Homemade: Dishwasher Detergent


While continuing my kick of homemade, less chemical, more natural, cheaper cleaning alternatives, I came across a recipe for dishwasher detergent on Pinterest. While I didn't love that this recipe used a citric drink mix, I searched and found another that used straight up citric acid instead. The recipe (& an awesome DIY natural site) is here.

The Recipe:

1 C. Borax
1 C. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)
1/2 C. Citric Acid
1/2 C. Kosher salt

You can use white vinegar as the rinse agent.

So far so good! We've had pretty good luck with this concoction. The glasses aren't as clear as I'd like them to be, so I think next time I'll add a little more citric acid. I also haven't used the vinegar yet as I've never used a rinsing agent, but I think I will from now on.

We mixed up the batch - enough to fill a 1 gallon ice cream tub. I think we'll have enough for a LOOOONG time. You only need to use 1 Tbsp per load.

The washing soda, borax (both great for homemade laundry soap) can be found in the laundry aisle at a grocery store (Cub had them), the kosher salt in the baking aisle & the citric acid was found at a local liquor store that sells brewing supplies. The cost for the citric was $4.50/lb. You can also buy it online at places like Amazon.

All in all, I guess this costs about $.05 a load! Sold!

Anyone else concocting their own homemade recipes?

Comments

Unknown said…
My only problem is that my dishwasher is 2 hands. Thanks anyway.
9:45 AM
Matt Jabs said…
Odie, you can use this detergent to wash manually too, and you can leave out the citric acid which makes it even cheaper. God bless.
10:53 AM
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