Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
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This post was updated December 2018
Its Frugal Friday! This recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent is so stinking frugal, so easy it’s crazy, and you have to try it! It takes about 2 minutes, costs about $0.65 to make, and should last about 100 loads. That’s not even a penny a load! Talk about saving money!
Have I convinced you yet? Also, I think it works better that the brand name stuff. This is a great beginners project for someone who wants to make more items homemade and purchase less consumer products.
I thought I’d make some homemade dishwasher detergent today because I’m so thankful to have my dishwasher working again after it broke on us for a couple of days. So, what better way to celebrate than a DIY project?
This is a much more natural version of dishwasher detergent than many you can find in the store. Cheap and more natural? Sign me up.
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Tips For Using Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
- Use 1 Tbs in both the pre-wash cup and the main wash cup.
- Different water types can have different results with DIY dishwasher detergent. If you are getting any cloudiness, add a few drops of natural dish soap to the mix.
- If you want a natural dishwasher detergent, but don’t want to make it you could try this natural option.
- Add vinegar as a rinse aid as a natural way to get sparkly dishes.
How To Make Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
Step 1:
Gather ingredients! You will need:
- 2 cups Borax (I use this kind)
- 2 cups washing soda (I use this kind)
- 4 packets of sugar free lemonade Kool-aid (or you can use citric acid- Like this one)
Step 2:
Mix all ingredients together and keep in some kind of container. It could be a super cute old mason jar like mine 🙂 or just an empty detergent box you have.
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Step 3:
Use it: Place 1 Tbs in the pre-wash (open cup) and 1 Tbs in the main wash (closed cup).
I found if you put a squirt of Dawn or some other brand in the main wash container it makes your dishes much more sparkly!
Want some more DIY Natural Products? Try these!
- DIY Foaming Hand Soap
- Homemade furniture polish is a cheap and natural cleaner.
- Get my favorite natural cleaning tips here.
- If you are a mom you definitely need this DIY Hand Sanitizer.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Recipe
Make this super simple and inexpensive recipe to get sparkly clean dishes.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
Save This Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups Borax I use this kind
- 2 cups washing soda I use this kind
- 4 packets of sugar free lemonade Kool-aid or you can use citric acid
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and keep in some kind of container. It could be a super cute old mason jar like mine 🙂 or just an empty detergent box you have.
Notes
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. Maybe one of these days I will try to come up with homemade dishwasher detergent that doesn’t have borax in it just in case you are concerned about that. I’m a mom and totally get that.
I’m getting water spots or cloudiness! What do I do?
You can add a few drops of dish detergent and fill the rinse aide container with 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.
Are there any good natural store bought dishwasher detergents?
You betcha. When I’m strapped for time… or just when I had my second child, I will frequently reach for Seventh Generation powder. Biokleen also scores an A on EWG, as does Ecos, Fit Organic, and Mama Suds.
Have you ever tried to make your own DIY dishwasher detergent?
If you put dish washer soap in and they dont come out clean or spotted add Vinagar (white) 1/3 cup to rinse cycle , comes out great and dont hurt Septic….
I was wondering when you say washing soda, do you baking soda? Thanks!
Washing Soda and Baking Soda are two different things however if washing soda is hard to find in your area I can give u a link to go and read how to turn baking soda into washing soda by baking it http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf51211341.tip.html and there is even a picture there so u can see the difference.
I don’t have an open cup for pre-wash, just a closed cup. My dishwasher also says to use jetdry or else my dishes stay wet. Can I maybe use 2 Tbsp in the closed cup?
How to make washing soda
Well, as the title says, we’re turning baking soda into washing soda this week. A good number of my homemade products require the use of washing soda, but for every item I post that uses washing soda, I always get at least 5 or 10 comments asking where you can find it. It’s true, sometimes it’s a little hard to find – even I had trouble the first time around. (It’s usually in the laundry aisle, by the way.)
But for those who live in rural areas, or without large grocery stores, it’s still hard to track down. So in my search for the best place to buy washing soda for one of our readers, I stumbled upon this idea that you can actually turn baking soda into washing soda, simply by baking it!
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/05/08/ttt-turn-baking-soda-into-washing-soda/
I make my own dishwasher tablets only difference is I use 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washing soda, 1/4 cup of epsom salt, 1/8 cup of lemon juice, and 1/8 cup of the Great Value brand rinse agent. Mix all together and press into tabs in ice cube trays and allow to dry completely and then give trays a twist they come right out. Purpose of the rinse aid is to not leave spotty dishes and one bottle of it goes along way when making these tablets and u only need one tablet per load of dishes.
Do you think vinegar could be used in place of the rinse agent?
also- I’ve made another recipe (same borax/washing soda ratio) with 1 c borax, 1 c washing soda, 1/4 cup epsom salt, lemon juice…have you ever used the salt in with this recipe? Not sure what it does besides soften the water. But we don’t have hard water…..
As far as the Kool-aid, for those that might think it does nothing- it really does! My husband was in the Navy and they used Kool-aid (made into paste w/water) as a BRASS cleaner, and for other cleaning, all the time….think about that next time you make some for the kiddos 😀
How much citric acid would you use instead of Koolaid??
I haven’t yet taken the step to making our own detergent, but maybe one day in the future. Thanks for sharing your recipe on Tuesday Greens!
Do you use super washing soda? Or can you?
Yep thats what I use!
This works great!!!!
For laundry of which costs pennies I take one box Borax, I bar that is shaved of Felds laundry boost bar, and one large box of Baking Soda …… and mix thoroughly altogether……only takes 2 Tablespoons to do laundry with.
So glad you like it Dorothy! I use a very similar recipe too for laundry and love it! I use the liquid version though!
I wish that I could make this! My 5 year old is allergic to Borax though. 🙁 I do make liquid laundry detergent w/out it and use vinegar with every load. He has eczema so his skin is pretty sensitive to a lot of soaps.
O no well maybe one day I can come up with a non borax version of this 🙂
I have used Vinegar in my dishwasher for years. My stuff does not come out smelling like Vinegar. 🙂 THank you for this recipe for dishwasher!
Hmmm I wonder why mine does! I wish it didn’t I would use it all the time!
this sounds great. anything that saves money these days… for those of you who are worried about using a powder in place of a liquid you problem is more likely your water than your septic or your machine. a powder doesn’t dissolve as readily as a liquid and soaps with lots of phosphates in them re-crystalize in pipes in septic system drain pipes. i don’t know the chemical content of borax so i don’t know if that would be a problem with this formula. we had that problem once with our septic system. maybe adding a bit of water and dishwashing liquid to the side that is for the wash cycle just to dampen it and start it dissolving would solve that problem for the hard water people. for septic users checking the phosphorus content might be a good idea. we had to watch out for that in our laundry detergent too…
I have never seen “sugar free” kool aid and I have looked many times. Could you use fresh or store bought lemon or lime juice?
Really its just regular kool-aid because it’s sugar free until you add sugar ha!
I was always told that if you put dish soap in the dishwasher it can over suds and really make a mess. I think folks should be aware that you can use too much. Great idea though
Borax and Washing Soda both being alkaline and the citric acid being, well, an acid, they will counteract each other in the washer. I use straight Washing Soda, salt, and lemon essential oil for the dish soap and add either vinegar or a citric acid/water solution to the rinse-aide cup so the acid doesn’t mix with the alkaline. Plus, you want the acid to be during the rinse cycle to keep the mineral deposits off of the dishes!
I find bulk citric acid anywhere they sell sprouting supplies (health food store). It is used to help prevent bacterial growth in the sprout jar.
I only use liquid also because I have a well and septic system. I was told you should only use liquid with them. I would love a liquid recipe!!! <3
Maybe I will have to come up with that soon 🙂
Not true about the well/septic system. I grew up with that and we always used powdered detergent and never a problem, and that’s all I use now with a well/septic.
What is washing soda? Is that like baking soda?