Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

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Homemade dishwasher detergent is a simple, inexpensive, and effective way to wash the dishes. All you need are a few simple ingredients and two minutes to make this DIY dishwasher detergent recipe.

Homemade dishwasher detergent in a swing top jar on a countertop surrounded by flowers.

This recipe to make your own dishwasher detergent is so frugal and so easy. You have to try it!  It only takes about two minutes to whip up, costs a few dollars per batch to make, and should last about 100 loads.

I created this recipe 12 years ago, when my husband and I were pinching pennies and trying to live a more natural lifestyle. Little did I know this recipe would be the catalyst to becoming more crunchy. 

This homemade dishwasher detergent works better than store-bought versions. It is a great recipe for beginners who want to make more homemade items and avoid purchasing commercial brands that contain ingredients you aren’t familiar with or can’t even pronounce.

If you are trying to make the switch to more natural cleaning products you should try my recipes for homemade cleaners: granite cleaner, furniture polish, and my favorite all-purpose cleaning spray. They are all cleaners you can feel good using at home around your kids and pets.

This recipe is a much more natural version of dishwasher detergent than many of us can find in our local grocery store. Cheap and more natural? Sign me up!

Why You Will love this recipe

  • Inexpensive: A batch of this recipe costs about a dollar and lasts for approximately 50 loads, which is less than a penny per load. In comparison, commercial detergents can cost several dollars per load over time. Again, explain the math here, OR we need new math.
  • Quick: this recipe comes together in 2 minutes. Add in clean-up, and your total time commitment is under 5 minutes. 
  • Natural: by making your own homemade dishwasher detergent you can control the ingredients and ensure they are natural and safe for your family and the environment.
  • Effective: This detergent, with it’s natural ingredients, will make those dirty dishes shine.

Ingredients

A box of Borax, washing soda, citric acid and a measuring cup of salt on a marble countertop.

There are only a few basic ingredients necessary to make this natural cleaner:

Borax: a naturally occurring mineral salt, helps soften hard water and fights stains and food buildup. This is much cheaper at a grocery store.

Washing Soda (sodium carbonate): effectively cuts through grease and oil.

Citric Acid: is a natural acid found in citrus fruits. It helps in breaking down grease and food residues.

​Salt: I like to use sea salt or kosher salt. This is added to soften the water and help reduce mineral buildup. Some people say not to use sea salt as it can contain minerals, but I haven’t had any issues. I wouldn’t recommend using Redmond’s salt or another type of salt that does have a lot of minerals in it.

Essential oils: Optional. If you want your dishes to have a pleasant scent, you can add a few drops of an essential oil, like lemon oil, to your detergent mix. However, be cautious as some essential oils might not be suitable for use in dishwashers.

A list of the remaining ingredients can be found in the recipe card.

Tools Needed

Bowl

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Glass jar

Measuring cups and spoons

Overhead photo of dishwasher detergent in a glass swing top jar with a stack of dishes with a pink towel to the right.

How To Make Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Ingredients in a bowl with a silicon spatula mixing the ingredients together.

Step 1: Carefully mix the borax, washing soda, and citric acid together in a large bowl using a spoon.

Pouring homemade dishwasher detergent into a glass container with a metal funnel.

Step 2: Store in an airtight container. A glass jar or mason jar works well for this purpose.

To Use:

To do a load of dishes with your newly made dishwasher soap: Place 1 Tbs of the mixture in the pre-wash (open cup) and 1 Tbs in the main wash (closed cup) and run a regular wash cycle.

Tip: I find that if you put a drop of natural dish soap in the detergent compartment along with your detergent it makes your dishes much more sparkly!

Homemade dishwasher detergent in a glass container on a windowsill with flowers to the left.

Tips For Using Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

  • Use 1 tablespoon in both the pre-wash cup and the main wash cup.
  • Add white vinegar as a natural rinse aid for a natural way to get sparkly dishes.
  • Different water types can have different results with DIY dishwasher detergent. If you are getting any cloudiness, or food residue left on your dishes, add a few drops of natural dish soap to the mix.
  • If you have hard water, you might need to use more detergent or add a water softener to your dishwater.
  • If you notice a white film on your dishes, it might be due to hard water minerals. Using white vinegar in the rinse cycle can help remove this.
  • To prevent mineral deposits, make sure to use the correct amount of detergent and rinse aid.
  • For heavily stained dishes, pre-treat them with baking soda or lemon juice before loading them into the dishwater.
  • For best results, use hot water in your dishwater cycle.

Storage

The best way to store DIY dishwasher detergent is in a glass jar or other airtight plastic container. You could even reuse old laundry detergent boxes for storing your homemade detergent.

The only thing you have to consider about when storing this dishwasher powder is making sure it stays dry. 

FAQ’s

Is Borax Toxic? 

This has been up for debate for some time. Katie over at the Wellness Mama has a great article here. Basically, there isn’t conclusive evidence of it being bad for you.

I’m getting water spots or cloudiness! What do I do?

You can add a few drops of dish soap and fill the rinse aid compartment with white vinegar. That should get rid of any water spots or cloudiness. You can also add a tsp of baking soda to the dishwasher to help against lime buildup (white film).

Are there any good natural store bought dishwasher detergents?

You betcha. When I’m strapped for time, I will frequently reach for Seventh Generation powder. Biokleen also scores an A on EWG, as does Ecos, Fit Organic, and Mama Suds.

Want some more DIY Natural Products? Try these!

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back, comment on the post, and give it 5 stars! Please and thank you. Tag me on Instagram @ablossominglife.

Homemade dishwasher detergent in a swing top jar on a countertop surrounded by flowers.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Homemade dishwasher detergent is a simple, cheap, and effective way to clean dishes in the dishwasher.
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Author: Amy
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
Servings: 5 cups

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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together.
  • Pour into a air-tight container.

To use:

  • Place 1 tablespoon in the main wash. Optional: add 1 tablespoon to the prewash.

Notes

  • Use 1 tablespoon in both the pre-wash cup and the main wash cup.
  • Add white vinegar as a natural rinse aid for a natural way to get sparkly dishes.
  • Different water types can have different results with DIY dishwasher detergent. If you are getting any cloudiness, or food residue left on your dishes, add a few drops of natural dish soap to the mix.
  • If you have hard water, you might need to use more detergent or add a water softener to your dishwater.
  • If you notice a white film on your dishes, it might be due to hard water minerals. Using white vinegar in the rinse cycle can help remove this.
  • To prevent mineral deposits, make sure to use the correct amount of detergent and rinse aid.
  • For heavily stained dishes, pre-treat them with baking soda or lemon juice before loading them into the dishwater.
  • For best results, use hot water in your dishwater cycle.
Course: diy
Keyword: homemade dishwasher detergent
Tried this recipe? Tag me!Mention @ablossominglife or tag #ablossominglife!

99 Comments

  1. I was doing a bit of research on this subject, and I am wondering if you could instead of adding citric acid to your detergent, use citrus infused vinegar as your rinse aid. That way you get that clean lemon smell. Also I read that vinegar can eat away the rubber components in your rinse compartment, and that its best to put some in a small cup or bowel on the top rack while you run it. Just some thoughts on how to change it up.

    Reply

  2. I can’t wait to try this, the only thing I’m worried about is that my dish washer doesn’t do we’ll with powder detergents, dose anyone know if you can make into a liquid detergent?

    Reply

  4. I have been wanting to try this for a LONG time. You are the inspiration I needed, and I just love your picture!! We are starting a link up party on Thursdays (today:), and we would love for you to join us with this post and/or any others you would like to include. We are at allthingswithpurpose.com. Hope to see you there!!

    Reply

    1. nope its slightly different. You can make washing soda by baking baking soda or else you can find it in the laundry aisle

    1. It’s kind of like baking soda but you find it in the laundry aisle. You can actually make it too by baking baking soda

    1. I googled it and found out that you can make it from baking soda…..dump your baking soda onto a cookie sheet and bake it for about a half hour at 400* Something about exposing the baking soda to heat releases a gas that transforms the soda into washing soap.

    4. Every Wal Mart sells it, but it’s in the stain removal section and VERY hard to find now that alot of people are making their own detergents now. It’s dirt cheap for a big box.

    2. The answer is yes…You can make your own washing soda by placing baking soda on a cookie sheet and bake it for a half hour at 400* If you have a lot of baking soda on your cookie sheet you should stirr it about half way through to ensure even cooking.

  11. Is there an alternative to the borax? I know it’s for dishes instead of laundry, but my mom used borax once in the laundry and I itched like crazy until she did the wash again. Because of that, I’d rather not use borax at all.

    Reply

  12. Dear Amy

    Thank you so much for linking with my Wednesday Adorned From Above Blog Hop last week. I have listed your posting as one of my featured links for this week.

    http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/07/surf-spray-and-wednesdays-adorned-from.html

    Copy and Paste the link from the post to show that you are a featured blogger on Wednesdays Adorned From Above Blog Hop. It says

    I am a featured blogger at Wednesday Adorned From Above Blog Hop

    Thank you again for participating, and I hope that you have lots of links for this week.

    Amy, you can delete the first one that I sent you. I put the wrong name in it accidentally. Thank you so much for sharing. You had the most page views. You had 12 pageviews. I am going to try making your recipe this week.

    Sincerely,
    Debi Bolocofsky
    http://www.adornedfromabove.com

    Reply

  16. We just recently started using this recipe for dishwasher detergent. Unfortunately we have really hard water because our dishes come out clean (cleaner than with commercial dishwasher detergents) but with a white film on many of the dishes. Any suggestions? I think I read somewhere that increasing the borax would help with it…

    Reply

    1. I found another recipe and the blogger said this worked for her and she has really hard water. Its 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1/2 cup citric acid (she said she used 1 cup of lemon shine instead) and 1/2 cup kosher salt. I hope this helps and works for you!!

    3. Here is a line to some dishwasher sauce. It’s the borax that leaves a film on the dishes. Also here is a recipe that i sometimes ues to make tablets for my dishwasher. 1 cup of borax 1 cup of washing soda 1/4 cup of epsom salt, 1/8 cup of lemon juice, 1/8 cup of equate brand of dishwasher rinse aid and mix well together until moist but not to wet it just needs to hold a shape u can press the mixture into ice cube trays and let dry completely dishes come out sparkly but eventually u get a film on the inside of your dishwasher but as i stated above here is a link to some dishwasher sauce which works and does not leave a file on dishes or dishwasher.
      http://www.budget101.com/myo-household-items/mom-s-super-dishwasher-detergent-4215.html

    4. I found your recipe on Pinterest. I do not have an offical blog, but I really want to know where I can get a heart shaped scoop like you have on your ball jar.

    5. I have a set of measuring spoons, and the tablespoon-sized one looks very similar to the heart shaped scoop she shows on her Ball jar. I got them a couple years ago at Bed Bath & Beyond and have seen them there more recently. Now I want to know where to get Ball jars in that turquoise like hers….I only seem to find clear mason jars, and not Ball brand ? :/

    6. I got mine a few years ago also. I think from my mother-in-law as a bridal shower gift. And the jar is vintage from an antique store. I’ve seen them at tons of antique stores so hopefully that will narrow your search

    7. That is where the vinegar in the rinse agent should help. I have used it and never noticed any vinegar smell on my dishes. Also my dishwasher manual says to use the least amount of DW soap that you can and still get dishes clean-it says too much soap causes the film. Hard water is the pits isn’t it!

  17. I put a very small amount in and have never had a problem. My husband on the other hand had it happen to him the other day. My guess is just adding too much dish soap. It still was pretty funny and you can clean the floors with the bubbles 🙂

    Reply

  18. The last time I used dish soap in my dishwasher I had a bubbly mess. And I only put a few drops in cause I was out of dishwasher soap. The kids thought it was cool though lol

    Reply

    1. Putting dish soap in your dishwasher can damage the machine. If you double the amount of citric acid, and possibly add some salt, it won’t be necessary to use dish soap to get sparkling dishes.

  19. Michelle I believe you can find citric acid in the dish cleaning aisle, but I’m not sure I’ve only used the Kool-aid. Your laundry soap is almost the same as mine except I use washing soda instead of baking soda! Thanks for the comment I hope you can find citric acid!

    Reply

    2. I purchased Food Grade Bulk (3#) Citric Acid on-line for a fraction of cost in the canning section.
      -Carol H.

    3. U can get citric acid in the canning section of a store someplace or online its the stuff that make fruit tart acidy or whatever. It is natural in citrus fruits but like i said the canning section department of any store that sells canning stuff. Hope this helps

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