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How to get your dishwasher back (Make phosphate detergent) Vanity
Self | 2/13/2011 | self

Posted on 02/13/2011 1:14:16 PM PST by dickmc

Pittsburgh isn’t even in the Chesapeake watershed. However, like everywhere else apparently phosphates have disappeared from dishwasher detergents. The result is dishes that aren’t particularly clean and feel ‘slimy’.

After some checking, I found that the disappeared phosphate content in dishwasher detergent was around six percent. On a recent visit to the plumbing supply store to get some parts, I found that they still had one pound boxes of the real TSP (trisodium phosphate Na3PO4); not the fake ersatz 'TSP' stuff that Home Depot is only selling. In fact, the real TSP is still available all over the net.

Not being able to find any phosphate containing dishwasher detergent at any grocery store, I decided to make my own. Here’s how:

1. Buy a large 7.5 pound bottle of gel type dishwasher detergent.

2. Dump in a bucket and add one-half of a one pound box of TSP. This will make a 6.25% mix of TSP in the detergent. (Actually the weight percent of Phosphate in TSP (Na3PO4) is 58% making the Phosphate in the mix 6.25 x 0.58 or 3.6% …but… that’s good enough for government work!)

3. Stir with a paint stick. If you want, add a half-cup of water to somewhat reduce the gel viscosity.

4. After about one minute of stirring, the TSP particles will be thoroughly distributed in the gel. (They don’t dissolve but that’s OK as long as they are evenly mixed.)

5. Put back in the bottle ...with the leftover in the empty bottle. (A funnel helps which I had from garage stuff.)

Tried it out yesterday.

.

VIOLA! The dishes are now 'squeaky' clean with no slime film. Also, the dishwasher insides now look clean again.

Enjoy the info.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: dishwasher; phosphate; tsp; vanity
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To: wintertime

Check Lowes. That is where I got mine.


101 posted on 02/14/2011 10:26:13 AM PST by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: dickmc
The Weekly Standard had an article awhile back about this....

I was screaming out loud by the end of it..

102 posted on 02/14/2011 10:32:58 AM PST by Osage Orange (MOLON LABE)
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To: dickmc

I need to post all of my thoughts in one post (this is third) but your remark about a clean dishwasher reminded me. My dishwasher was starting to leak underneath. I found the source and was mulling over whether or not to replace it myself, call a repairman or get a new dishwasher.

ANECDOTAL ONLY: It stopped leaking when I started adding the TSP. My appliance-repair-for-dummies-brain tells me maybe the water discharge tubing is rinsing cleaner as well. May or may not be true, but no more leaks.


103 posted on 02/14/2011 10:33:04 AM PST by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: urtax$@work
So far, so good : No discoloration of flatware, and at least there aren't any food particles adhering to them, either. It's mainly the lack of spots on glasses, mugs, and dishes that I've noticed, though.

I believe I will try the STPP, as it DOES sound a bit safer.

104 posted on 02/14/2011 10:42:46 AM PST by kaylar (It's MARTIAL law. Not marshal(l) or marital! This has been a spelling PSA. PS Secede not succeed)
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To: Palladin
I noticed an immediate drop in the staying power of Yves Rocher when they went to all-natural ingredients , citing the environment, back in 1999/2000. Then I noticed that other fragrance lines seemed way weaker, when I tried new products introduced in the latter part of the last decade. The two newest Avon/MARK fragrances are completely vanished in less than one minute-they are weaker than any "body spray" I've ever encountered. And other MARK products were of almost 1980s strength (a not unmixed blessing! :-D)

I am just speculating that an attempt to please moslem customers/be completely lazy is what's really behind it, though . I noticed that a non alcohol version of a Jovan fragrance with which I was quite familiar smelled different, ie worse, and was way weaker than the standard edition. This makes me wonder if maybe other companies are removing the alcohol from fragrances , and pretending it's an environmental decision when it's really to make it easier for them, by creating all fragrances to accord with moslem halal standards, rather than making separate bottles for different world regions. It wouldn't surprise me if that's the case, as some restaurants (UK and USA) have been quietly switching to halal meats everywhere, instead of just in locations in mostly moslem neighborhoods. Easier and cheaper for them.

105 posted on 02/14/2011 10:51:00 AM PST by kaylar (It's MARTIAL law. Not marshal(l) or marital! This has been a spelling PSA. PS Secede not succeed)
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To: lacrew
PS - don’t tell the enviro-idiots about phosphorous in our fertilizer.

They already know about it.....

Chicken manure is loaded with phosphorous...Hummmmmm, maybe I should add chicken crap to my dish soap?????

LOL

106 posted on 02/14/2011 10:51:35 AM PST by Osage Orange (MOLON LABE)
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To: SatinDoll

Red Dawn...prolly work better!! : )


107 posted on 02/14/2011 10:55:01 AM PST by Osage Orange (MOLON LABE)
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To: stilloftyhenight
CLR substitute

Use with caution, but Muratic Acid (from hardware stores) will do the job. It is extremely dangerous so don't spill it on something you don't intend to. And don't mix it with other chemicals. It will destroy the lime....

108 posted on 02/14/2011 11:46:53 AM PST by Texas Fossil (Government, even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one)
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To: GoldwaterChick

I had stopped wearing any cologne for a while,for no particular reason.

I received a gift certificate last fall and bought my old favorite L’Air du Temps,which I had worn for about 15 years.

I spent about $70.00 on this purchase and what a waste of money. Once,to test my sanity,I sprained quite a bit on my wrist. Five minutes later——nothing,no scent all.

That’s it for me.


109 posted on 02/14/2011 12:29:27 PM PST by Mears
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To: Mears; GoldwaterChick; Palladin
I know the thought of buying other people's used cosmetics online sounds disgusting to a lot of people , but I've been buying vintage and/or no longer manufactured fragrances online for years. To date, I've had no mishaps (bottles broken in transit, fragrances that have "turned" in the bottle or don't smell as I remembered, suggesting the possibility of fraudulent sellers decanting cheap stuff into collectible empty bottles, etc.)

I've bought from etsy, google shopping, bonanzle, and ebay. A quick search on ebay pulls up 755 results for L'air du temps.(I pulled up over 3000 results with google shopping.) Some state it's the vintage version in the auction title. It looks as if that fragrance's bottle has been changed through the years, so a shopper could tell from the jpegs on each auction roughly what time frame it's from (eg, a 1980s or 1990s, or a new bottle).

Anyhow, that's just a possibility, and if any of you try this route, I hope you have as much success as I've had through the last 12 years of online shopping for second hand fragrances.

110 posted on 02/14/2011 12:56:43 PM PST by kaylar (It's MARTIAL law. Not marshal(l) or marital! This has been a spelling PSA. PS Secede not succeed)
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To: kaylar

Thank you so much for that information-—I’ll give it a shot.

L’Air du Temps was the best ever.

These changes are sad.


111 posted on 02/14/2011 1:00:53 PM PST by Mears
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To: stilloftyhenight

If you find a CLR substitute let me know - thanks.


112 posted on 02/14/2011 1:02:14 PM PST by GOPJ (http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/index2.php - World Disaster Map)
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To: kaylar

That’s a great idea!

I wonder if I can find an old bottle of Sortilege somewhere.


113 posted on 02/14/2011 1:30:11 PM PST by Palladin (Obama, go back to Hawaii! Better yet, go back to Kenya!!)
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To: kaylar

A very interesting post. They can produce the perfumes more cheaply, while charging us more for them.

I think I’ll try my luck on E-Bay with some vintage fragrances.


114 posted on 02/14/2011 1:43:14 PM PST by Palladin (Obama, go back to Hawaii! Better yet, go back to Kenya!!)
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To: Palladin
I found 41 on ebay alone: Looks like there's the original, vintage fragrance from Le Galion, and it looks like there's a recreated version from the House of Long Lost perfumes, as well as from Vermont country store.

Happy hunting!

115 posted on 02/14/2011 2:04:01 PM PST by kaylar (It's MARTIAL law. Not marshal(l) or marital! This has been a spelling PSA. PS Secede not succeed)
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To: Mears

I never tried it, but I thought it had the most interesting bottle-LOVE the little doves!


116 posted on 02/14/2011 2:07:06 PM PST by kaylar (It's MARTIAL law. Not marshal(l) or marital! This has been a spelling PSA. PS Secede not succeed)
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To: Mears

That happened to me years ago. I wrote to the company and they sent me another bottle to replace it. No doubt you’ve thrown yours out. I really loved that fragrance. A friend of mine in Ohio—who introduced me to it—said she isn’t having any problems with it, so I need to investigate a bit further.


117 posted on 02/14/2011 2:20:20 PM PST by GoldwaterChick
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To: dickmc

I’m joining the chorus of people who used TSP to solve their dishwasher problems. Got it in a NJ Home Depot last week. Now I add a teaspoon to each load and it’s all sparkling.


118 posted on 02/14/2011 2:21:44 PM PST by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: kaylar

Hadn’t heard about vintage perfume before this thread. I will definitely check it out. Thank you!


119 posted on 02/14/2011 2:21:47 PM PST by GoldwaterChick
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To: GoldwaterChick

I still have the bottle,but the box with pertinent info is long gone.

C’est la vie.


120 posted on 02/14/2011 2:37:22 PM PST by Mears
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