You know what’s the worst part about being an adult? It seems like I’m never not doing the dishes. Our sink is always filled to the brim, and because of that, I’m always running out of dishwasher detergent at the worst possible moment.
Last time that happened, I went in search of a homemade liquid dishwasher detergent that works as well as my store bought stuff, but uses ingredients I already have. This eco-friendly detergent comes together with only a few pantry staples and costs next to nothing to make.
And did I mention it’s easy to whip up? So easy, in fact, you’ll never go back to the expensive stuff. Just be forewarned: what it lacks in suds, it more than makes up for in shining power.
Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent
DIY dishwasher detergent needs to do a few things: it has to cut down on grease, gently scrub away dried on food and sanitize dishes that have been, ahem, sitting for a while (ie. growing “fir”). Commercial dishwasher detergents use chemicals to clean and sanitize, which means they can also be toxic.
But don’t panic just yet. With the right ingredients, your homemade liquid dishwasher detergent can clean just as well as the store bought stuff, without the side effects. Here’s what you need:
Castile Soap
Adds a little extra cleaning power to homemade detergent. Luckily it doesn’t suds quite like regular soap so you don’t need to worry about your dishwasher bubbling over.
Distilled White Vinegar
Cuts through tough grease and eliminates germs. It also deodorizes dishes so they come out smelling fresh and squeaky clean.
Salt
Works as an effective, yet gentle, scouring agent. Salt also serves as a catalyst for other ingredients, such as vinegar, to boost cleaning and deodorizing action. Feel free to sub baking soda for salt, if you’d prefer.
Citric Acid
Helps keep hard water spots at bay. It can be harsh on patterned dishes and delicate glassware, so it’s best to avoid it when washing your fine china. If you’re seeing sediment on your plastics or spots on your everyday dishes, this is where you should turn first. If not, you can skip it entirely.
Essential Oil
Helps cut down on grease and give dishes a fresh scent. Essential oils are optional for this recipe, but I notice that my dishes don’t smell nearly as clean without them. Feel free to use whichever oils you already have lying around, but I prefer to stick to lemon and sweet orange.
How to Make Liquid Dishwasher Detergent
To make my detergent as user-friendly as possible, I make a small batch and store it in a clean squeeze bottle so I can squirt it directly into my machine’s detergent holder. You’re free to make a larger batch, but it’s best to make a fresh batch every 2-3 weeks so you don’t run into any issues with spoiling.
These 8-ounce squeeze bottles hold the perfect amount, plus you can use the extra bottles to store food or other homemade cleaning products.
Dishwasher detergent works even better when your machine is clean! Here is how to clean it naturally, using just vinegar and baking soda.
Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup liquid castile soap
- 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
- 1/4 cup table salt
- 1 teaspoon citric acid powder
- 5 drops essential oil I prefer lemon or orange but you can choose any scent you like
- 8- ounce squeeze bottle
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well.
- Pour the mixture into an empty jar or a clean squeeze bottle.
- To use, squeeze roughly 2 tablespoons of the mixture into your dishwasher's detergent dispenser and run like you normally would.
- Shake the bottle before each use. Use within 2 weeks.
Love this idea! I have tried EVERY store bought natural detergent but can not find one that actually works as well as I’d like. Totally trying this! And pinning for later. Thanks!!
I don’t have a dishwasher can I use this to wash by hand
Fantastic information in an entertaining way! The blog gives so much insight into the subject matter that it does not only become quite easy to understand the concept but to implement it as well.
I like this article, it is very meaningful and detailed, I hope you will have many good articles like this to share.
Hi Stephanie,
I have enjoyed reading your blog and trying out the occasional diy recipe .
Borax is classified as a poison in Singapore. Do you have any other substitute to recommend?
While was browsing the internet I came across this article — http://www.health-science-spirit.com/borax.htm
Thought it might be of interest to you.
Thanks,
Radhika
Radhika, thank you so much for the link above. So we can use Borax fearlessly!
i like it
I would like ve to use this for hand wash ng dishes? is it possible?
Maybe w a bit of castille soap? What a wonderful websie! thanks!
For hand washing, I would try a mixture of washing soda, castile soap and water. All 3 ingredients are safe to use without gloves and won’t pose any serious issues if not rinsed entirely.
That is a lovely idea, thanks for sharing the recipe. I’ve always wondered what would be a good natural alternative to the dishwasher detergents, I never even considered using borax with all those baking soda alternatives. Using baking soda also helps clean the dishes well, but it doesn’t provide them with the same clean sparkle the borax delivers. After all, they also use it to clean windows to perfection and make them glow, so it’s understandable why it would be perfect for dishes.
I have very hard well water. Can i substitue 1 cup vinegar for the water?
I haven’t tried it personally, but I don’t see why it would hurt!
I also encountered an issue. I ended up with something similar to curdled milk. It doesn’t seem at all like your pictures. I wonder if there is something in your method Or order of mixing it you could elaborate on….
The first time I made this recipe it came out perfectly. The last two times I have ended up with something unusual like Sarah describes in the comment above. Any advice on how to avoid this happening
I found some white residue/cloudiness after I used this…any ideas how to get rid of that? Also, how did you get yours to mix together so easily…mine seems like oil and vinegar? Thanks?
You could always try following up with a plain vinegar rinse (I put it in the rinse aid compartment of my dishwasher). And since this recipe doesn’t contain an emulsifier, separation is natural. I just give it a good shake before using it! You could also store it in a wide mouth jar and stir the mixture before spooning it into your dishwasher.
Is this recipe suppose to turn out as a paste or a liquid? Because I have both a soap paste and liquid. And the paste doesn’t come out of the bottle. I’ve made this two times, thinking that I did something wrong the first time. But it resulted in the same outcome. Any suggestions?
Hi Caitlyn, when mixed it’s supposed to be somewhere in between the two, like a pourable paste. I always shake mine before each use to get rid of any separation that may have occurred since the last time. Without an emulsifier (which would likely make your dishes even dirtier) separation is going to occur naturally.
This totally did not work for us. Vinegar + Castile soap clumped together and was unworkable. Waste of time and ingredients.
Yes, this recipe is a no go. As with similar comments, no matter how hard you try to mix, the liquid stays separated from the big clump of soap.
tried twice to make your homemade liquid dishwasher detergent but after putting in the second ingredient, distilled white vinegar, it curdles. no amount of stirring and waiting for 2 days lessens the curdles. what to do ?
This recipe didn’t work at all, left this gross residue that I’m now having to clean off my dishes and my dishwasher and it’s hard to get out, left rashes on me, and made a huge mess in my kitchen, this recipe was not worth it.