Homemade Dishwashing Detergent
In August I decided I wanted to try to "green up" a few things around our house in an attempt to live a healthier lifestyle. One of the blogs I read regularly is all about it. She writes about using food and natural ingredients to replace your beauty and household product on her blog, Crunchy Betty. So, naturally I knew that would be the first place I went to find some recipes.I decided to start with her dishwashing detergent. If you want a scary (but happy ending) story debating the safety of homemade vs. store bought dishwasher detergent, you should check out her original post.I did actually modify her recipe just a bit because I could not find lemi-shine at the store and I remembered reading you could replace it with lemonade kool-aid. I have been using this formula for just over a month and I like it. I'm not in LOVE with it, but it gets the job done. The first time I used it I was blown away with how well it worked. Then as I continued to use it, my dishes seemed to get a bit cloudy. I recently added vinegar to the rinse aid dispenser and that's helping.
Anyway, here's the recipe for the homemade dishwashing detergent.Ingredients:
- 2 cups Borax
- 2 cups Washing Soda
- 1 cup Salt (Kosher or Sea Salt)
- 10 packets Lemonade Kool-aid
Combine all ingredients. Store in an airtight container. Use 1 tablespoon per load of dishes. (Pretty simple, huh?)
Note that I recommended to store this in an airtight container. I made the mistake of putting this in a plastic pitcher (with an opening in the lid) and it hardened overnight. I had to chip away at the detergent and finally broke it apart enough to transfer it to a tupperware type container. Save yourself some headache and seal it up from the beginning. You'll be so happy you did.When this batch runs out, I'd like to replace the Kool-aid with 3 Tbsp citric acid, and 30-50 drops of lemon or grapefruit essential oil as suggested on Crunchy Betty. It's just the next level of "greenness" I guess.What do you think? Would you ever make your own dishwashing detergent? How about now, since you know how easy it is?!? Let me know in the comments below.