Comments on: Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

By: Nicki

Nicki — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:38:19 +0000

Yay!!! Good for you, Karen!

By: Karen R.

Karen R. — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:11:22 +0000

Awesome! I couldn’t wait to run out of detergent to try this. I was desperate and did a quick wash without the kool-aid. It did leave things a bit cloudy, but was I impressed! I just threw things in there that I KNEW wouldn’t come out clean with my regular detergent (Palmolive Eco..I’ve tried a lot..even Cascade Complete). I ran out to the store on hubby’s lunch break today and found generic lemonade kool-aid for .10 each. I covered an empty Sun Oxygen cleaner with green paper, made a little lemon with leaves that says “lemon fresh” next to it. Then I covered the lid and wrote “dishwashing detergent” on it. I sprayed it with some clear Krylon to avoid moisture from hands. Can’t wait to fill up my dishwasher again to try it! Thanks so much!

By: Samantha

Samantha — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:42:16 +0000

Hi, I have been using homemade things for years. Mostly to save money, but also, because of the rash of chemicals in everything, it makes my kids breakout.
I have notice that the DIY dishsoap does leave a cloudy residue. Thanks a bunch for the lemonade idea. I am going to try. Thank you for your website. I am always looking for ways to improve on my recipes.

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:08:14 +0000

One cup each of washing soda and borax.

One-half cup of citric acid and SLS powder.

Mix well together and use 1TBL in the main soap compartment and 1/2TBL in the prewash compartment.

By: Nicki

Nicki — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:03:12 +0000

I’m not sure. I’ve used table salt and had no problem!

By: Trina

Trina — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:07:19 +0000

Why specifically Kosher salt? I already have sea salt. Is there a difference?

By: Ace

Ace — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:36:15 +0000

The individual packets of Walmart brand lemonade mix go for about $0.12 a piece pre-tax. Haven’t found anything (online or otherwise) that was a more economical choice. With the Kosher salt, borax, and A&H super soda, I’d say a month’s worth of dishwasher detergent comes out to less than one copy of the New York Times. Great find!

I find the white vinegar to be critical, but I live in a region with hard water (Upstate NY).

By: Carrie

Carrie — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:12:01 +0000

I made this tonight and it worked great! Actually it worked better than a few name and grocery brands I’ve tried. Thanks for the recipe.

By: Nicki

Nicki — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:20:22 +0000

Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely check that out!

By: abracadabra

abracadabra — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:03:15 +0000

Just a thought, I haven’t tried this, but I think that you can find citric acid in the baking/spice section of the grocery store. It would be sold with the canning goods (i.e., canning salt) often under the brand name “Fresh Fruit” though that also has ascorbic acid if memory serves (which would probably serve essentially the same chemical purpose and is only Vit. C after all) — it is what you add to when you are canning low-acid fruit to maintain the color.

Not sure how it compares in price to the generic Kool Aid but it might have fewer extras in comparison.