Dishwashing detergents contain phosphates, artificial dyes and fragrances that aren’t ideal for people or the planet. There are brands available that are healthier choices including Seventh Generation, Dropps, and Earthly.*
However, another alternative is to consider making your own detergent. Two months ago, I set out to give this a try. Below is the recipe I used and an overall assessment of the process and results.
One thing to note is that when I purchased the ingredients they were out of packs of lemonade. So, lemon-lime was used instead. This is why you see the bright green color in the photos. This has to be from artificial dyes which is not ideal.
The Ingredients
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda
3/4 Cup Kosher Salt
Four Packs of Unsweetened Lemonade
The Process
The process is REALLY easy. Just pour all four ingredients into a bowl and stir together.
If you want to use powder detergent, put this mixture into an airtight container and store until use.
If you would prefer tablets there are some additional steps:
- Add 1 Cup of Water to the powder mixture. This will make the mixture fizz for a bit as you stir.
- Once the water is mixed in, place a scoop into each section of an ice cube tray and press down
- Allow the tablets to dry out in the trays for a day or two until they are solid.
- Pop the tabs out of the tray and store in an air tight container.
To use: Add 1 Tablet or 1-2 Tablespoons of powder to your dishwasher per cycle.
My Process / Assessment
I made the tablets and even with the additional steps the process was really easy and didn’t take me more than 15 minutes.
The first load worked great. However, as I started to use the tabs (around the 3rd cycle), I ran into a challenge. My glasses were coming out of the dishwasher looking cloudy instead of clear. Dishes didn’t seem dirty in any way, just a cloudy look.
My solution was to start rotating one cycle with my DIY tabs and then a cycle with Dropps tabs*
Going back and forth between the two is working perfectly. Next time I make detergent, I want to try to find some ingredients to replace the lemonade.
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*Note: Brands mentioned are not sponsors/paid advertisers. These are brands I’ve personally used or discovered.