In my journey to “clean living”, I have been switching everything in my home (from our food to our cleaning detergents) to chemical-free choices. Dishwasher detergent was on my “to-do list” so I have been searching for the perfect recipe. I found a few different dishwasher detergents online, but none were quite as natural as I would like.
I am not convinced that Borax is good for us, especially when it comes to washing my dishes with it which we will then be eating from. I read somewhere that you can switch out the Borax for baking soda, and since the laundry detergent I use does that, I thought I’d do it for my dishwasher detergent, too.
Also, some recipes called for Kool-Aid or Lemi Shine (not natural enough for me!), and others called for citric acid. Reviews stated that just straight citric acid made the detergent harden and become hard to use.
So, in the end, I came up with my own recipe, using info I gathered from comments on blogs, reviews of other detergent recipes, etc. It is very simple to make and easy to use!
Homemade Natural Powdered Dishwasher Detergent
-
1 cup baking soda
-
1 cup washing soda
-
1/2 cup coarse kosher salt
-
lemon juice (or, 1/2 cup citric acid)
Mix the dry ingredients and store them in an airtight container. Add 1 tablespoon per load and a squirt of lemon juice to the pre-wash compartment. Use the lemon juice if not including the citric acid in the dry ingredients mixture. Keep contents dry.
I have not noticed anything negative since I started using my homemade detergent. I simply do dishes exactly as I always have except now I add my homemade powdered detergent with lemon juice and my dishes no longer have a “chemical” taste or smell to them! All positive in my opinion!
Tip: Add some Lemon EO for more scent and cleansing benefits!
Homemaking Resources
Homemaker’s Friend Daily Planner is my top recommendation for a physical/hard copy planner!
Proverbial Homemaker Planner & eCourse – digital Resources I recommend!
You May Also Like:
Thank you SO much for sharing! I am hoping to give this a try soon. I already have baking soda and lemon juice..just need kosher salt and washing soda. 🙂
Sounds good. I wonder if vinegar could be used in place of the lemon juice. Seems cheaper. I've used vinegar to clean my machine and my cups come out nice and shiny for a while after.
I know vinegar is good as a rinse aid. The lemon juice has something to do with needing citric acid in the mix… I am not 100% sure why though, sorry!
If you use So, do you out that in with the dry ingredients?
Yes, I put several drops of lemon essential oil in with the dry ingredients!
I meant EO..
So what is washing soda? I live in Nova Scotia and have never heard of it.
It is sodium carbonate/soda ash, used dissolved in water for washing and cleaning. Here is an article about it: https://wellnessmama.com/76866/washing-soda/
Hello! My name is also Elizabeth and I also live in Nova Scotia!! We have bought Washing Soda at Home Hardware as we have used it in making homemade laundry soap. Working now to get a better homemade dishwasher detergent. Will be trying this recipe. .
I don’t have a pre wash compartment. Where would the lemon juice go then?
I would just squirt it into the bottom of your dishwasher tub.