Homemade dishwasher detergent: 3 easy recipes!

How to make your dishwasher detergent? And yes, did you know that it was possible to make your own dishwasher tablets? There are simple, quick and effective recipes to replace commercial dishwasher products.

Here are 3 simple recipes for making your own dishwasher detergent at home.

1. Recipe for making dishwasher detergent

I am starting with a first recipe which I had the opportunity to test recently and which works really well for washing dishes in the dishwasher.

Here are the ingredients to make these little homemade detergent cubes:

• 1 cup of vinegar.
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
• 1 cup baking soda.
• 1 cup of Borax.
• 2 empty ice cube containers.

Now the steps to make the detergent:

1. Mix the baking soda with the borax in a large bowl.
2. Add lemon juice and vinegar and mix well.
3. Pour the mixture into the ice cube trays and let sit and harden for 5 to 8 hours (or better all day).
4. Unmold the detergent pods one by one to use them in the dishwasher.

2. Make your own dishwasher tablets

Another tip for making your own dishwasher tablets is:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of citric acid.
• 4 tablespoons of baking soda.
• 4 tablespoons of soda crystals.
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt.

The manufacturing steps:

1. Mix the 3 ingredients well in a bowl to form one.
2. Add a splash of water and mix until the mixture is compact and grainy.
3. Add and compact the mixture in the ice cube tray to form several tablets in advance.
4. Allow to sit and harden for a few hours before using in the dishwasher.

3. Dishwasher detergent powder recipe

If you prefer to make a dishwasher detergent powder, this other recipe is the solution.

For this dishwasher detergent you need:

• 250 gr of soda crystals (as fine as possible).
• 250 g of citric acid.
• 200 g of sodium percarbonate.

Once all the ingredients are well mixed, place everything in an airtight jar and add 4 teaspoons of powdered detergent to the dishwasher tray.

4. Make dishes shine naturally in the dishwasher

As a last tip, I offer you a natural one to make the dishes shine… Alcohol vinegar!

So if the dishes are not bright and shiny enough after washing, just add alcohol vinegar instead of rinse aid next time!

Don’t forget that cleaning the dishwasher is very important to have beautiful, shiny dishes! Come and read our cleaning tips here: Tip for cleaning the dishwasher.