Here are the ingredients you'll need for this homemade dishwasher soap. When I first saw this recipe, I didn't think it was all that natural, but the gal who put on the cleaning class put it in perspective for me. You are using such a tiny amount of the Cascade Complete in each load, that it really isn't that bad for you or the environment. Mary said that one box of Cascade Complete will last her almost a year and she is like me, does 2 to 3 loads each day. The reason you need the Cascade Complete is for the citric acid. I had thought about making my own dishwasher soap before but when I went to the health food store and saw the price for a small bottle of citric acid, I thought I coudn't afford to make my own dishwasher soap. I've also heard of using KoolAid packets, but that could get expensive, too, plus how natural is KoolAid anyway, with all that dye ;P
The other thing Mary said was that she had a dishwasher repair man come to her house and he said you don't need as much dishwasher soap as the instuction manuals say. In fact, using that much dishwasher soap can actually be hard on your machine. This recipe only calls for 1 Tbl of this powder mixture for each load.
Homemade Almost-Natural Dishwasher Soap "Recipe"
1 part borax (laundry aisle)
1 part washing soda (I had to order this through my local hardware store)
1 part Cascade Complete Powder
Mix well and store in a plastic bag or container. Use one Tbl for each load.
I've been using this and I can't believe how much cleaner my dishes are and how white the inside of my dishwasher is now. Before I took this class, I had just bought some cheap dishwasher soap from Walmart and now I'm avoiding it. I think I may give it away because I don't think I can go back to using it. I'm so happy to have found a CHEAP and EASY way to make dishwasher soap that will not only save me money, but cleans so well. While it isn't perfectly natural, it is way more natural than what I have been using. Stay tuned, next week is homemade laundry soap and stain remover.
Now go forth and wash dishes!
God Bless,
Jackie
P.S. I also forgot to mention that you can use straight vinegar in place of Jet Dry. I just splash a few Tbls onto the open door before I run it. It works just as well, is cheaper and all natural.
41 comments:
Girl, you are a wealth of info and I could just squeal!!!! Here...wrap your arms around your computer and let me give you a big cyber-hug!!
Seriously..I'd read a few articles on homemade dishwasher soap and for some reason they all said 'doesn't really work that well' doesn't save a lot of money...you get the picture. I still have some soap to use up that I've gotten stored back, but when I do I'm going to give this a try. I sometimes don't even do a load everyday so imagine how long this could last me!!
Have a wonderfully blessed day!!
Deb
Cheap and gets the dishes clean? Might just have to try it.
Thank you so very much! My cleaning girl told me today that she loves the cleanser, now we'll see how much I love the dishwasher soap.
Deb, Mich and Cat,
You are all such sweeties! Cyber hugs, back! I'm so glad you guys are trying this stuff. It is awesome that you all are getting good results, too.
Love,
Jackie
Great post! THANK YOU!
You may want to visit my friend at http://justbefrugal.blogspot.com and share this post with her. She may want to link it on her blog. Mary is an awesome lady. Tell her I sent you.
Hugs,
andrea
I haven't been able to find washing soda in the stores. I never thought of ordering it from a hardware store. Thanks. Hope the dishwasher soap works. Most of the time you don't need as much soap for anything as you think you need.
I'm loving your series on natural cleaners, and look forward to the next installment! I haven't had a chance to make up the recipes you've shared, yet, but I'm so excited for when I can!
I just edited my post because I forgot to mention that you can use straight vinegar in place of Jet Dry. It works just as well, is cheaper and all natural.
This is very similar to what I use. I use baking soda instead of the washing soda. I do use washing soda for my homemade laundry soap, though. I know that Kroger carries washing soda, so if any of your readers has one near them, they can look there.
When we get a new dishwasher we'll have to try this out. It definitely looks cheaper and I like the "low impact" on the environment.
Yay! I have been waiting for this recipe. :)
Will have to give this a try. I am not really happy with my commercial stuff anyway!
I got this comment from a friend on Facebook and I thought I'd pass on the info if some of you were interested in buying citric acid.
Here is the comment:
I found citric acid online at BRAMBLEBERRY - a soap making place. the shipping is high but it still comes out to less than $3.50 a pound for citric acid. Ive tried this recipe without the citric acid and it clouds pretty bad after a few washes
I can get washing soda at our local Meijer. I have been using this recipe without the cascade for a couple of weeks now. It worked great at first, but now my dishes are starting to look cloudy. I'm going to try it with the cascade, thanks for the tip.
Thank you so much for posting this. I have been wondering. I am so going to try it.
Ooo! I will be trying it! Costco sells phospate free dishwasher soap, but it costs an arm and a leg.
Yes, I read the Shack. Very upsetting, so I skipped quite a few pages. I didn't really care for the book. I understood the point, but still thought it was kind of odd.
Jackie, this is great information! I can't wait to mix up my own batch of dishwasher detergent!
I've started following you and hope you don't mind that I've added you to my blogroll at Just Be Frugal:-)
Girl, I just wanted to let ya'll know I tried this and I was very happy with the results! Thanks
Ya'll have a fabulously blessed weekend!!!
I'll have to try this one. We tried a recipe that called for baking soda & borax but our dishes came out with a powdery film on them. Thanks for this one - I'll have to give it a try. :)
Thanks for sharing...that is pretty incredible that 1 Tbs. can do the job. Looking forward to giving it a go. (have you looked into buying the citric acid from a soap making supplier...I used to buy it to make bath bombs...it wasn't that expensive ...but that was a while ago in my *only 2 children* days.
Kimmie
mama to 8
one homemade and 7 adopted
Your welcome, Kimmie! We leave in a pretty remote location and don't get to the big city too often. I'll have to do some more checking on-line. I'm sure hoping I can find a good price on some citric acid soon.
I made this using Lemi shine in place of the Cascade. It works really well, and the more I use it the better job it does. (less spots, really clean dishwasher)
One problem, it clumps up. I was wondering if there's a way to prevent that.
I'm thinking about making it into a liquid form, but I really like the powder.
Thanks,
Linda
Linda,
I'm so glad you found something that works for you. I've never heard of Lemi, but I'll look for it. Not sure how to prevent the clumping. Would like to give it a try. Thanks for leaving a comment!
Lemi shine is by the dish soap/dishwasher soap. It's $3.73 where I live.
I tried making this in liquid form, but it didn't work. It really bubbled up when I added water, and now the resulting product doesn't clean like the powder did. I'll just deal with clumps. (or maybe add one of those silicone packets you find in a new pair of shoes to the jar.)
That is a great idea!
This is great...got to see such good work aftr long time...
i hope u love works.
Commercial Dishwasher
Leave it to the natural way ...
We are making our own dishwasher detergent too, you can find cheaper citric acid online :-) We bought ours on Amazon on sales :-)
Thank you, Em! I'll check it out :)
The dishwasher repair man is correct. In fact, you could use a teaspoon of Cascade per load, which is what I do. Let's see. You use a tablespoon of your mixture, which is 1/3 (one tsp.) Cascade, per load.
I propose that you are actually spending and wasting more than if you just used the Cascade alone, because there's no reason to add the washing soda and borax. You could use the same amount of Cascade as you do with your recipe, one tsp. per load, and get the same results.
Stella,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Personally, I would not feel comfortable only using 1 tsp of any kind of soap per load. I would be afraid the dishes wouldn't be properly cleaned. That is just my two cents :) Blessings, Jackie
I don't see how this is natural at all. All you are doing is extending an already existing dishwasher detergent that was full of all the crap people are trying to avoid anyways. You'll still have bleach, additives and preservatives in the Cascade. So why are you bothering?
You could just do borax, washing soda, citric acid and use vinegar as a rinse aid and be cheaper and natural in reality plus have clean dishes!
The Cascade is a gigantic waste of money and use of chemicals that are unnecessary.
I'm sorry to see people leaving you unkind comments. Your recipe blessed our family and actually got the dishes clean without leaving a film. Thank you for sharing and blessing others. :)
Anonymous,
I hope that the fact that I'm using 2/3 less than the amount of Cascade that I was using would account for something. I would love to use the citric acid in my recipe but have been unable to find it cheap enough to fit my very strict budget. That is why I put the disclaimer in the title, "almost natural". I did not claim that it was all natural.
Tina,
Thank you for your kind comments. I'm so glad you have found this recipe useful. I appreciate your encouraging words :)
God Bless,
Jackie
Oh, plus, I'm only using a Tablespoon, so I'm actually using only about an 1/8 of the amount of Cascade I was using.
Hi Jackie! I want to thank you for the time you spent in making and using the products you share with your readers!
I am curious as to why the preservative is needed in the dishwasher detergent. I am wondering if not using it would diminish the cleaning power...(?) I have found citric acid for what seems to be a very reasonable price on Amazon; 4 oz. Now Foods Citric Acid, $4.49. (It's also good to have for homemade natural liquid body wash and shampoo for those who like the "bubbles"). Just FYI.
Blessings!
Tina in GA
Tina, I don't think preservatives are need. If anyone has access to and can afford straight citric acid, I say go for it :) Thanks for sharing your info, Tina. God Bless, Jackie
you can get washing powder or sodium carbonate from a pool store or hardwear store pretty cheap. Ask for sodium carbonate at pool store is probably the cheapest Ive seen it.
Thank you so much for sharing about this dishwasher useful informative, See also more and compare for best prices deals for Dishwashers Prices here!
Hi, I just found your blog post and wanted to say that if the only reason you use Cascade is for the citric acid, you could just use straight citric acid (like you would use in bath fizzies, or canning. That would eliminate the other harmful chemicals in the Cascade and is very inexpensive. Keep up the good work!
Sharon, where do you get your citric acid? I've found it to be expensive. Would love to use it if I could find an affordable option. Thanks, Jackie
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