I am sure you have heard of making your own dishwasher detergent but did you know that it is so easy and costs pennies to use? Did you know that it is safer to use and your dishes come out streak and spot free!!

All the ingredients you see in the picture are what I used to make a great product that smells and works great!! You can find all these ingredients at any store, the Borax, Washing Soda and Limi-shine, would be found on the laundry isle. , Kosher Salt on the baking isle. And if you cannot find Limi-shine, you can use Lemonade Kool-Aid.

For the essential oils my favorite is Lavender but you can also use Lemon or Grapefruit.

Ingredients for a small batch, feel free to double quantities of ingredients.
1 c. Borax
1 c. Washing Soda
1/2 c. Kosher Salt
1/2 C. Limi-shine or citric acid (or) 5 packages of Kool-Aid Lemonade
30-40 drops of essential oils

Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.I reused the Limi-Shine container as a dispenser and the remainder in a plastic bag and then in an airtight container. Update: since this was the first time using a container like this for storage, I changed my mind, because of the moisture from the essential oils, it causes the detergent to pack down to much, so I am opting for the open storage container, stil in the plastic bag to keep out other moisture.

To use: measure a 1 to 2 tablespoons into the dispenser cup in your dishwasher

The recipe above yields around 40 loads worth of detergent, depending on how high you heap your heaping tablespoon. I figure it cost me less than two dollars to make this recipe, probably closer to $1 if you get the generic lemonade packets.

If you would want to make dishwasher detergent in larger quantities to share with friends and family, you can buy citric acid in bulk on Amazon And you can also find essential oils on Amazon Here

A caution: I have read that you can replace the rinse aid with vinegar, but I would error on the side of caution against putting it directly into the rinse dispenser, I have read that is can harm that part of the dishwasher. If you have extremely hard water as I do, I add an additional teaspoon of detergent into the bottom of the dishwasher. I have also read that citric acid can cause pitting on fine crystal, I have not had that problem, but wanted to put that out there so you know.

Note: Citric Acid is used for canning fruits and found on the canning supplies isle.
Note: In place of washing soda you can use regular soda, but I have not tired it yet.

Have you read my other cleaning ideas using Vinegar? Check them out.

Eco Friendly Cleaning  and Safe For The Environment
If you try this recipe for Dishwasher detergent, or you have one of your own you just love, tell me in a comment, even add the recipe for others. We want to know.