher, but there are actually some crafty ways around it. If you need a quick alternative, try using about 3 to 4 drops of dish soap in your dispenser and then fill the rest up with baking soda. The baking soda actually suppresses the dish soap and prevents it from bubbling out of control. Although not on par with dishwasher liquid, when it comes to cleaning, the combination of dish soap and baking soda has the power to remove generous stains and buildups.