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    Homemade Dishwasher Soap - Inexpensive, Good for the Environment and Sparkling Clean Dishes

    I make my own dish washer detergent for pennies compared to the products that are offered for sale. It is an easy recipe and the ingredients are at your local store.  I make it once or twice a month so I have the recipe taped on the storage container.  In this case a recycled trail mix container.

    There are plenty of recipe variation on the internet for this. It has become very popular to do because it is good for the environment all the ingredients are natural.  I was real happy with the one I tried so I didn’t look any further. I do have soft water so I didn’t need to adjust it. You may want to try other recipes also to find the one that works for you.  For the rinse dispenser I use only white vinegar. I just pour it straight in to the  rinse dispenser. I read the vinegar rinse only costs about 6 cents a month. 

    I was skeptic at first but I needed to find ways to stretch my grocery budget and this offered a way to save $10.  I had been using the cheapest liquid or powder soap I could find.  After a while I noticed a build up of soap deposits under the soap dispenser on the door.  This didn’t use to happen but a few years ago phosphates were finally removed from dishwasher soap. The new packets did a better job then the liquids or powders that lacked phosphates.  The new packets were double the price or more. I already had all the household products except the Lemon Shine and I found that at Walmart. There was really no reason not to give it a try.

    The first time I used my home made powder it did not do a very good job.  I have a 2 cup dispenser.  One is for the first wash and the second dispenses later in the cycle for a second wash. So I put a commercial packet in the second one and used my home made soap in the first.  It worked fine then. I figured it would make the commercial packets more affordable because I was only using half as much.   What I didn’t realize was the build up in the dishwasher had to be cleaned out and that was ending up on the dishes. I did notice after a couple of weeks of using both that the build up of crusty soap deposits was dissolving away from under the dispenser.  I then went to using just the home made formula soap. One of the recipes I read suggested that a drop of Dawn would help it.  I was careful just to put a drop in each dispenser. Some times I forget but it seems to work just fine with out it. It is just an added insurance because it has a strong degreaser in it.

    One of the things that this powder does is it absorbs moisture and hardens up.  Now some recipes will show you to use a silicone ice cube tray to make cubes of the soap. You need to let them air dry for a couple of day.  You make a paste using white vinegar or lemon juice to pat into the tray.

    http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/diy-dishwasher-tablets/

    I don’t have the trays to mess with that and I can’t get the harden powder out of the container very easy.  My solution was measuring out the powder into little sheets of wax paper to fold up into little packets. The soap hardens up in the packets and all you do is unwrap them to place in the washer. Making the packets go quickly.

    I have been making this soap now for a year and the saving do add up.

    Recipe for dishwasher soap

    1/2 cup of Borax

    1/2 cup of Washing Soda

    1/4 cup of Lemon Shine

    1/4 cup of table salt with out iodine ( Large chunk salts will etch your dishes)

    Mix well together.

    This recipe makes about 22 packets. You will need to cut that many by tearing off 11 sheets of wax paper and then cutting them in half.  I tear off about 6 inches and fold them in half to cut.  It makes them close to a square and easy to work with. Measure one tablespoon of powder for each packet.

    I just fold them into a packet making sure the powder stays in the middle. When ready to use just open the packet up and empty it into the dispenser. 

    This is very cheap to do and the boxes of borax and washing soda last for a long time because you are not using very much each time. I just make it when it when my container gets low.  You can double the recipe and make more at a time but I just make enough for my container.

    Edited to include:

    ​If you notice a build up of scum in your dishwasher you should add a 1/4 cup of Borax to the bottom of you dishwasher every time you wash your dishes. This will clean the dishwasher. It will boost your detergent if you have very hard water also.  

    Comments

    Some of you have probably seen the eco-safe dishwasher products in your local market and have been wondering if they work or worth the extra cost.  All I ever did was look at the list of chemicals in them when I was trying out making my own.  There is some good discussions on the internet that review the products.  This one has some very good tips in the comment section.

    http://wellnessmama.com/2592/dishwasher-detergent-options/

    This site has many products I have never seen in my area. Some of them are mail order. Very good reviews. 

    http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2012/10/04/seeking-a-natural-dishwasher-detergent-that-isnt-a-miserable-failure/

    This one includes common store products as a comparison. 

     


    I realized that I should have included this tip as to what to do if you run out of dishwashing detergent.  It has happened to all of us at one time or another simply because we forgot to keep an eye on out supply or forgot to put on our shopping list. 

    After you load your dishes.

    !. Add three drops of liquid dish detergent in your dispenser cup. 

    2. Fill your dispenser cup 2/3 full with baking soda.

    3. Finish filling the dispenser cup with salt.

    Now just run you dishwasher. 

    I usually will add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the bottom of the dish washer. 

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/03/diy-dishwasher-soap_n_6087290.html


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