Homemade Dishwasher Detergent!

Well I guess I am becoming the next Susie-homemaker :) hahaha
I have started making my own homemade dishwasher detergent!

 Here is the recipe:
(yields: 32 loads)
1 cup Borax

1 cup Baking Soda

1/2 cup vinegar, if needed

--Mix borax & baking soda. Store in a sealed container.

--Add 1-2 Tbs. borax/soda mix to your dishwasher compartment & run the WASH cycle.

--Add 1/2 cup vinegar to dishwasher & run the RINSE cycle.

Our dishwasher is pretty old, but runs pretty well.  Just running the borax & soda left a film on our dishes, so I had to add the vinegar to the rinse cycle to make them clean & clear :) Yours may not require it!

 So here is the bottom line cost for this detergent:
$3.12 for 20 Mule Team Borax (76 oz. or 9.5 cups)--- $.33 a cup or $.02 per load
$1.79 for Meijer brand Baking Soda (64 oz. or 8 cups)--- $.22 a cup or $.012 per load
$2.79 for Meijer brand vinegar (128 oz. or 16 cups)--- $.09 a 1/2 cup

So that's LESS THAN

$.12 per load

or $3.34 for 1 recipe (32 loads)!

You can check out the laundry soap recipe on my blog too!

I am trying out lots of homemade cleaner recipes, so check back for more that I try out :)

I looked up some common brands & here is the cost difference:

-Cascade Complete All-in-1 tablets 48 count container $11.75-$16.00 or $.22-33 per load ($.10-20 load)

-Cascade liquid 75 oz. (approx 28 loads) $4.28-$6.99 or $.15-25 per load (few cents to $.09 load)

-Palmolive 75 oz. (approx 28 loads) $5.79-$7.99 or $.21-29 per load ($.09-19 load)

Want to make this a liquid detergent?

Just add these ingredients...

Liquid Detergent recipe:
(yield 32 loads)
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1 cup water
1 drop of orange or lemon essential oils
--Mix borax, soda, water & oil in a pourable container like a 1/2 gallon picture or jug.
--Use 2-3 Tbs. for each load

lemon essential oils

Your new cost would be a little higher...ranging from 1-2 cents more per load depending upon the cost of the oil. WOW! That's $.13-14 per load! That is amazing!

UPDATE: The dry detergent worked for a while.  I think this would def work in a pinch; however, long term it eventually built up in the dishwasher.  I have had to run some bleach in it a few times to clean it out.  I am going to try the liquid kind next to see how it works.  I also found a recipe stated here:

1 cup Borax
1 cup super washing soda (like we use in the laundry detergent)
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup citric acid or 4 little packages Kool-Aid lemonade (it will be unsweetened)
1/2 cup white vinegar for rinse

-Combine all but vinegar.  Use 2 Tbs. per load.
-Add vinegar to rinse cycle.

Note: The citric acid seems to break down the hard water more than the vinegar. You'll need more depending on how hard your water is.