If you need to run the dishwasher but are out of dishwasher tablets, here’s what to do.
Yes! Use these things
The best alternative to dishwasher tablets
Fill the tablet dispenser three-quarters full with baking soda. Add two to three drops of dishwashing liquid (literally three drops and no more – see warning below). Make sure your dishwasher salt is filled and run your dishwasher.
White vinegar
If you don’t have baking soda, pour a cup of white vinegar into the top rack. The acid in the vinegar should cut through the grease on your dishes. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s better than leaving the dishes and letting the dishwasher turn into a stinky closet.
Only use vinegar once in a while, in case of emergency: if you use it too often, it will start to wear down the rubber inside the machine, including the gasket (the seal around your dishwasher door).
Do not use these things at all
Dishwashing liquid
Unless you want to run a bubble bath all over your kitchen floor, DO NOT fill your dishwasher with dish soap. Dish soap is designed to create lots of suds, whereas dishwasher detergent doesn’t suds at all. The suds will leak out the sides of the door during the cycle, and you’ll spend the rest of your day trying to wipe up the slippery bubbles.
I’ve been there. Cleaning takes hours.
If this information comes too late, here’s what to do.
- Stop your dishwasher as soon as possible.
- Remove as much soapy water as possible from inside the dishwasher.
- Break up the bubbles. The best method I’ve found—and it’s much more effective if you live in a hard water area—is to use a bar of soap. Lather your hands thoroughly in the bar of soap and run your hands and the bar of soap through the bubbles. The soap reacts with the minerals in the water to create a defoamer. You may have experienced something similar if you’ve ever used a bar of soap during a bubble bath and killed all the bubbles.
- You can also sprinkle sea salt on the bubbles on your floor to help them pop. When wiping up the spill, try to use rags that you can throw away later, at least for the first few stages of cleaning, or you’ll be repeating the problem of the foam party in your washing machine.
- Run your dishwasher again, on cold, with a cup of vinegar inside.
Borax
If you’re looking for dishwasher replacement tablets online, one thing that keeps coming up is borax. But you really shouldn’t use it in your dishwasher.
In Europe, borax has been banned altogether, and in the United States, the FDA has banned it as a food additive because of concerns about its potentially harmful effects on reproductive health.
Even though exposure to this product from using it in your dishwasher is extremely low, you are already exposed to it through the foods you eat and drink. So it is not wise to consume more of it in your daily life. Just because it is natural does not mean it is good for you.
If you can’t find baking soda, you can purchase a borax substitute instead.
Vinegar and baking soda
Several websites recommend making your own dishwasher tablets by combining these two ingredients. But here’s why you shouldn’t do it. It’s not dangerous, it’s just unnecessary.
After the initial fizzing reaction (during which carbonic acid and sodium acetate are formed, which is ideal for unblocking drains), a second reaction occurs: a decomposition into water and carbon dioxide.
Essentially, this means that any cleaning power the two have together disappears when you first mix them.
But each of them taken separately is a good option to help you clean your dishes.
Need more dishwasher advice? Read this article to learn how to (properly) load your dishwasher and how to maintain it. We also have tips on the best air fryer to buy, as well as the best vacuum cleaner.
Table of Contents
