I fear my hot water bill is going to be SKY HIGH next month! For the last couple of weeks I have washed and re-washed and re-washed AGAIN....load after load of dishes....trying to figure out just the right "recipe" for clean and CLEAR dishes!
After my first post about making your own Homemade Dishwasher Detergent and Scouring Powder there were several people who posted that their dishes just weren't coming out clean. Or they were coming out cloudy. And when I took a good, long look at my own dishes, I had to admit that the homemade version wasn't doing quite as good a job as the stuff in the green box I'd been using for years.
Of course the store-bought stuff hasn't been doing as good a job as IT used to do either....since the ban on phosphates in dishwasher detergent went into effect. It took us MONTHS to figure THAT one out. We actually ended up buying a new dishwasher because we thought our old one (which was pretty old) was not working right anymore. Turns out it wasn't our dishwasher, but the new detergent formulations imposed by the federal government back in 2010. Apparently it has caused quite the uprising among the general dishwashing public. There's even a website called BubbleBandit.com that you can buy dishwasher detergent WITH phosphates (they sell "commercial" soap, which is NOT affected by the ban). Or you can go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a box of TSP for about $4 and add it to your current detergent. You'll find it in the paint section where it's still sold as a cleaning solutions for painters.It's all very complicated, and you're probably asking "What does this have to do with me and my dishes?" Well, I think I have come up with a satisfactory solution without having to go the phosphate route...but I just wanted you to know it IS an option out there for those who are interested.
So, all that being said, after probably a dozen "test" loads of dishes, trying different combinations of different ingredients, this is what is working for us! I obviously can't guarantee the same results for you....but I am hopeful you will see the success I have with it!
Powdered Dishwasher Detergent/Scouring Powder:
* 1 cup Washing soda or Baking soda (I've seen many recipes that use both..so use whatever you have on hand or a combination of the two.)
* 1 cup Borax (Borax and baking soda/wash are both natural disinfectants and mild abrasives.)
* 1/4 cup Kosher salt (reduces the effects of hard water)
* 1/4 cup citric acid (available at brewing places or Amazon.com. Or as an alternative you can use the same amount of Fruit Fresh or two packets of Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon and ONLY unsweetened!)
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of this mixture to your dishwasher detergent compartment along with 3 drops of dishwashing liquid. Do not use more than three drops. The dishwasher will overflow if you use too much dish soap! (It doesn't have to be Dawn...that's just what I had.)
Then splash 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher and start the machine.
Then splash 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher and start the machine.
Here is what my dishes looked like without the vinegar and 3 drops of dish soap:
Very same dishes WITH vinegar and dish soap:
Battling the high cost of brand name cleaning products (again) is today's.....
Hello from NYC !! Jill - I love love love your blog!! Trying so many of your tips!! My daughter and I are washing with oil for over a week - we really like it!!!
ReplyDeleteI've been using homemade laundry detergent for years and now, recently the dishwasher powder too- I put the vinegar into the dispenser that used to hold the "blue stuff" and dishes come out fine - I haven't tried the 3 drops yet, but will the next time to see if there's a difference!! Keep up the fabulous posts!!
Yes to the comment above I fill up the jet dry despenser and it works from about a month. With vinegar that is. Great post
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time I cleaned homes for a living and worked with woman that was an expert. Adding vinegar to the dishwasher was one of her best tips! However, after adding detergent, we would then pour about a 1/2 C vinegar right into the bottom of the dishwasher before starting. Easy!
ReplyDeleteHi Jill,
ReplyDeleteDo you know why you need the Citric Acid when you are adding Vinegar - Acetic Acid? I'm just wondering how it would be if I skipped Acetic Acid to eliminate one more thing I need to buy. :)
Thanks for re-working the formula.
Thanks for the update. I made your dishwasher soap from your original post, and found the dishes a bit cloudy and a little gritty (we have very hard water). In defense of your recipe though, store bought soap also left the dishes cloudy. I'm intrigued by this update. I have a love/hate with Dawn dish soap because even though it works so well in so many applications, it's a petroleum based product--another thing, like phosphate I'd like to avoid. That being said, I still keep a big bottle of it in my cleaning cupboard. Thanks for sharing your recipes and for your meticulous trial and error efforts. I'm off to whip up a batch of your DIY laundry treatment :)
ReplyDeleteCeleste,
ReplyDeleteI'm planning to use Seventh Generation Dishwashing Liquid to try this formula and maybe try Castile soap too.. I am determined to make this work!
Thank you for all of your hard work and research!
ReplyDeleteDid you ever try just the 3 drops of dish soap and the vinegar? I'm curious how that would work...
ReplyDeleteI have USED white vinegar in my dishwasher for 15 years. I've always had good results with it in combo with Cascade pouches. I usually just pour it in the door of my dishwasher, NOT in the dispenser for the "jetdry" stuff, but I have thought about it though ... I'm anxious to try the homemade dishwasher detergent. I close friend of mine has made homemade laundry soap that I just recently started using. I'm up for anything to save some money :o)
ReplyDeleteWell, the original recipe did kinda suck for dishes. However, it was an awesome scouring powder!! Our bathtub has this horrible textured flower patter on the bottom so that it's non-slip. The only problem is the flower petals are teeny, tiny and none of the bathroom cleaners would get the dirt and grime out of them -- not even bleach! I sprinkled some of the scouring powder over it and didn't even use a brush or sponge! I just rubbed it in with my hands and it cleaned those annoying flower petals right out!! It took less than 5 minutes to clean the entire tub and then a quick rinse and I was done! I can't wait to try the revised recipe on my dishes :)
ReplyDeleteJillee, aren't the washing soda and citric acid the same thing? For some reason that was my impression, but things tend to get muddled up in my lil' ADD brain.
ReplyDeleteNevermind - my friend just corrected me. Sodium carbonate is washing soda. Duh. I did see citric acid at Target with the dishwashing detergents the other day. I think it was called Lemi-shine?? About $3 and change for about 16z, if memory serves. But as you can tell, often it doesn't - at least not very well LOL.
ReplyDeleteFYI. Dropped in to WF a minute ago to see if they had citric acid in bulk. Nope. They do have it in a 4 oz bottle in the whole body section for $4.99. WM has the Lemi-shine according to their web site for $3.22 for a 12 oz bottle. Boohoo... I missed out at Whole Paycheck again be Susie of price. I just have to be so picky about what I buy there.
ReplyDeleteWhole Paycheck? You're the second one I heard call it that this week. I hadn't heard that before! lol! Funny.
ReplyDeleteI've seen Lemi-shine at our grocery store before. I'm still working on the bottle of Fruit Fresh I bought.
Has anyone made any detergent that doesn't use borax?
ReplyDeleteI made homemade dishwasher detergent, but it didn't call for the citric acid and mine came out cloudy. I am going to try the dawn and vinegar and see if that helps before buying the citric acid. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe were also getting cloudy dishes and not understanding why. I was thinking it was the dishwasher, we tried cleaning it, using liquid instead of powder and it wasn't working. Things I learned to make mine sparkle are less detergent is more AND our water heater wasn't set high enough.
ReplyDeleteHi! I love your blog! I made your original recipe a few weeks ago and it works great... my only change is that I add about 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the bottom of my machine before turning it on. My dishes are actually looking a lot better than they did with the store brand stuff. Thanks for posting this it is saving me money at the grocery store!
ReplyDeleteI just made the dishwasher detergent last week according to your original recipe with one little tweak. Instead of a whole cup of either washing soda or baking soda, I used a half cup of each along with the vinegar in the jet dry dispenser and a splash in the bottom. It has been working amazingly for us. Maybe it was the half and half mixture? I don't know, but it has been working so well I have told everyone I know about it.
ReplyDeleteI just bought a case of the original 7% phosphate soap on ebay. Someone who worked at Sam's got all the leftovers when we switched to non. I got tiny boxes too, which is great for my arthritis.
ReplyDeleteBeth
I followed a recipe for homemade detergent a few months ago using just Borax, Washing Soda, and lemonade Koolaid. The downfall was it was a HUGE recipe (using the whole box so I have more than a gallon of detergent) and I hadn't discovered citric acid yet. I was ok with the detergent though it usually made my Tupperware/plastic dishes filmy/cloudy. I started using JetDry plus a splash of vinegar and I'm much happier. Now I'm waiting to use enough of the mix so it's easier to add in the citric acid (gonna take forever since we don't have kids yet & don't go through many dishes)
ReplyDeleteI really like this smaller recipe--soooo much easier to work with!
My mother-in-law told me she uses dishwasher soap (powdered I assume) to keep whites whiter. I asked her and she said she uses that and baking soda although I am unsure if they are in conjunction or not.
ReplyDeleteI was told this was for whites, add it with colors and darks at your own risk :-)
I'm sad to say this is just one more homemade dishwasher failure for me. :>( I think now I've tried them all, and have not had good luck with any!
ReplyDeleteThankfully I sized this recipe down to 1/4 the recipe, so I don't have a large batch made up that is wasted. I will eventually use this along with some commercial dw powder, and use it up.
So I'm back to my Electrosol/Finish (which I've found better for me than the higher priced name brand).
I have tried several homemade formulations, and none clean well and/or leave white film on my dishes, including this one. Wasn't cleaning well, (went in during later part of main wash, and "helped" it by rubbing some food spots on dishes), and it left film on some (but not all, weird) of the dishes.
I give!!! Uncle!!!
I was wondering why my turns hard as a rock an yours appears loose an easy to get out of the container.
ReplyDeleteIf you read the original post, I address this problem at the end in an update.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/01/homemade-dishwasher-detergent-and.html
Also, others have commented that putting a marshmallow in the airtight containers helps as well.
crazywoman...I feel your pain. This is one of those really TRICKY homemade alternatives that is dependent on so many different variables. Hard water vs soft water, humidity vs dryness, etc etc etc. Toss in the fact that the whole formulation of dishwashing detergents changed when they took the TSP out and it's very confusing. I haven't thrown in the towel yet...I'll keep searching. :-)
ReplyDeleteIf it helps...one reader commented she alternates between the store bought brands and the homemade version and has good luck with that. And at least she's seeing some savings. Hope this helps!
Could I switch out the kosher salt with Epsom salt? Thanks for all the great recipes!
ReplyDeleteI have been using cheap (Dollar Store) powder dishwasher detergent mixed 1/2 & 1/2 with baking soda. I also keep a spray bottle of 1/2 white vingear & 1/2 water. Right before I start the dishwasher, I spray the siverware with the vinegar/water, add the deterg/bk soda mix. It works great, it's cheap & I've never had a problem with spotting.
ReplyDeleteOff topic but we have the same taste in glassware. I have all the same glasses and pinch bowls!!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth...I'm honestly not sure about that one. I always say...worth a try! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnony....That actually sounds like it would be worth a try! thanks!
LadyJane...you obviously have excellent taste! ;-)
Great Blog. Making several of your cleaning products today.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great, Im going to try it next time I get groceries. For now, I will try the 3 drops of dish soap and the vinegar. Do you have a recipe to use for cleaning the dishwasher itself? Mine is VERY old and well, yucky. Anything I can use to sparkle it up a bit without hurting my back climbing inside the machine? lol
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog on Pinterest. Thank you for all the wonderful ideas. I will be following your subscriptions. I have seen many sites but your's by far is amazing. Thank you again
ReplyDeleteI use straight vinegar in the "Jet Dry" compartment. It cuts the cloudiness if you have hard water and cleans out the dishwasher. So much cheaper too.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any idea about etching the dishes? I know that the clouding is an issue, but etching is a completely different one - and irreversible. I don't want to ruin my dishes trying to save some money! That has kept me from trying some recipes yet. I also have heard that the borax is not good for the environment if you are on septic. I am sure it isn't if you're on city water, but septic hits the environment a lot faster. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to have to get up the courage to try this. Pretty soon I am going to need to buy white vinegar by the barrel... I use it for ALL my cleaning stuff!
ReplyDeleteHow well do you rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher? I use the "stuff in the green bottle" right now and one of the advantages (according to the commercial) is you don't really have to rinse the dishes first. I'm assuming the detergent dissolves all the food off and washes it away down the drain.
ReplyDeleteSo if I want to continue to not rinse the dishes first, will your homemade recipe work just as well? I'm concerned that the food won't dissolve and will eventually clog the drain of my dishwasher.
Now, having said that, I DO want to try out your recipe because I'm curious to see if it works on my seriously cloudy glassware. I'll let you know the results. We have extremely hard water and no water softener.
I gave up on making my own dishwasher soap a few years ago. I always had cloudy dishes or the plastics were greasy, no matter the recipe. With not enough ingredients on hand, I made a 1/2 batch. Used 1 cup vinegar, 2 tbs of the mix, & 3 drops of the dish soap. I've done 3 loads today with this new recipe. I am thrilled! The Finish tablets that I paid $.11/each left a greasy patch on the bottom of my new dishwasher door. The recipe you posted eliminates that problem! Very happy! Thank you so much for experimenting with this. I hope all goes well in your budget for your water bill. lol :)
ReplyDeleteI bought a big jar of citric acid from Amazon. It wasn't cheap, but it works for dishwasher detergent and other cleaning (I use it to de-scum my washer instead of those tablet things, the jets in my master bath tub, inside the dishwasher, etc.), so over time it's worth the initial outlay.
ReplyDeleteAfter trying sooooo many things, and failing, I'm about to cry over this stuff. This is the only thing that has left ALL of my dishes clean! I have a dishwasher that isn't even a year old, and I was about to write it off as a giant kitchen ornament until I tried your mix. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGinny...I hear ya! I'm going to have to start having vinegar delivered to my house by the 50 gallon barrel. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAngela...you are welcome! I'm so glad it worked for you. That is the exact combo I use now and it has worked everytime.
Meg...I've been meaning to look into that...thanks for the reminder. I think it would be cheaper over all than the Fruit Fresh?
Angie...there, there...don't cry! ;-) I completely understand though. When you find something that actually WORKS for an almost daily chore...it IS a beautiful, emotional thing! :-)
Help! My plastics are coming out cloudy! Any idea why? I followed the instructions exactly...:( I really want this to work!
ReplyDeleteI tried this recipe and it just left my dishes even more cloudy than store powder. I noticed our dishes were disgusting from store soap a couple months ago and have tried everything. I am so dismayed and just don't know what to do about it. :( I'm tired of wasting water in the dishwasher over it too...... Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing the leg work, I was getting cloudy dishes as well. Since this is my first "home made" product, I was doubtful that this was for me. I am excited to try the new formula and see how it works for my dishwasher/water/dishes. Thank you Jillie, keep the good things coming.
ReplyDeleteMary Beth
Washing soda and baking soda are not the same thing at all. Washing soda is sodium carbonate, while baking soda is sodium bicarbonate. Here's a linK:http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-washing-soda.htm. I use washing soda in home made laundry detergent. I think this is great, and I plan on trying it, but I think the kosher salt is not necessary. I will have to ask a chemistry geek friend!
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time finding even lemonade-finally bought Country Time. Will that work? Why does it have to be unsweetened?
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'm looking forward to trying this!
Made this but it is not working for me leaving a white film on all my dishes.
ReplyDeleteMaking this tomorrow...
ReplyDeleteWell, this didn't get rid of the cloudy film on my glassware but it does clean the dishes and it is cheaper than the stuff in the green bottle so I think I'll be using this from now on. Thanks for the recipe! Can't wait to try out all the other good homemade products on this blog!
ReplyDeleteI've made the laundry soap and fabric softener. Loving them both. Will be making this tomorrow and hoping I will love it just as much. Like others I would like to thank you for "running the trials" for us! You rock!
ReplyDeleteI used a modified version of this recipe. Actually it was for the laundry detergent. I ran out of dishwasher detergent so I put a scoop of the washing machine soap and it was awesome. So that is what I have been using. I do have rinse aid in the dishwasher. I did read someone put vinegar into the rinse aid container and it worked. The washing machine version has fels naptha (sp?) in it but it works great
ReplyDeleteThis sounds AMAZING!!! SO excited to give it a try! I have made my own dishsoap from many online recipes, and am quite determined as well to get it right! SO glad that you have gone before me in doing all the work! LOL :) thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHey! Just a thought on making it a little easier for my husband who sweetly does the dishes for me these sick days! Do you think it would be easier if there were less things to add each time he runs the dishwasher? Would it cause some kind of chemical reaction to mix them PRIOR to adding to the machine? obviously the vinegar would be separate, but the dishsoap 3 drops thing. How many tsp of the liquid dishsoap would I need to stir in to the whole batch?
ReplyDeleteI finally made this. Once again, I was beyond satisfied:) Works better than the store bought products I had been using. Thanks so much for all your research and constantly coming up with amazing homemade products. Your awesome. I have so much fun making my own stuff.
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried this yet. I just discovered it. I was reading the comments and was just wondering about those of you who said your glassware was still cloudy after using it. It's possible that your problem is etching. Etching is totally different from cloudiness and unfortunately is permanent.
ReplyDeleteIf I pour the vinegar straight into the bottom of the dishwasher, won't it just go down the drain?
ReplyDeleteI just found this wonderful recipe on pinterest and made a batch, cant wait to try it out. I also added the vineger to my jd compartment and cant wait to see how that works. I too have been spending so much money on dishwashing goodies and other cleaning products and i have been thinking there has to be a better way to do this. I love that i had everything need for this recipe, well except for the koolaid..lol.. of all things. Thank You for posting this, Im about to check out the rest of your blog for a laundry detergent. Thanks again and have a great night.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I really love my phosphate dishwasher detergent. I love saving money, maybe I should give this homemade recipe a try. Does it really work just as well?
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to trying this. I have been puoring vinegar in the bottom of my dishwasher but I realized my machine does some draining before it fills so I start it and wait until it is actually filling before adding the vinegar. We have VERY hard water that leaves deposits on sinks, faucets, etc. Since I have been doing this my dishwasher seems to be doing a better job so I assume it has cleaned the dishwasher.
ReplyDeleteI made my own dishwasher soap about a month ago (after finding a recipe on Pinterest) that makes a huge amount. I found pure citric acid on Amazon in a 5 lb bag for under $20 (obviously the price will vary since it is Amazon). My issue is that it clumps in the container. I haven't tried the 3 drops and vinegar yet, but I think I'm going to try it now and when I make my next batch, I'll scoop it into ice cube trays and add my 3 drops so that it clumps right away and I end up with "tablets" of dishwasher soap and just add 1 to each load, along with the vinegar.
ReplyDeletemaking detergent "cakes" is a great idea...since it does tend to clump anyway. I'm going to have to try that! :-)
ReplyDeleteinstead of adding the vinegar into the dishwasher before starting it, fill the rinse aid dispenser with white vinegar for the final rinse and it works great!
ReplyDeleteSomething has caused a white film on all the plastic dishes...I'm re-washing now using my Finish...
ReplyDeleteHi. Something is wrong. All I an get to are the comments about how much people like the ideas but can not find the how to's to the ideas. Any thoughts on this?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much
Amber
After I buy all these ingredients is it really a savings over buying in bulk at Sams? We tried the homemade laudndry soap and it saved $1.00 a month...not worth the effort for me in that case.
ReplyDelete@ Lyne ~ My goodness. I find that the Borax, Super Soda Powder and Fels Naptha cost less than $10 for all the ingredients...and the Borax and Super Soda last for six months or more. I only have to purchase the Fels Naptha every other time I make a 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent...and its only $1....that is only fifty cents per five gallon bucket until I have to replenish Borax or Super Soda.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what recipe you were using? How much in each load? What detergent do you purchase at Sam's? Cost?
Wow...I am really surprised that it only saved you $1. I tell everyone I know because it saves me about $20 per month!
WYwindgirl - How did you find out that your dishwasher drains before starting the actual wash? I'm wondering if I can find out if mine does the same thing because I've been doing the "pour the vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher" trick for some time now and now I'm wondering if I'm just pouring it down the drain!
ReplyDeleteI figured it out for the dishwasher detergent - to buy all the ingredient it would cost me about $18.00. I buy my detergent at sams for about $20 and it lasts me about 4 months.
ReplyDeleteI too am frustrated with the "cloudy" dishes. My homemade version was getting dishes clean, just leaving the cloud. So... I revised my mixture with the salt and kool aid. Can I still add the TSP or do I need to start over with a fresh batch? (I admit I broke down an bought Cascade out of sheer frustration, but it was leaving "cloudy" as well.) So, now I know. I'm headed to Home Depot today to get TSP along with the spray paint to paint my fabric chair! Love
ReplyDeleteI've tried the revised version and I still get cloudy, filmy glasses. Not sure why this is working for some and not others. I guess I'm going to have to cave and go buy some detergent tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI made a batch and it worked very very well for...5 loads maybe. Then the glasses started to show more cloudy. Maybe it's the extra hard water in my area...
ReplyDeleteIt makes a hell of a scrubing thing though. My sink and bathrooms are super clean and smell divine for the whole day. As for the moisture thing, it can be fixed with some rice in the container (if you are to use it as scrubing powder! NOT as a dishwasher detergent!)
As for the vinegar on the bottom...yes...it goes down the drain. The plumber once told me that all dishwashers first thing they do is empty any water that may exist on the bottom. So I just put mine in a cup in the upper drawer.
Works fine.
I have been using the homemade dishwasher detergent for about a month now. My hubby who is a bit of a home chemist helped me modify the online recipes I found to what are water conditions are here. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have wonderful nuetral water here so the salt is not needed in our water. The purpose of the citric acid is to help remove the dissolved salts in your water, especially needed if you added the salt to water that didn't need salt added to it. My recipe is:
ReplyDelete1 part borax
1 part washing soda
1 part oxi clean (optional)
I do put about 1/4 c of vinegar in the machine right after the short wash cycle. This helps remove the residue of the borax, washing soda, and oxi-clean.
If you are having problems with food residue on your dishes this is almost always because your filter is clogged and your machine needs a little maintenance. I do this myself but if you are uncomfortable with tools you should get someone out to do it for you. It usually requires removing a couple of bolts and removing a couple of screens and reaching into the yucky hole to pull stuff out... not the most pleasant of jobs, but the dishwasher runs beautifully afterwards and it is cheaper than paying someone $65 an hr to do it for you. :)
The vinegar trick will work with any kind of dishwasher detergent. I put it in the little compartment that's for the rinse stuff...what is that called? It prevents water spots and build-up, but what I like best is it gets that film of grease off tupperware and gladware. You know how those never get completely clean? This does the trick. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteI was at a friend's house one time and she complained that her dishwasher wasn't working well. Turns out she never checked to make sure the arms could turn freely. In other words, she had plates sticking up and silverware dropping down so that the arms couldn't turn and spray the water. Not exactly on topic but related and so I thought it was worth mentioning. Off to try your detergent recipe now. BTW, after using vinegar as a fabric softener in our washing machine, it would seem as though our pipes have really been cleared out quite a bit which was a bonus effect.
ReplyDeleteI am very anxious to try the dishwashing recipe! I make my own laundry detergent (for pennies) and am very pleased with it! Although I did add some grated Pink Zote and homemade lye soap to the recipe. I found I don't need fabric softener or vinegar to soften! Thanks so much....
ReplyDeleteI've been using the homemade dishwasher soap for a couple months now, I also am having cloudy dishes....I use all the above ingredients except the liquid dish soap will try that this week and see if works.
ReplyDeleteI went and bought some TSP to add to my current dishwashing liquid, but no one on hear states how much to add. Does anyone know the amount of TSP to add to my liquid detergent?
ReplyDelete