DIY: (My Take on) Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

A few weeks ago, The Annoyed Army Wife read my homemade Febreze and homemade laundry soap posts, and asked if I had found any recipes for dishwasher detergent. I sent her the few I saw around Pinterest, and told her to let me know how they turned out. She ended up going to the store that night and whipping up a batch! You probably read her post here.

I decided, rather than be one of those friends who dishes out advice but never follows it, I should give it a try, too.

The recipe is simple, and all of the ingredients can be found at Target or Walmart.
*1 cup Borax (find in the laundry aisle)
*1 cup washing soda (also in the laundry aisle)
*1/2 cup Kosher salt (baking)
*1/2 cup Lemishine (find in the dishwasher detergent section)


Pour into a container (I used this 1 gallon pitcher with a handle and pour spout.), shake to mix, and store in a cool, dry place. It's also helpful to add either a little rice or some spare silica packets (what I used) if you have them. This helps to keep it from clumping up. If it does clump, just shake!

I will note that I doubled the recipe above and still only made this much:

It's so simple to make that you don't have to worry about mixing more up later. If you'd like to make to make more than that, just increase the measurements . You're only using about 1 tablespoon per load, however, so this should last quite a while.  

The other recommendation I have is to use the Lemishine to clean your dishwasher before using. We live in an apartment, so there is no telling how many people used the dishwasher before us or how often it was cleaned. I just ran a cycle through as directed on the Lemishine bottle.

So there you have it! It cleans just as well (the Annoyed Army wife thought it did an even better job, actually), and it's cheaper than even the store brand dishwasher detergent.

I'm sure some of you probably think I'm a bit over the top with this- and really, I would have agreed with you just a few years ago. I've decided that, even if it sounds silly, I am saving a lot of money with all these DIYs- it adds up over a year's time. It's money that we need for other things, but even if we didn't, it's money that we could spend on something other than boring stuff like cleaning supplies, and that makes me happy.