Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
June 29, 2009 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Homemade, eco-friendly
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I mentioned a couple weeks back that I was unhappy with the way my dishes were looking after being ran through the dishwasher. Crummy, foggy and just plain dirty. After most washes I’d have to examine them all and re-do the REALLY bad ones and say O’WELL to the others. The reality is I don’t have time to rewash dishes. Sometimes, I’d even dampen a cloth before I’d eat off a plate if I could feel detergent powder. Gross!
I started using eco friendly dish washing detergent awhile ago to clean green up my act! I’ve used a few mainstream products in both liquid and powder form. So far I have not been impressed. I have an energy efficient Frigidaire model AND so far the following versions I have not had success with.
- Trader Joe’s
- Seventh Generation
- Ecover Tablets
- Method Smarty Dish
- Earth Friendly
I decided the next step in my quest for a dish washing detergent was my own version. There are many reasons why this approach is beneficial. For one, your wallet is spared since you’re more than likely buying less and the ingredients can be bought in bulk. I also like the simple fact that it will create less waste. A biggie in my book. Okay, so on with the recipe and less chitter chatter.
Just know- FRESH LEMON- is the secret.
The night before using the last Method Smarty Dish tab, I’d gone to my grandparents earlier in the day and picked lemons. As I cleaned up the kitchen that evening and loaded up the dishwasher l realized I should try lemon juice in the rinse aid. I then squeezed some in about a tbsp. or so shut the door and let it run. After the dishes were completely dried I opened the door and could not believe how clean my dishes looked. No fog, no crumbs of detergent and they were clean! It should be noted that prior to my lemon use I would add vinegar in the rinse aid.
Now, I had to come up with a homemade version and test it out completely. My search began…
Here’s what I’ve come up with!
1/4 cup of liquid castile soap- I’m using lavender (disinfectant)
1/4 cup of water
1 tsp of FRESH lemon juice
1/4 cup of vinegar
Update: I’ve been adding a little less than a 1/4 cup of salt into the mix and this seems to work well with our hard water issue. Thanks Doreen! 
** Combine all ingredients in order and stir. I poured all of this into my Method Smarty Dish container – 1tbsp per load. For dirtier dishes, you could use up to 2tbsp’s.
After the dishes went through the wash they came out stunningly clean! There was a tiny bit of soap residue on a few plates but for the most part the problem was solved. Next time, I ran the dishwasher I added a lil more lemon juice in the rinse aid and it did the trick. At least there were no soap crumbles!!
I’m going to try a recipe using some Shaklee Basic H2 Update- will not be using Shaklee products any further have found out recently that their products are not green after all and contain chemicals like PEG and other toxins. I don’t have an article to link to. Sorry! For now, this will work for us. I love how green cleaning makes me so giddy inside.
What homemade recipe do you use in your dishwasher?
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InfiniteLearners on Mon, 29th Jun 2009 1:49 pm
This is great! We actually have stopped using our dishwasher for this reason! Now it’s storage, but I might have to try again with your recipe. Thanks!
Sibley Sabori on Mon, 29th Jun 2009 4:09 pm
I use Trader Joe’s or Seventh Generation dishwasher power with white vinegar this seems to give them an added boost. On their own I was not impressed at all, but I’m happy with the vinegar mix.
Just a reminder we use less water by scrapping our dishes and using an efficient dishwasher.
Keep up the great work my fellow Earth Bugs!
Julie on Mon, 29th Jun 2009 6:27 pm
I love your homemade recipe. That is such a great idea! I will have to try it out sometime since I have those ingredients. Thanks for sharing!
Cleaning Consultant on Wed, 1st Jul 2009 1:56 am
I have to say I have not switched to the green dishwashing products yet but I do know that there is something about using citrus to get things clean. Whether lemons or orange, they both have great cleaning properties. Go Green.
The Cleaning Consultant
flipflopmamma on Thu, 2nd Jul 2009 5:44 pm
I use 1 C borax 1 C washing soda, mix together
simple and it works! AND I also keep mine in my Method smarty dish container! how funny!
Dorene on Fri, 3rd Jul 2009 1:13 pm
I was doing some reading about homemade dishwasher det. It seems those who seem not to have problems are those with old dishwashers. New ones use much less water. So I tried this: I used two Method tablets, one for the pre-wash and one for the wash and I added to each compartment, one tsp. baking soda and one tsp. salt and ran the dishes on the heavy cycle (do most times with six kids) and they came out clean! Salt helps softens the water, which is what phosphates do.
Learned Something New… « The Faery Inn on Fri, 17th Jul 2009 9:12 am
[...] dispenser, or to try adding just a couple *drops* of dish soap to the powder mixture for each load. This site says to try adding lemon juice to the rinse aid [...]
keri on Tue, 18th Aug 2009 8:09 am
Hi there,
I am intrigued by your recipe. Most I have seen have Borax. Would you be willing to post or email me the H2 one? I use H2 now for my cleaning, and use Shaklee’s automatic dishwasher powder (which I love)… but might like to make my own.
Thank you
k
Patricia on Wed, 30th Sep 2009 12:53 pm
I LOVE it! I knew lemon juice was a good idea and was wondering about the castile oil soap – I use it for EVERYTHING else. Thanks, can’t wait to try it.
La Mama Naturale' on Thu, 1st Oct 2009 2:46 am
Hi Patricia!
Thanks for stopping by! Just wanted to mention you may have to use less castile soap depending on how well your dishwasher washes! I found that a little less than 1/4 cup works well too!
Alahna on Mon, 9th Nov 2009 10:30 am
hi, I use I part borax one part washing soda in my dishwasher and fill the rinse cycle with white vinegar. If you also want an easy dish soap, use 1 cup lavender castile soap or unscented an add a couple drops essential oil (your choice) add 3 TBSN water WAHLAH cuts right through grease!!!
Homemade dishwasher detergent? - Hippymom - An Evolution of Female Community on Wed, 27th Jan 2010 2:41 am
[...] Dishwasher Detergent Homemade Dishwasher Detergent & Rinse Agent – Simple & Effective Recycle Your Day Homemade Dishwasher Detergent [...]
Jessica on Fri, 19th Feb 2010 5:46 am
Thanks for the recipes everyone. I had been using Method tablets in the grapefruit scent and really liked how the dishes turned out. The store has not had these lately, so am using unscented which don’t seem to be working as well. On a whim, I added some lemon juice to the rinse aid dispenser the other day to see how it worked. Dishes are better, but still have some soap residue.
We don’t have a water softener but do have hard water, so I will try adding salt, along with the various recipes here to see which one works best for me.