1 cup Washing soda
1 cup Borax
½ cup salt
½ cup citric acid
Mix together and store tightly covered in a Mason Jar. Use one tablespoon per load. Add vinegar to the rinse dispenser for the best results.
Eco-Friendly and CHEAP dishwashing detergent
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I’m sorry but what is Washing Soda and where can you find it?
Heather,
You can call the Arm and Hammer Corporate office at 800-524-1328, M-F 9:00AM to 5:00PM. They’ll ask you for your zip code, and then can tell you what supermarkets or stores in your area sell the washing soda. I use it to make my own laundry detergent. Here in the piedmont region of North Carolina, we can purchase it at our local Harris Teeter grocery stores. Be sure to get the washing soda and not baking soda.
Can you tell us where to find these items? Where would citric acid be? Thanks
I tried it and it gets all clumpy. What am I doing wrong?
Can someone tell me what Citric Acid is and where in the grocery store would I find this? Is it a liquid or a cleaning product?
Thanks so much!
One tablespoon will clean an entire load of dishes? That is something I need to try. Do use any vinegar and is it used full strength?
Not sure the technical information, but you can get citric acid at your local health food store. If you have one like a Sprouts or Whole Foods, check the bulk bins. You buy it by the scoop or pound. I’ve used it in craft classes for making bath fizzies.
I was told that you shouldn’t use borax on your dishes that it was toxic! Can someone please let me know if this is try or not? I would really like to make my own dishwasher soap.
Borax is not toxic. I use Borax in my laundry and has been used for generations before me in my family. I’m living and my father will turn 84 years of age this month. We’re still living!
Have used different recipe in the past in dishwasher as a supplement to dishwashing detergent.
Is citric acid a necessary ingredient?
I’ve done this before without the citric acid and salt. I wonder why a film was on the dishes though. Perhaps used too much? Or the citric acid helps? Borax is a natural product and the box shows how to clean with it including dishes.
Ok, so to answer some of your questions.
The Citric acid can be found anywhere you buy stuff for canning and it is also at specialty beer stores or beer supply stores (my husband makes his own beer and we have a store a few towns away) … or you can use 2 packets of lemon kool-aid… it has the same amount of citric acid that you need.
The film on the dishes is from the Borax. The vinegar in the rinse agent well plus the citric acid is the solution. I have found that I have to refill the well every time I do the dishes to completely remove the film and even then, it doesn’t always come off.
Finally, it will get clumpy. You are not doing anything wrong. The citric acid draws moisture. It is normal. Just break it up as you need it. I put mine in an old sour cream tub or other soft plastic so I can bend it to break it up.
Hope this helps
what if your dishwasher does not have a rinse aid dispenser? Help!
Does anyone have any other recipes then? What do you figure the cost of this one is compared to the commercial stuff?
If you don’t have a rinse dispenser just pour the vinegar into the dishwasher. I use 1/2 cup vinegar in every load of dishes. Works great.
Thanks Stephanie!!
Um, excuse me ladies but I AM the dishwasher in my household! I need a recipe for dishwashing soap to wash dishes by hand, thank you very much!
Kat,
I understand being the hand washer. I will take a mixture of these ingredients and let it disolve in the warm water before washing my dishes. Works great!
I will also use the boax mixture to clean my toilets & Tubs. I won’t use the vinager, but I do add about a tablespoon or two of bleach instead. You would never know that my home is cleaned with very little chemicals!
I tried gave this a try and was happy with it, it seemed to get the dishes nice and clean and it didn’t dry my hands out too much. I would use this again over the other dish soap receipe anyday. I never got the yucky film around my sink and even though it did not suds up it worked good.
Hi – I was reading in a book called Debt Free Cashed up and Laughing that you can used grated soap flakes to wash up with by hand … haven’t tried it myself but might be worthwhile. I use my food processor to grate up the soap (I make my own laundry powder with grated soap, borax, washing soda and bicarbonate of soda)
I love this site. If you need any recipes for ANY homemade stuff that you can’t find, give me an email holler and I will find it for you. I am very frugal and good at homemade stuff of all types. You’r on my favorites lis now. Love ya.
Does anyone have a recipe for liquid dishwashing soap for doing dishes the old fashioned way…by hand? I haven’t yet evolved in this department. Any suggestions would be appreciated!
FYI: Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) can be baked on a cookie sheet in the oven for about an hour on 350* to produce sodium carbonate (i.e., washing soda). It’s much cheaper than the Arm and Hammer stuff.
Happy Homemaking!
Kim
Excellent info Kim with the chemistry lesson—VERY helpful!!!!
Great tips… I have found that what is cheapest for me is buying dish soap from the dollar store and using it for both dish and laundry soap. For laundry, I just squirt it around the bottom of the washer about 5 times.For stubborn stains, add a little of something else ,too.
I concur on the grated soap for hand washing. Growing up we used soap flakes for washing the dishes. My mom just used a bar of Ivory.
I made the homemade dishwasher detergent, but here’s my problem. First, I have to practically wash the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher for them to come out even remotely clean. I really have a problem with that as wasting water isn’t exactly being green. Even when I do this, my dishes are still coming out dirty sometimes. Is there more of one of the ingredients that I could add to the recipe to remedy this? I’m thinking a little more Borax, salt, and washing soda (maybe an 1/8 cup each?). I really love being green and thrifty, but I still need the stuff to work. HELP!
Sometimes grit happens, or you may find a film left behind. Most of the time I have success with this powder mix. I know that many people use vinager to reduce film and get a clean rinse. I use about 1 teaspoon of bleach in the prewash cycle and my dishes come out sparkly clean!!!
My advice is to reduce the abount of powder and increase your vinager or use bleach.,,,Good Luck!
I made my own dishwasher powder with 1cup washing soda, 1cup borax, and 2 envelopes lemon koolaid. It worked great!!! I did NOT rinse dishes beforehand. I used 1 T per cup and vinegar in rinse aid compartment.
I brought my 7 year old dishwasher from a house that had REALLY hard water to my new house that has soft well water. I do have limestone sand-like particles right now until the dishwasher gets cleaned out (had to dust off the dishes)But the dishes and glasses are shiny and clear. No more store bought for me. I had the supplies on hand because I started making laundry soap about 6 months ago. I spent about $9 on soda and borax and still have enough for 2 more 4 gal. recipes of laundry soap. I LOVE this cheap stuff!!!
OK_ had to post another comment. My husband tore apart the sprayer arm of the dishwasher as per instructions from the internet and we cleaned out all the limestone rocks (There were fistfuls of limestone build up)It is running clear now. So I put the homemade dishwasher powder thru its paces. I LOVE IT!!!
I put dishes with dried on cheese from mac and cheese, a peanut butter knife, and a glass pan from cornbread. They all came out SPARKLING! It is so worth a try if you also make your own laundry detergent and have the products on hand. Dollar General has there own lemonade packets 10 for $1.
Like Beverly said, you can call the manufacturer to get the washing soda. The actual manufacturer is called Church & Dwight and their number again is 800-524-1328. You can give them the UPC code for the washing soda (33200-03020) and they can tell you where to purchase it. However, it’s not sold anywhere near where I am in Southern Louisiana. So, I order it directly through them and it’s a lot cheaper than ordering it anywhere else. They gave me a deal on 3 boxes with free shipping for $13.50. Other websites charge that for the shipping alone! It’s worth purchasing 3 boxes at a time because I use it for my other soap recipes.
FYI, it’s also referred to as soda ash and can be purchased in pool supply stores. I haven’t tried it that way but I was told that it wasn’t as finely ground. Don’t know if that’s true.
I found the washing soda at our local Meijer and Kroger stores in the laundry aisle. The citric acid I got at Whole Foods, you have to ask for it. Since it’s not “organic” they can’t put it out in the bulk bins but have it under the counter. I thought it was a bit expensive at $9 a pound so I’m going to try the lemon koolaid next time.
Okay, I have got to try this. I hope it works for me as I have to use Cascade with bleach to get my ancient dishwasher to clean my dishes. Although I usually use less of it than the directions say. I already have the soda and borax (already planned to try a homemade laundry detergent) and I will use the lemon kool-aid. Any idea why lemon? Does it have more citric acid? I assume the salt is to soften the water? I have heard of using peroxide instead of bleach for whitening and sanitizing. Does anyone know if there could be a chemical reaction and I should not use it with these ingredients? Thanks for the recipe and the great info everyone.
If you’re near an Ace Hardware, you can order the Washing Soda off their website and then pick it up at a store with free shipping. That’s how I got in South Dakota!
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3549579
Dee- the reason to use lemon is that it is the least likely to stain. You can use orange, lime, or grape… but your white plastic may take on the color.
If you have hard water… you may want to up the number of lemonade packets you use… if you start to get white film (not etching) on glasses and plastic. I just tested this out at a friends house that has EXTREMELY hard water… first I put in 4 lemonade packets and ran thru empty and put in 1 cup white vinegar in the rinse cycle to clean the dishwasher. Then I loaded with dirty dishes, about 1 1/2 tsp my dishwasher powder (made with 4 envelopes lemonade) and white vinegar in rinse agent compartment. Everything came out crystal clear. Cascade complete had quit working for her.
The only other hints I have is that “less is more.” I have been able to cut down to about 1 teaspoon of powder. And if I have extremely greasy pots or dishes I put in 1 DROP of dawn dish liquid in the first cup. I really mean 1 drop. I have heard horror stories about too much. DO NOT USE any more. The dawn seems to cut the grease better.
Good luck!
I wasn’t getting my dishes clean and I realized that I was over filling the dishwasher. I cut way back and now they get clean. If I have to many dirty dishes I just wash the overflow,no big deal but I do like to hide the the ones that need to go through a wash cycle. I also put a towel to hang from the door to remind me that there are clean didhes inside.
I live in northern Indiana and have looked all over town for Arm & Hammer’s Washing Soda. I finally ended up getting it for 2.99/box from Alice.com & they have free shipping.
I hadn’t heard of Alice.com Free shipping! Wow! I’m checking out their site. Thanks for sharing that info.
As for the citric acid, you can use two packets of lemon flavored koolaid powder. only lemon though. Any other will stain your washer.
i am totally happy. i have been looking for a eco logical dishwasher detergent and i have found it. plus i have all of these ingredients/materials on hand. can’t wait to do a load.
Anyone know if it has to be kool aid brand or will store brand or countrytime work? I know it has to be sugar free.
Like some of the others here, I am the dishwasher in the household…so is there a recipe for homemade dish soap?
Hi Simone, I just posted two recipes for homemade dish soap for you.
For those with questions about citric acid, an article from wisegeek.com :
WHAT IS CITRIC ACID?
Usually produced in powder form, citric acid is naturally found in citrus fruits. It easily mixes into liquids, making it a valuable acid. Lemons and limes have high concentrations of citric acid, accounting for their bitter taste. Oranges and tangerines are also high in citric acid, though lower than the more bitter citrus fruits. You can find citric acid present in certain berries too, particularly raspberries and blackberries.
Citric acid is used as a flavoring in many preparations of Vitamin C, and has a wide variety of other uses. In industry, citric acid can be used to make good “natural” cleaners, though some may still contain chemicals that are not exactly natural. It’s also now commonly used in preparing photographs.
Citric acid bonds easily to minerals and metals, called chelation. It can help to take certain minerals with citric acid, since the body will more easily digest chelated minerals. For example, some calcium supplements can come in the form of calcium citrate, and are better absorbed by the body.
The ability of citric acid to bond with other minerals can make it helpful in softening water. Soaps and laundry detergents can be more effective when they contain citric acid. It can work well in shampoos because it tends to remove excess minerals from the water. Yet, sometimes a high concentration of citric acid can damage hair, since it opens hair cuticles. It can strip the hair of needed minerals and bleach it.
As a food additive, citric acid is in common use. It can be added to flavor certain drinks, especially soft drinks. It works well as a meat tenderizer because it tends to break down the meat proteins. However, it is bitter — one of its main uses in food is to make certain candy sour.
When you buy sour candies, you may note many of them are covered with a fine white powder. This is citric acid, which adds an exterior coating to the candies and provides quite a bit of sour taste. It can make the mouth pucker or feel dry, and higher quantities will produce very sour candies.
You’ll note citric acid in a variety of cleaning products and especially now in beauty products. Citric acid, combined with sodium bicarbonate, is used to make bath fizzes or bath tablets — the combination of the two produces carbon dioxide, producing a pleasantly effervescent water.
Citric acid is a common ingredient in skin masks and some lotions. Vitamin C in general is thought an antioxidant that can help refresh skin and reduce the look of aging by promoting new skin growth and destroying free radicals. Too much exposure to citric acid can cause mild skin irritation, and it may be a good idea not to use skin products containing it if you have sensitive skin.
One of the best benefits of citric acid in all its applications is that it is natural and poses little to no risk to the environment. Very few people are allergic to citric acid, but some people may have stomach sensitivity to it, and might better avoid foods containing it. Read labels carefully, since citric acid may be used as a preservative in many more foods than you might expect.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-citric-acid.htm
I use 1 packet of lemon country time lemonade in place of that expensive chemical stuff to clean my dishwasher periodically. It works the same and helps to keep down the hardwater deposits. I just put it in the soap dispenser and run it on a short cycle. Also I do not allow my dishwasher to dry the dishes. I have a setting to avoid it but if you don’t, just keep an eye on it and shut it off when it gets ready to start drying. Prop the dooe open a bit to alow the dishes to air dry. Nice in the winter as it heats up the kitchen a bit, not so nice in this hot weather we’re having now–so I run it at night.
I’ve been using this recipe for about 2 weeks now. We love it! Super clean dishes and super cheap and easy to make!!!
is the lemon koolaid unsweetened? – i know thats a dumb question – if i only have sweet is that okay?
Willow it is unsweetened.
Also you can not make washing soda out of baking soda the temps needed to do that are beyond the average persons ability.
Willow – unsweetened only. The sugar will make everything sticky.
To others – I’m not having good luck with this homemade detergent. My dishes seem to get “clean” but the detergent leaves a white film. I’ve added vinegar to my rinse dispenser…any other suggestions? Should I not let the dishes go through the “dry” cycle?
We have very hard water and I was using something called “Lemi Shine” with my detergent every time I ran the dishwasher. I saw the tip about the lemonade koolaid and now I use 1 packet of that with my detergent every time I run it. Much cheaper and leaves the glasses sparkling with no white residue. I just use the cheap store brand with no sugar.
Washing Soda can also be purchased at Homeland if you have one by you. It is by the other laundry things
i just wanted to give you all a heads up….i looked up what citric acid is used for in this recipe and it is to make your hard water softer which in turn helps stuff get cleaner….so if you are like me you do not need this ingredient if you have a water softer (depending on how high it is turned on)….i used it without and it worked great!!!
I have a small farm winery and frequently use washing soda and citric acid as cleaning and sanitizing agents. You can buy these chemicals MUCH cheaper in bulk, as in about $30 for a 50 pound bag of washing soda (called soda ash in the bulk industry), and about $1.50 a pound for citric acid ($75 for a 50 pound bag). Citric acid needs to be kept in a couple of 5 gallon buckets with sealing lids after you open the bag, as it will absorb moiture from the air and clump (severley after a while). Look for a chemical supply company in your area. In my area (Albany, NY) it is Surpass Chemical. You can also order most of them online, but shipping will probably bring it back to the amounts you pay at the store. Most chemical supply places will probably want you to create an account for your “home buisness.”
Of course, in these amounts, you will probably have enough for several years worth of use.