Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Trying to find the balance of full time work and full time mom is hard! Especially when there is no help of a spouse to chip in. Luckily I do have great support from my family with Sophia, but on a daily basis it is just me and her. I don't think I have ever had as much trouble squeezing everything I need to do into an evening as I do now. Probably because back when I was working full time, I was not as concerned on trying to live a healthy and fit lifestyle. Now, I know that this sounds like a new years resolution "Be fit and healthy", but it is actually something I have been working on since the week of Thanksgiving. I have always been concerned with trying to eat healthy and natural as much as possible, but now the game has been stepped up with getting into the routine of exercising at least 4 or 5 times a week...here we go, I'm off topic and rambling! My new years resolution is to reduce, reuse, recycle more. I will save and reuse glass and plastic packaging as much as possible and therefore reduce the amount of waste materials I even bring into my home. This resolution will save the earth and potentially my wallet!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent!

Now I know this isn't food, but I did make it in the kitchen. I figured I could start branching out and sharing all the fun home economics type stuff I do around my house as well.

The recipe I originally found used an entire box of both Borax and Washing Soda, but then mentioned there were problems with the mix hardening over time. I figured I would cut the recipe in half to prevent as much hardening as possible, since it would get used faster AND I could use some of the same ingredients to make homemade laundry detergent. (Total fail! I made this at the same time that I made the dishwasher detergent and after sitting for two days, it gellified to the point that I could not even pour it out of the jug. I plan to work on this a few times to try to get it right.)

• 4 cups Arm and Hammer washing soda
• 5 cups Borax
• enough powder lemonade mix to make 12 quarts lemonade*
• 1 1/2 cup Epsom salt
• Lemi-shine

* I don't know what the exact measurement of lemonade would be. My container had a measuring line to make 2 quarts at a time so I did that 6 times. The original recipe said to use unsweetened lemonade mix, but I accidentally bought regular. I was scared my dishes were going to come out sticky, but not at all.

Mix all ingredients, except the Lemi-Shine, together and store in a large container. Use a tablespoon of detergent in the soap compartment of your dishwasher. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Lemi-Shine into the bottom of dishwasher before each load. The Lemi-Shine really works wonders with this detergent (and its all natural!)


I was so amazed at how shiny and beautiful my dishes came out!! They were actually much nicer than they have been coming out with store bought detergent.

Get ready for some math....
The ingredients to make this wound up being approximately $12. I only made half the recipe, so this batch cost me about $6. (actually less since I bought a 3lb bag of Epsom salt and did not use all the lemonade that I bought.) The container I bought holds 17 cups and is 3/4 of the way through. So lets just say I made 12 3/4 cups of detergent. There are 16 Tbsp in 1 cup. Lose you yet? Keep reading, you might want to hold onto your hat.... This batch of detergent SHOULD last me 204 loads of dishes, which turns out to less than 3 cents a load. HOLY CRAP!!! I will probably never buy store bought dishwasher detergent again!!! It is way cheaper and does a better job. Way worth it!!




***2/16/2012 recipe update: I am no longer completely thrilled with my dishwasher detergent. The website with the recipe was not lying when it said it will get hard. It is hard as a rock and I need to scrape at it to use it. There is so much left, so that is what I will do until I run out, but I will definitely look for better homemade options when the time comes for a refill.