Dishwasher Detergent

Dishwasher detergent is so expensive these days and then add to that the liquid stuff you put in your dishwasher to make your glasses sparkle what a rip off!

Okay, so here I am again with a way to save some major money by making your own dishwasher detergent, and a replacement for that stuff that makes your glasses sparkle!

The recipe is plain and simple. You will need 3 ingredients: Baking Soda, Borax and White Vinegar!

Okay, this works for me let me know how it works for you! I have a pretty modern dishwasher with a dispenser for the sparkle stuff to be put in, and also two slots for the detergent: main and pre-wash.

You can make as much of this soap as you need, I keep mine under the sink in one of those little plastic containers you can get at the dollar store ( I think I got three in a pack actually), they come with lids and I use very little per wash!

This recipe is very simple but first I want to address the sparkle stuff... lol yeah I know the name of the popular brand, but I refuse to plug those products if I can help it! So let's just go with the name Sparkle Stuff for the rest of this blog! haha!

Okay, the recipe is real easy! Here you go:

Ingredients:

1 cup of Baking Soda
1 cup of Borax

Mix it in a plastic container, preferably one with a nice fat opening to dip a tablespoon into! Yes just mix it half and half! Make as much as you want or that your container can hold if you want to make a bucket of it go ahead! LOL!

To use it, you put 1 to 2 Tablespoons in the wash dispenser, since I do a pre-wash all the time I spread it out between the two dispensers. They are usually right next to each other so it's perfect! The newer more efficient dishwashers actually work better with less soap! So if you get any film on your dishes or glasses, try reducing the amount you put in the dispenser for each load!

Okay, so didn't I mention White Vinegar? You are probably wondering what that is for! Well here you go!

For the rinse cycle you usually are using that Sparkle Stuff, so after your Sparkle Stuff dispenser is empty, fill it with the vinegar! It will make your glasses sparkle just as well as the other stuff! If you don't have this dispenser then you should open your dishwasher during the beginning of the Rinse cycle and add a 1/2 cup of white vinegar.

Okay, there is another few things to know... the powder needs to be shaken once in a while to prevent clumping, not a huge problem, but you might notice it if your lid is not real tight and water vapor is allowed to get in. Not a big deal, the clumps break up easily.

Check that you always have vinegar in the dispenser, this stuff goes much faster than that Sparkle Stuff, or seems to in my dishwasher! I think I replenish it every two or three cycles, but I really have not been keeping track!

There is another recipe that you can use also that some say work better! You take my basic recipe and add to it 1/4 cup of salt and a 1/4 cup of citric acid (expensive) and like 30 drops of a citrus essential oil. Finding citric acid is hard to do, but you can substitute 2 packs of UNSWEETENED LEMONADE Drink mix. Don't use any other flavor or your dishwasher might turn red or blue or whatever color the drink mix is! LOL! That's be kinda cool if you wanted to have like a green tint to your dishwasher on the inside, but I like the white!! haha!

So there you have it! Dishwasher Detergent that will last a long time and costs under a dollar for 2lbs of it!