By now I’ve learned how to make most of my bath, beauty and cleaning essentials myself. But there are still a few products that I’m afraid to mess with. One of which is my dishwasher detergent.
All the online recipes make it sound so easy (and it is!), but I’m not really fan of the results I’ve gotten from DIY powdered detergents. Things like hazy glassware, specks of leftover detergent and remnants of last night’s dinner are a total turn off when I’m unloading the dishwasher. I’ll do everything in my power to avoid them, even it means spending more money on the commercial stuff. But when I stumbled on a recipe for liquid dishwasher detergent, I thought I’d give making my own a go.
The problem with homemade detergent powders is that they don’t always dissolve in the wash. And that means that your dishes often come out dirtier than before. But when you make a liquid detergent, you allow plenty of time for the particles to dissolve, so they break down food more easily and rinse clean. And I must say I’m pleasantly surprised with this homemade liquid dishwasher detergent. Unlike other recipes it actually cleans my dishes with no residue and no lingering grime. And it costs a fraction of the cost of store bought detergents. You can’t go wrong with that.
Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent
The active ingredient in most commercial detergents is washing soda, a nontoxic cleaner that helps cut through grease. Add in a little Borax to help raise the water’s pH and create hydrogen peroxide. This in turn removes hard water deposits and disinfects your dishes. I also use some salt to help mitigate the effects of hard water, but if hard water isn’t a problem for you, feel free to leave it out.
And last but not least, grapefruit and thyme essential oils are used for their antibacterial properties and to add a fresh, clean scent. Then just add water to create a liquid you can keep in a jar or store in an old squeeze bottle by the dishwasher.
Most recipes also call for citric acid to add a sparkly shine to dishware. But if you’ve ever made bath bombs, you know what happens when you combine baking soda, citric acid and water. You’re left with a hot mess. I learned the hard way that the same happens if you add citric acid to washing soda. While it can still give your dishes some added shine, make sure to introduce it as a rinse aid later in the wash cycle and not as an ingredient in your detergent.
Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent
Ingredients
- 1 cup salt
- ½ cup Borax
- ½ cup washing soda
- 1 cup water
- 10 drops grapefruit essential oil
- 5 drops thyme essential oil
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to break up clumps as best you can. Transfer to a lidded jar or an old squeeze bottle. Use up to 2 tablespoons per load.
- If your detergent starts to clump, just add more water and give it a good stir. Or do like I do and simply use it as, clumps and all.
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
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!
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.