Homemade Dishwasher Detergent *updated*
Did you see Amy's wonderful article, The Amazing Dishwasher? If you missed it, it is one worth checking.
At the end of this article she includes a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent. It is really very simple:
1C Borax
1C Baking Soda
1/2 C salt
Mix it all together. Use 1 TB detergent, and use vinegar as your rinse aid.
I was excited to try this. I had Borax and Baking Soda in bulk, on hand from making laundry detergent. This week I ran out of my beloved Aldi brand of dishwasher detergent, and was ready to try to make my own.
I am happy to say it worked like a charm. I didn't figure the cost, but I am confident that making my own is cheaper than even Aldi. Hmmm.... homemade laundry and dishwasher detergent, what shall I try next?
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frugal
*UPDATED 6/18/07*
This recipe worked wonderfully for several weeks, then I started noticing a film building up on the dishes. I checked around a few places, and found that it is a common problem. I have a couple ideas that I think might help, but with gardening and other spring/summer activities, I've been unable to test my theories. For now, what I've been doing is stretching the Aldi dishwasher detergent by mixing it 1/2 and 1/2 with the homemade. I fill the cup of my dishwasher about half way with the combined detergents. After several weeks of use it is working great. This is probably what I will do until I have a bit more time in the fall or winter. Of course, the homemade detergent will stand alone in a pinch if you run out of your normal detergent.
Labels:
laundry and cleaning,
recipes
9 comments:
I am so glad that you liked it. I know every dishwasher is different and it seemed to work well in ours. I just stored it in an old butter tub under our sink.
I found too, that if you have some really yucky dishes, that the homemade works well with just a small shake of the Aldi detergent. Not a bunch, just enough to give it some grit ;)
I'm trying it!
I didn't care for the homemade laundry stuff, maybe I'll like the dishwaser stuff better! It's hard to beeat the 3-in-1 tabs though!
I am not fond of the powered type. It seems to clog up the pipes too easy.We have a septic tank so I have to be careful with what goes in it.
Thanks for this! I'm going to try that!
Sherry
Great I just ran out of dishwashing liquid and have no money until the beginning of the month. So I got on the internet to look up a recipe. I should have known Stop the Ride would have it. All the recipes I found were very similar, but none of them but this one had salt in it. Why the salt?
I made this when I ran out of my 3-in-1 tabs. The first time I used it, I had a film on all of my dishes even with the vinegar rinse aid. Any other suggestions on how to eliminate this?
Cyndi,
I did start using Washing Soda instead of the Baking Soda. I buy mine in the the pool supplies. It is labeled as ph add, but if you look it will say it is sodium carbonate.
I am still mixing in a little (about 1/2 a C for this recipe) store bought detergent. This seems to be doing the trick.
I'd like to do a little more research and try a few things, but haven't yet.
my dishwasher detergent recipe
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda
1 T citric acid or 4 packets lemonade
the citric acid/lemonade will combat the limescale and make your dishes sparkly!
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