Homemade Dishwasher Soap Recipes

6 Staples of Green Cleaning

Baking Soda

White Vinegar

Borax

Lemon Juice

Washing Soda

Castile Soap

According to Jon, the dishwasher repairman, gel tablets don't work well in many types of dishwashers. The previous homeowners apparently used them often.

When I asked what was the best type to use, he said powdered detergents, followed by liquid.

For the hard water build-up, he recommended running vinegar through the cycle. He suggested that we do this every few months while the dishwasher is empty.

Vinegar again! It seems to be the magic ingredient for homemade natural cleaners.

A Few Tips Before You Get Started:

1. Be willing to adjust ingredients in the recipes, especially if you have well or hard water.
2. Add vinegar to the rinse cycle. If your dishes still look cloudy, try reducing the amount of soap or move on to a different recipe.
3. Washing Soda and Baking Soda are DIFFERENT ingredients. Both are found in the laundry aisle.
4. Borax can be found in the laundry aisle. Castile soap is harder to find. Some home improvement and health stores carry it, or you can buy it online.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap I

1 Tablespoon Borax

1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

Mix and add to dishwasher. This is the standard homemade dishwasher soap recipe. It didn't work well for me. The dishes were covered in white film and had to be washed again.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap II

1 tablespoon Borax

1 tablespoon Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

2 teaspoons sea salt

Mix and add to dishwasher. This worked much better for me than the first recipe. There was no film residue and the dishes were almost as clean as my standard dishwasher cleaner.

Liquid Homemade Dishwasher Detergent I

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon Borax

1 tablespoon water

1-2 drops lemon essential oil (Optional)

Mix and add to dishwasher. I'm partial to liquid detergents and really liked this recipe. The dishes were clean and smelled fresh. The downside: I made a larger batch of this and it gets really thick.

Liquid Homemade Dishwasher Detergent II

1 cup liquid castile soap

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2-3 drops tea tree oil

Mix and add 2-3 tablespoons to dishwasher. If you don't want to use Borax, this recipe is a good alternative. The dishes were clean and spot free.

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