This Dishwashing Detergent Hack Is Trending on Social Media — Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Do It
While we are typically team “listen to your mother” (at least when it comes to eating your vegetables and not running with scissors), there is one case of motherly wisdom where we respectfully say, “Don’t.”
To start off a throwback to some of her most popular “Babs Hacks” over the past year, @brunchwithbabs (aka “the internet mom/grandma you didn’t know you needed”) shared a hack with her 1.2 million followers that sounds like a dishwashing savior. She suggests if you run out of dishwashing detergent, just drip three drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid and about three tablespoons of baking soda (Babs says that will fill up the little dispenser in your machine) into your dishwasher and you’re all set to run the load. Sound like a money-saving hack you need to have? Well, don’t shun your dishwashing pods quite yet.
While this sounds like a great idea, experts have said that we should not being doing this. Between causing too many bubbles (a suds-filled dishwasher cannot spray or circulate suds and won’t wash the dishes thoroughly) and potentially damaging your dishwasher’s inner workings like seals, gaskets, and plastic or synthetic parts (essentially kissing your warranty goodbye), this hack could cause more damage than it’s worth. A quick trip to the store, or going old-school and washing what you need by hand, would make more sense.
If you want a dishwasher hack that does work, try this one that gives you dry dishes in five minutes.