Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Amme J. sent me this recipe and I want to try it. I have mixed up a batch of the dishwasher detergent and I am going to try it today. If you also try it, please, either comment below or send me an email through the RS email below and I will share your opinion on the blog. We are interested in how this recipe works. If it is as good as the homemade laundry detergent, then we are very happy. That stuff smells so good! Thanks, Debbie, for sharing that recipe with us!

This recipe comes from diyNatural.com

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Recipe

• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1/2 cup kosher salt

Fill rinse agent compartment with white vinegar.

Find detailed instructions, cost breakdown, and sources for ingredients below…

5 SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

• 1 – 55 ounce box of Arm & Hammer® Super Washing Soda = $3.99  Many people seem to be finding this cheaper than me, I suppose I’ll have to shop around.
• 1 – 76 ounce box of 20 Mule Team® Borax = $4.99 People seem to be finding this much cheaper than me too.
• 1 – 48 ounce box of coarse Kosher Salt = $1.99  I cook with kosher salt as well.
• 1 – 5 pound container of food-grade Citric Acid = $40.00  You can find this online or at your local brewery or specialty beer store.  If you cannot find this you can substitute LemiShine.  If you do not use some form of citric acid… you will most likely have the cloudy residue left that most “green” cleaners leave.
• 1 – gallon of White Vinegar = $1.79  Yet another excellent use for a nearly universal cleaning agent.

COST BREAKDOWN & SAVINGS

Prior to making our own, we were using Palmolive eco+ liquid detergent.  Here is the breakdown in cost analysis:

• borax | 76oz = 4.99 | 8oz=.53/batch
• washing soda | 55oz = 3.99 | 8oz=.57/batch
• citric acid | 80oz = 40.00 | 4oz=2.00/batch
• kosher salt | 48oz = 1.99 | 4oz = .16/batch
• total for 24 oz = $2.33/batch
• white vinegar (as rinse agent) | 1gal = 1.79 | 4oz=.06/fill

(**note** you only need to use 1 rounded tablespoon of this homemade detergent per load.  If you feel it necessary… you may use a heaping tablespoon, but I do not.)

• Palmolive® eco+ gel 75 ounce detergent – $3.79 – 28 loads = $0.14 per load
• Jabs Homemade powder 24 ounce detergent – $3.26 – 48 loads = $0.07 per load

Here are the cost savings for my homemade rinse agent that goes along with this recipe:

• FINISH® JET-DRY® Rinse Agent 4.22 ounce solution – $3.99 – 1 fill = $3.99 per fill
• White Vinegar as a Rinse Agent 1 gallon solution – $1.79 – 1 fill = $0.06 per fill

That is a huge savings of 6650% on an effective rinse agent!  Sounds too good to be true… but it is indeed true!

A SIMPLE RECIPE & MAKING OF A BATCH

Each batch yields 20 ounces of resulting product which you should store in some type of container you were going to dispose of.  I suggest something 1 gallon size or smaller so you can fit it under your kitchen sink; old coffee cans work great.  Feel free to double the batch, or multiply it accordingly to create any amount you’d like.

1. Start with these 5 ingredients:

2. Into a 32 ounce container – add 1 cup of borax:

3. Add 1 cup of washing soda:

4. Add 1/2 cup of citric acid (double for hard water):

5. Add 1/2 cup of kosher salt:

6. Put the lid on & shake it up good:

7. As you know… my wife loves her some label maker:

8. Fill “Rinse Aid” compartment with white vinegar:

When you do a load use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (you can use a heaping tablespoon if you feel the need, but I do not).

This detergent will clump together but it doesn’t matter… just scoop out your tablespoon & forget about the clumps!  It clumps because of the citric acid.

*UPDATE* We add 1 tsp dry rice to each batch to negate some of the clumping… no it won’t hurt your dishwasher.

There you have it folks!

Simple, easy, fast, and efficient homemade laundry detergent.

What are you waiting for?  Go get the ingredients and make yours today!

(I did some research and found that the citric acid that they call for in the recipe is the same as the main ingredient in Fruit Fresh, a product used in canning to keep the fruits from turning brown. So, I just bought some Fruit Fresh in the canning section at the grocery store.

I have made the dishwasher detergent recipe and tried it a couple of times. I like it, so far. I see no difference after the two washings. I will keep an eye open for problems but I like it, for now. R. )