Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
I felt inspired by my homemade laundry detergent to find a cheap and effective homemade dishwasher detergent. There are several variations but the one with the highest reviews was the good ol' Kool-aid recipe. So, I thought I'd give it a shot, since I had all the other ingredients leftover from the laundry detergent recipe and I had two coupons for Kool-aid I needed to use. This recipe is for your dishwashing machine.
UPDATE: June 2012- I used this for quite some time and began noticing a film being left on my dishes. I started alternating this homemade version with a store-bought gel pac detergent every 2 or 3 loads and that has helped a lot. Also, you might notice that after a few days in the airtight container, your detergent might harden up a bit. I just used a fork to break it up and continued using it from there.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Super Washing Soda (Or baking soda)
1/2 cup Kosher salt
15 packets of unsweetened Lemonade flavored Kool-aid (or 1/2 cup citric acid)
It calls for Citric Acid in the original recipe, but someone figured out that the lemonade Kool-aid is mostly citric acid with lemon flavor which is handy in making it smell lemon fresh while it cleans. And it's clear so it won't stain your machine.
Mix the ingredients together in a dry container with a lid. Use 1 tablespoon for each load and they also recommend adding vinegar to your rinse agent dispenser for an even better cleaning. But, in all honesty, I didn't think I would like this. I use Cascade gel and I love it. My dishes always came out pretty clean and I didn't have much hope for this powdered detergent...BUT...my dishes have NEVER looked this good straight out of the washer. My jaw dropped, there was a huge difference in my crystal and silver. This stuff works and since you already have the ingredients from making your own laundry detergent, I say, give it a try!
UPDATE: June 2012- I used this for quite some time and began noticing a film being left on my dishes. I started alternating this homemade version with a store-bought gel pac detergent every 2 or 3 loads and that has helped a lot. Also, you might notice that after a few days in the airtight container, your detergent might harden up a bit. I just used a fork to break it up and continued using it from there.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Super Washing Soda (Or baking soda)
1/2 cup Kosher salt
15 packets of unsweetened Lemonade flavored Kool-aid (or 1/2 cup citric acid)
Mix the ingredients together in a dry container with a lid. Use 1 tablespoon for each load and they also recommend adding vinegar to your rinse agent dispenser for an even better cleaning. But, in all honesty, I didn't think I would like this. I use Cascade gel and I love it. My dishes always came out pretty clean and I didn't have much hope for this powdered detergent...BUT...my dishes have NEVER looked this good straight out of the washer. My jaw dropped, there was a huge difference in my crystal and silver. This stuff works and since you already have the ingredients from making your own laundry detergent, I say, give it a try!
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