Make Your Own. . . Dishwasher Detergent

Dishes in our house goes something like this:  Fill the dishwasher with dirty dishes (but rinse them or they won't come clean), pour in A LOT of detergent (or they won't come clean), put it on Pots and Pans setting, high temp, and sanitize (or they won't come clean).  When they are done:  Sort through them, put the clean ones away and rewash (almost half) of the ones that didn't come clean.  Repeat  two to three times a day.  And that is with a newer dishwasher!  We have tried every brand of dishwasher detergent.  Pricey ones, cheap ones, chemical ones, Eco-friendly ones and the same with rinse agents.  They are all about the same to us.


I DREAD running out of detergent and rinse agent.  And it happens every 3 to 4 weeks, inevitably.  I don't like paying money for something that only does half the job. . . and I have to wonder about the ingredients. A few days ago, two minutes before sending my husband to the store for more detergent and rinse, I checked Pinterest to see if there was a cheaper solution.   That's when I found This recipe at a blog called A Green Routine.

Recipe:
1 1/2 Cups Lemi-Shine (or a 12 oz bottle)

1 1/2 Cups Washing Soda

1/2 Cup Sea Salt

1/2 Cup Baking Soda

2 TBSP White Vinegar-optional (I did not add this to my recipe)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients together
Mix Well
Store in a container (pick one that holds at least 4 Cups)
Use 1 Tablespoon per load  (this does not look like much, but it works!)

Yes, that is painters tape labeling my detergent.  1 Tablespoon does the job!

Rinse Agent:
This recipe also said that for a rinse agent you could use 2 TBSP of White Vinegar, but somewhere in my reading I found that another idea is to just pour white vinegar into your rinse aid compartment.  WHITE VINEGAR!  Do you know how cheap white vinegar is!?  (Jumping up and down here!)  For my rinse agent, I filled up an empty bottle with white vinegar and added a number of drops of lemon essential oil. (which is optional because the detergent is already lemony!) Then I just filled up dishwasher compartment.
                                             The Test:

I also made air freshener with this!
Just add 7 drops per ounce of water
in a spray bottle!

We were hopeful that this recipe would at least wash half of the dishes like the store-bought detergents.  To our surprise, it worked so much better!  Our dishes came out shiny and clean!  And a bonus is that our dishwasher looks cleaner too!  As a real test I stopped using the Pots and Pans setting and just used the Smart-rinse setting and it still worked just the same!

The only downside is that the detergent starts to settle and stick together, but you can easily shake it up before using it.  No big deal :)

A shiny glass!

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