One possibility is Citric acid. It chelates the calcium and magnesium and is the same thing found in orange juice if you can find a supply that is pure enough. A comercial version is called Lemishine, but that has some kind of lemon flavoring added and it is probably (not for sure) a chemical flavoring. As far as I know even the Bosch 800 plus with the built in water softener requires a rinse aid. I wory about tht too. Might try the Miele version if I go ahead with a DW purchase.

I have a bosch, and an asko, dishwasher. I use the Finish Powerball dishwasher detergent. Since that contains a rinse agent I do not use Jet Dry, as a matter of fact the asko manual says not to if you are using the afore mentioned dishwashing product.

I used Jet Dry for a while and it seemed to work fine. Then I think I read somewhere out here that distilled white vinegar works just as well. I switched to that about a year ago and it seems to work just as well as the jet Dry.

We're big fans of Lemishine in our household. We bought a Thermador DW about 2 yrs ago, and it works fine except that, due to our very hard water, all of the dishes and glasses were getting a severe cloudy coating that nothing, including a vinegar soak, could remove. We had a repairman out to fix a minor problem with a different Thermadore appliance, and he recommended using the Lemi Shine. The first time I used it, the glasses and dishes came out almost as good as new. Now, after using it for about 6 months, it's hard to believe that they are the same dishes and glasses that looked so awful previously. We were also advised to stop buying the Cascade detergent and use a generic "green" product instead, and also to keep using the Jet Dry. We did make the detergent change, and we use half detergent & half Lemi Shine in the cup for each load. We did stop using the Jet Dry. One caveat with the Lemi Shine is that there are certain items that should not be washed with it (for example, enamled cookware such as LeCreuset, or handpainted dishes, as it will ruin the finish). The Lemi Shine website gives more info on this, as do the many product reviews on amazon.com.

Seventh Generation and Ecover both make a supposedly 'greener' rinse aid. There are a bunch of Ecover reviews on Amazon. You can google a product name followed by 'MSDS' and get the safety data. I have always had a heated dry dishwasher so can't help with reviews.

Though I haven't tried it I did read here also that White Vinegar can replace jet dry. I run my Bosch after dinner and sometime at night I push the off button, crack the door open and empty it in the AM. Everything is dry.

It's a shame you have eliminated KA fRom your list. I have a 70 series an love it! There is no way for there to be a moisture issues on newer models as some have posted about. The side vents are INLETS, the unit vents out on the bottom. I have it mounted in full inset cabinetry and have never noticed a drop of moisture.

The heated ProDry on my DW gives me crystal clear and dry glasses and even dry plastics...

We have a Bosch SHE7 and I run hot and cold about using a rinse aid such as Jet Dry. Often I simply don't use it. The only consequence seems to be that each cycle takes longer. When the DW senses that there is no rinse aid in that reservoir, the system automatically adds 30 minutes to the cycle. As best I can tell, the DW just "sits there" for the extra time. Since I tend to start a cycle as we head to bed, I don't really care about the extra time. Our dishes seem no more or less dry than when I do remember to add Jet Dry. And no more or less clean or shiny. Of course, YMMV.

Actually - a friend went to the store for me and I asked for Jet Dry Solid rinse aid (since my liquid rinse aid dispenser leaks and has for years so I haven't been using any, and they came back with a trail version of Finish powerball.

I've been using the Institutional Cascade Powder (with phosphates) because I didn't have great results with the non-phosphate stuff.

I tried the finish powerball and it's amazing. It does have rinse aid in it so you don't need to use any rinse aid. I'm guessing finish powerball is phosphate free (doesn't it have to be now?) - and it's the best phosphate free detergent I've ever used - even better than the Cascade powder WITH phosphates

I'm with you, homardmama, though I'm still using Finish (with rinse aid,) and Lemishine. I tried to find out what is in the rinse aid, to no avail. I do feel like we are consuming more chemicals than we should due to this product, but since they took the phosphates out of the detergents my dishes are a mess without them. I'd love to hear it if you hit on a solution!

We use a vegetable-based one called Wave Jet. You can order it on Amazon, but I buy it at my local organic supermarmet.

Our dishes dry really well! I only have to wipe the bottoms of the coffee cups if that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wave Jet on Amazon

Thanks to all who have responded! I think my concerns have been assuaged enough to stay the Euro-style dishwasher course. Once we actually get our new DW in place and try out some of these hopefully healthier rinse aid alternatives (7th Generation, Ecover, Wave Jet, good old vinegar) I'll post back and let you know our results ...

I did not know that if you use powerball you can overlook jetdry. I have two huge costco bottles. I will set the bosch to use the least amount or 0 amount.

I'm with jmith. I didn't know you could skip the Jet Dry if you use Finish Powerball.

In fact (you'll love this), Costco has a current coupon that I cashed in on today. Buy a pack of Finish Powerball, get a free Jet Dry. I don't understand. I feel played.

I got a Miele Diamante Plus two years ago. I first used Cascade rinse aid for the first week, but noticed it left a chemical smell on everything. I then changed to the Miele brand rinse aid and have used it ever since. No chemical smell. I also have the rinse aid dispenser set to a setting of 1ml, as it can go up to 6ml, with 3ml being the factory default. If I turn it off (set to 0) then some items don't get fully dry.

@breezygirl: laughs yes they are trying to sell us "coloured processed vinegar" as a scam!

Those big bottles are what 10 bucks?! lasts me half a year but if i don't need it i don't need it...