DIY Dishwasher Detergent

Everyone Wants Clean Dishes

I cannot stand dirty dishes. I do not like them in the sink, or even sitting in the dish washer, really. It is like the sit there screaming, "look you have work to do." Because of this we go through a lot of dish detergent. I realized we were spending a substantial amount of money on dish detergent, and felt this was a little silly. The little capsules I was using cost about 9 dollars for a bag, and the bag only lasted a couple weeks. So, I started on a mission to find a recipe I could use to make my own dish detergent and I failed...over and over and over. I tried a few different recipes I found on the internet but nothing was working. I then realized it was due to the hardness of my water. I did a little research and constructed a mixture that I was confident in. It took four different batches to find what worked; it cleaned my dishes without leaving a filmy residue! FINALLY. Here is what I came up with:

What you'll need:

1. 2 cups Borax
2. 2 cups Super Washing Soda
3. 1/2 cup Salt without Iodine 
4. 2 packets LEMON Koolaid mix. Yes, it has to be lemon. 
5. 1/2 cup white vinegar as a rinsing agent each load

•  I choose to dump my Borax and washing soda into plastic containers because this keeps them from clumping up since I keep mine under the sink and it occasionally gets steamy down there when the dish washer is running. You could certainly leave them in the box they come in.

Mix the borax, washing soda, salt, and koolaid pouches thoroughly and store in a container that seals tightly. Do not add the vinegar directly to this mixture; all you will get is a replica of your 4th grade science project, and your dishes will still be dirty! 

Use 1 tablespoon of powder per load of dishes. You can put the powder in the detergent compartment of your machine. Use plain vinegar to fill the rinse-agent compartment of your machine and TA-DA! You are good to go! Now, if your machine is like mine and the compartments only open when they feel like it (or never) just dump the scoop anywhere in the washer and pour the vinegar into a right-side-up cup on the top rack. Just remember to dump the water out of that cup before you start unloading, otherwise you will dump it all over your floor when you go to put it up (this happens to me about once a week, so don't feel too bad when it happens to you).

If you try this recipe and it does not work well, it most likely means that your water is harder or softer than mine. Try adding an additional pack of Koolaid if you see a white film on glasses. The citric acid in the Koolaid will prevent any kind of build up. If you realize the dishes seem seem grimy or have left-over particles of food on them just add more salt. The coarseness of the salt is a natural scrubbing agent so it will help get any "yuck" off those dishes. I rinse my dishes well before loading them in the machine; so, I cannot speak of how well this works on dishes that are not previously rinsed. This is the ratio that works best for MY machine, yours could very well be different. To my knowledge these are the cheapest and most efficient components available. If you have other ideas, I would love to hear them!

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try it!

The Hunter's Wife