Make Your Own Natural Dishwasher/Scouring Powder
An easy and cheap natural cleaning product
by Lynn Siprelle, TNH Editor
by Lynn Siprelle, TNH Editor
or some time now I've been experimenting with making my own dishwasher powder. I've tinkered with the basic formula, even at one point adding Kool-Aid to it (for the citric acid--it turned out to be a crucial step in figuring the formula out). In further experimentation I've discovered it makes a decent no-scratch scouring powder as well, more like Bon Ami than Comet.
What I've discovered is that it doesn't work as well as some of the commercial detergents; however I have found that it works just as well as the major " green alternative" dishwasher detergents, if not a little better, and at a fraction of the cost. If you don't like scraping your dishes and rinsing them off, you won't like homemade powder; I found you had to be diligent about getting all food particles off your dishes because the dishwasher powder will not do it for you. Of course, many dishwashers require you to do this anyway, but oftentimes people are lazy. Like, uh, me. But this is so much easier on the environment and the pocketbook it's worth taking the time to properly prepare the dishes I've found.
The formula
Here, after much experimenting, is the formula for dishwashing powder.
In a plastic container with a firmly fitting lid, mix:
1 cup borax (20-Mule-Team Borax, available in any supermarket)
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup citric acid (available in brewing stores among other places--if you haven't tracked it down yet but must try this formula, use two packets of Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon, or you'll dye your dishwasher! and ONLY unsweetened Kool-Aid!)
30 drops citrus essential oil--lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, or a mixturePut all of it in the container, shake it up.
To use, put a tablespoon or so into each cup of your dishwasher. I've found I no longer have to use the scrubbing cycle but can get by fine with the short cycle, thus saving even more money. On average, it looks like this is about 8 cents a load compared with Cascade at 22 cents a load. Compare it with EcoVer or Seventh Generation and it's a steal. I have also started putting some of this in a shaker canister--the one I have we got at a restaurant supply, it's aluminum and was made for popcorn salt. I use it to clean my sink and anything else that I'd normally use Bon Ami on. Works great, and the essential oil makes it smell fantastic.
If you experiment with this, add to the comments on this page, I'd love to know what your experiences are.
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Current favorite essential oil mix
Tea tree oil and peppermint oil. Has the added benefit of being anti-microbial.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
I would love to find a "gel" version of homemade dishwasher soap
in my household, hubby is the homemaker while I work. he hates powder dishwasher soap, and will only use the gel kind. does anyone have a recipe for that?
Dishwasher Scouring Powder
Hi all! We use to use Cascade, etc.--expensive! Now, per About.com we put baking soda in those two little cups and pour a little bleach over it! The dishes come out sanitized and super clean! PS You all won't believe all the things baking soda (and vinegar) can do that will save you money!!
Homemade Dishwasher Gel
Hey! I just found this site and this post! I realize it is an older post, but making a homemade dishwasher gel is a concern of mine also. I am working on a recipe now, and am in the final stages of testing. I should know if it works soon. I will post the recipe if all goes well.
Just tried this recipe!
I used tea tree oil. I cannot believe how well it cleaned the bathtub and sink! Wow!!!
1/2 and 1/2
we didn't like the results we were getting with this powder all by itself, so we've started mixing our dishwasher powder 1 part homemade powder (the recipe above) and 1 part Ecover dishwasher powder (or whatever eco-friendly powder is cheapest/on sale--it's nearly always Ecover, tho).
We spend waaaaay less on commercial dishwasher powder by "stretching" it this way and get squeaky clean dishes.
I agree that it works great as a non-scratch general cleaner, too...it cleans up our porcelain sink beautifully and rinses clean super quick.
Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally
Diswasher powder
Hi! this recipe doesn't work very well for us. It leaves a white dust on everything and it doesn't clean very well. Anybody else had that problem? What could I do to prevent that from happening?
thanks!
CAt
Borax
Hi, we were looking for an environmentally friendly and safe product to use in our dishwasher. We googled and got you.
As a result we checked out the ingredients you recommend and found out that Borax is toxic. See, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax for more info.
Otherwise good work.
Geoff.
Why use the dishwasher at all?
If you're going to rinse all the food clean off your plates first, then why would you even need to put them in the dishwasher??????
Dishwasher Powder
I KNEW I had seen this recipe here, and for the longest time, I could not find it again! All the others I have found are pretty much borax and baking soda... this one really interests me!
Thank you so much for posting this. Now I am on the hunt for more recipes here.
Dishwasher powder
Have been using it without the oil, but find that even putting it into the tight-lidded container, it clumps. It's rather "sticky". Is this normal? It doesn't hurt anything, but just a little trickier to use than a free-flowing powder. We're in North Carolina and have soft water too, but I use two tablespoons in each cup (I also like to use vinegar as the rinse agent.)
Oil of Oregano
Has anyone tried Oil of Oregano instead of Tea Tree Oil? Oregano is also an antiseptic and, from what I've read about it, is pretty versatile and powerful. I don't have a diswasher, but this sounds like it might work, especially for those who don't like the Tea Tree smell.
Other anti-bacterial essential oils
Lavender essential oil is also antibacterial and "edible" though I wouldn't eat right out of the bottle. There is lavender honey, lavender vinegar, etc. Smells great, too! Citrus essential oils are also anti-bacterial. I mix lavender, tea tree & lemon in my all-natural deodorant and it works fabulously!
I am a soapmaker and currently making a test batch of laundry soap. I know eucalyptus essential oil removes grease, has antibacterial properties and is used in cough drops, etc. My test laundry soap batch is unscented -- the next batch will include Eucalyptus EO for added de-greasers. I am considering testing a modification of this formula with the dishwasher, too. I already use vinegar in the rinse cycle.
This thread has been very helpful. Great site, thanks!!
dishing washing soap
How safe is this miture for septic systems?
re dishwashing formula
I have found that by sprinkling a tablespoon of baking soda over the dishes on the lower rack, I can use 1/4 of the recommended amount of Cascade liqued, and I don't need JetDri at all - nothing ever spots, and even plastic tupperware gets squeaky clean.
It's not as elaborate as your recipe, which I will try tomorrow, but it's worked for me for years.
Also, Borax can be used to treat cloth to prevent it from being flammable --useful if you have curtains or bedding in a bedroom. It must be re-treated when it is washed.
citric acid
Very good recipe ...it does work better than the natural dishwasher powder that I was using. My only problem is the Asorbic Acid seems to cost more than the dishwasher powder I am buying at the grocery store. 1 ounce is $2.45 at the local brewer supplier. Isn't Asorbic Acid and Citric acid the same thing. I may have to stick to the Kool Aid.
Thanks so much for posting
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I've been making it using 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup washing soda rather than 1 cup baking soda, and it does an *excellent* job cleaning my dishes... and I'm not a fan of scraping and rinsing, so I don't! The one and only failing is that it leaves my glasses ever so faintly fogged, exactly the same as most of the commercial and green cleaners do. (Actually, the commercial cleaners mostly leave my glassware much more foggy than your formula does.)
The only cleaner I've found that leaves my glassware crystal clear is the powdered/cubed Electrasol with the Jet Dry power ball, which no doubt has a long list of toxic chemicals. I'm using white vinegar in the rinse compartment, and I'm wondering if there's any way to "beef up" the vinegar to leave glasses more clear. Has anyone tried making a better natural "Jet Dry" formula with added citric acid or peroxide or alcohol or...??
Love this stuff!!
I used Lemi-Shine instead of the lemonade packet and it works wonderfully!! My glasses sparkle and everything is so so clean. I never thought to use it to clean my sink, though. Thats a great idea, as I just used the last of my soft scrub and vowed to buy no more. Thanks so much!!
Disposing of the old stuff?
This is all very interesting! I'd love to start making my own detergents and greening my own kitchen (any beyond...)
My most pressing question is this: once I do make the transition, how do you suggest disposing of the old cleaning products? I'm not sure if kitchens or shelters would accept half-used containers of dishwashing detergent, and I think throwing it away defeats the purpose.
Thanks for any suggestions.
First disaster then success
Thanks for this recipe! you know how hard it is to find an alternative to the 1 part soda, 1 part borax solution? I tried your concoction and it worked like a charm. This was a pleasant surprise after several failures, including a bout with one website's suggestion of using soda and dishwashing soap. Even the small amount in the recipe caused a flood of suds in the kitchen. I honestly thought that stuff only happened in the movies...
Precleaning dishes
Our dog likes our plates clean, so no problem getting the food off the plates.
Chemical reaction
There's an odd thing about your recipe--the baking soda (alkali) and citric acid (acid) will react with each other before they do anything to the dishes. They will form a salt (not table salt, but another type), which is chemically neutral. (I'm not entirely sure what the salt is doing is the recipe, anyway, unless it is just to bulk up the powder so that when you fill those little cups you are using the right amount.) I would think that experimentation with one or the other (baking soda or citric acid) would be helpful, and the best recipe would depend on what's in your water--is it hard, is it soft?
Citric acid is often found in the grocery store with the canning supplies. I have also heard that you can get it from the pharmacy, but haven't tried. I have also bought it from Amazon.
The citrus essential oil is a powerful grease remover, as well as smelling wonderful, except for those of us who are allergic.
Citric acid could also be used in the rinse cycle in place of vinegar, and it smells better (not at all). I'm not sure of the amount, but it wouldn't take much.
Linda
RE: Homemade Dishwashing Powder
My recipe ...is the following...
easy...
a 50/50 mix of Borax and Baking Soda...and in your rinse dispenser put vinegar in...
My dishes have never been so clean and shiny!
The vinegar rinse seems to rinse any residue away, because without the vinegar the dishes seem coated or powdery
dishwasher detergent
I've just mixed this up and I'm looking forward to seeing the results... two questions though:
1. Are the essential oils actually essential to the recipe? Those 30 drops are just included for the psychological feeling that your dishes are clean when you sniff them, correct?
2. What is the purpose of the salt? I've seen lots of recipes with Borax and baking soda (although some use washing soda instead). Salt isn't usually included, so I was curious about its role. Thanks!
Salt
I love this recipe, and I have not had spots on my dishes. However, I did make sure not to use just any salt. Make sure that you use Pickling Salt since it is pure and does not contain any type of additives or preservatives. This could be one reason why so many have spots or haze on their dishes. All other salts contain anti caking agents as well as other "stuff" to help protect the other "stuff". The Canning and Pickling is pure with nothing added therefore it is clear and clear rinsing. Happy washing!!
PS. Any Kool Aid will do if it is the "Clear" kind or "Invisible". Those do not contain dyes of any kind, unlike all the other flavors including Lemon.
The dishwasher powder works
The dishwasher powder works wonderfully. Better than the cheap commercial kind. And every bit as good as Cascade. Thanks so much. Elizabeth
Thank you!
I stumbled across this recipe a few weeks ago & since I had most of the ingrediants on hand anyway (borax & 3lbs of baking soda that have been sitting unopened in my pantry for a couple years-lol), I decided to give it a try. I found a good deal on the citric acid (5lbs for $11 @ http://www.organic-creations.com/ They were a little slow with shipping, but its the holidays, so I'm not complaining). I made up a batch exactly as written & used uniodized salt (or pickling salt, I think it is called?). Anyway, worked like a charm. My dh was completely skeptical, until we started pulling the clean dishes out of the machine. We are not big rinsers (I do so more than him); but it got everything off. We usually use electrasol; not into the environmentally friendly detergents. I don't know if our water is hard or not...I guess not since I've never heard anyone in our area say it was. Also, no filmy white powder or spots. I've been using 1T per load. Since I had most of the items on hand, it worked out to about 1 cent per load. Thanks again.
would that be
15 drops each of Tea Tree and peppermint oil? If not, what's a good ratio? I personally don't like the smell of Tea Tree all that much. Does the peppermint balance that smell out?
I'm curious about the question of how to make this into a gel. What kind of liquid that's cheap could effectively dissolve the ingredients and suspend them that would also safely clean dishes and not add yucky stuff to the sewers? Other than glycerin, I have no idea.
______
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost. (LOTR)
please do!
Exciting! I'm looking forward to trying your recipe.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Experiment with the ingredient proportions
What kind of water do you have? We have soft water here in Portland where I formulated this. You might need more salt. Fiddle with it. And also, as I said in the article, you can't leave food on the plates; it's just not that kind of cleaner, but then, most of the natural dishwasher powders won't dissolve the food.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
We didn't have a powder,
We had a irridescent film on all the glassware. It scrubbed off by hand with a scouring pad but the dishwasher just put it back on.
I wasn't using salt, though, just the baking soda and borax. I've started doing 1 c. borax, 1 c. soda, and 1 c. Ecover dishwashing powder. It works beautifully. No more film, sparkling dishes, easy to make and easy on the checkbook.
Are you using a rinse-aid as well? Plain old vinegar in the rinse-well of the dishwasher is what I sometimes do.
If your water is medium- to very-hard you may need to either use more powder in the dispenser or add more salt or citric acid to the mix to soften the water. Citric acid, aka, sodium citrate, is among many other things, a water conditioner or softener.
If there's not a brew shop near you, you can get some in a pinch in the canning section of your grocery store. It's called "Fruit-Fresh(R)"--what you sprinkle on your apples to keep them from browning. It's mostly citric acid. That'll get you by for one batch or so until you can land a source. You can buy online at bulkfood.com or amazon.com, no less.
Keep trying, you'll hack it!
Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally
Low toxicity
"Toxic is as toxic does." Here's exactly what Wikipedia has to say:
Example: a 40-lb child is 18.1 kg, which means a fatal dose of borax would be between 1.81 and 9.5 g. That means that child would have to consume about a half-teaspoon to two teaspoons of straight, non-dilute borax, assuming a kid would eat something that nasty-tasting (keeping in mind that as nasty as it is, kids are weird). Of course, you don't keep household cleaners--any household cleaners, including baking soda--where your kid could reach them, right? RIGHT? And it would take a lot less, say, bleach, to severely injure or kill a child that size with a lot greater harm to the environment in general.
If you go to PesticideInfo.org, you'll see that borax is considered neither acutely toxic nor a likely carcinogen. That website is run by the Pesticide Action Network North America, which keeps an exhaustive database of environmental toxins.
Bottom line: Borax is a problem if you repeatedly expose someone, especially small someones, *directly* to it, usually as a strong solution applied to the skin or eyes. Otherwise, washing dishes and clothes with it is not a big deal; it rinses away and doesn't compromise the environment.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Sanitization, for starters
I wasn't using a great deal of water or time rinsing them off. Usually I just scraped the plate well the minute we were done with it and then took a wet, cold dishcloth to wipe the residual off before I put it in the dishwasher. Never even ran water over it.
And it really depends on the dishwasher. The modern ones will take a lot of food off the plates if not all, even WITHOUT dish soap. My old dishwasher--at least 20 years old if not older--would not.
Right now I don't have a dishwasher. We just got tired of the roll-around and got rid of it, and right now I do the dishes by hand.* Some day in the next five years we have plans to remodel the kitchen, and when that day comes we'll be putting in a modern, under-the-counter, water-saving dishwasher. yippee!
*Though! See this for progress on that front!
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Yeah, it can get clumpy. You
Yeah, it can get clumpy. You can put a dessicant packet in with it--you can usually find them inside vitamin jars, etc.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
yes
I've tried it myself and liked it.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Will this work for Hand Washing Dishes?
I am on a search for dish liquid for hand washing...but not finding much...I have read my box of Borax but it just has a picture of dishes no instructions...a powder would be fine too....I use home made laundry detergent made from Ivory, Borax, and washing soda and water...about to try that if I can't find anything els
Try filling to the lines or
Try filling to the lines or dispenser(s) with the liquid laundry soap recipe that can be found online - works great!
Use vinegar in rinse dispenser.
Honestly
I don't know.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
If you've got the old stuff,
If you've got the old stuff, why not just use up the rest of the old cleaning supplies as you normally would? As you say, throwing it away is needlessly wasteful.
I'm a housewife, not a chemist
But leaving the salt out makes the powder less effective. I heartily encourage people to experiment with this recipe; I sure did. The recipe as stated works well in Portland, Oregon, which has soft water.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
answer
The essential oils actually have anti-bacterial properties in addition to smelling good.
The salt seems to help get things clean; I'm sure there is a chemical reason for it, but all I know is, when you leave it out things don't get as clean.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
mix
Hata, I sit there and shake the dang bottle till I like the smell.
Probably about ten each to be truthful. Next time I need a batch I'll make it while you're here and you can count. 
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Yes
But it won't suds. I assume you're talking about my dishwasher recipe.
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
Handwashing Liquid
Are you looking for a homemade dishwashing liquid because it'd be cheaper, or because it'd be non toxic/less chemicals, or some other reason?
I ask because I looked and looked and couldn't find any recipes for homemade handwashing liquid. Then I found out that castille soap, which you can buy cheaply in bulk, and Crystal White, also very very cheap, are both non toxic/less chemicals/phosphate free/biodegradable dishwashing liquids.
I mostly use Crystal White for the kitchen now and castille soap to refill the liquid soap dispensers in the bathrooms. I have the foaming pumps so a half an inch of soap goes in the bottle, fill the rest of the bottle up with water, mix, and voila. I used Dr. Bronners (All One!) which is concentrated and lasts forever this way.
____________________
Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing "Embraceable You" in spats.
-- Woody Allen
Handwashing dishes
You can always try this: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art29321.asp
But it doesn't suds up. It does clean very well, though!
Or, try using something similar to Dr. Bronner's... maybe make your own! http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/liquidsoap/ss/basicliquidsoap.htm
I LOVE this powder recipe for the dishwasher!!
Exceptions?
Absolute none!
hee. love dr. b's...
Lynn Siprelle, Editor
recipe for liquid dishwashing soap
Hi Found this on the web. Love it and it works well for dishwashing and I use it in my soap dispensers as well.
Lavender Dishwashing Liquid Soap
2 cups of soap flakes (I grate up a bar of Kirk's Castile Soap Located usually by the soap section)
1 gallon of water
25 drops of lavender essential oil.
Easy, heat your water in a kettle, grate your soap, 2 cups is 1 and half bars and and add to the water till disolved. Finish with the essential oils. I love it and it is mild on your hands.
A small pouch of dry rice
A small pouch of dry rice works well as a desiccant - I used to put that in my salt shaker so the salt didn't clump.
hand washing dishes
I am also interested in something cleaner and greener to wash dishes by hand. I now use clorax green solutions and but have swithced to palmolive pure and clear but I am afraid they may still have ingredients in them that are not really green. Thanks, Ginger
Have you heard of
Have you heard of Freecycle.com?
Advertise it on there and surely you'll find someone who'll take it.
I got rid of a disgusting and smelly (to me), bottle almost new Lysol in that way.
dishwasher detergent recipe
this recipe is great!!
fyi--it fits perfectly in a recyled plastic parmesan cheese shaker from the grocery store and is easy to pour or measure with your tablespoon!
I am having the same problem.
White power left on everything. My glasses never clear and shiny, Help!!!
Gel Dishwashing Formula
From a neat book by Alan Hayes, "It's So Natural":
4 tablesp. dried soapwort
4 tablesp. dried lemon verbena
9 litres water
1/2 cake pure soap
1/2 cup (120grams)washing soda (aka sodium carbonate from the pool section of any store or branded as "PH Plus")
Hayes say this formula produces a biodegradable gel by doing the following:
- Place herbs in a large bucket loosely or in a tea holder and add 8 litres of boiling water. Cover and steep overnight. If herbs are loose, strain them out with muslin or a coffee filter in the morning.
- Add grated soap and some of the herb infused water in a pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat and stir constantly until soap is dissolved.
- Boil remaining water in a separate pot.
- In a bucket, combine all ingredients: the water, herb-infused soap mix and washing soda. Mix thoroughly.
- The mixture will set into a soft gel (he did not specify how long it would take) and can be stored for future use.
- Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup (120 to 250g) to wash dishes.
His web site is: http://itssonatural.com/home.htm
I made up this fantastic
I made up this fantastic recipe on Friday and have since done 2 loads. I can get away with using 1 1/2 T per load using the usual cycle (pots and pans cycle. I rinse off the clumps and have a dinosour for a dishwasher and this works GREAT!!! Thanks for the recipe. I am intrigued as to why the citric acid (or kool aid as I used)? To those with a film but clean dishes otherwise, you may be using too much powder and use a rinse aid or vinegar. I am using my old rinse aid up to get it out of the cupboard.
Foggy film on dishes
I think it must be the water in my region is too hard. I have been using vinegar in the rinse and it has not helped. I actually put 1/2 cup of vinegar in and there was less of a film, but still a lot. I read on a different website that citric acid will take away the white film. I ran clean dishes through acycle with ten packages of lemon Koolaid and saw a slight improvement.
Excellent stuff
Just wanted to add my two cents and say thanks so much for this recipe! It works perfectly - my dishes are gleaming and spotless AND I'm saving $$$. What more can I ask for?
It works!!
Thank you for this excellent recipe!
I took "Mad Scientist's" advice and used 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup washing soda rather than 1 cup baking soda. I also used 4 little Kool-Aid packets, because it took 4 to make 1/4 cup. Wal-Mart sells their "version" of unsweetened lemonade for ten cents a packet!
I have been using this recipe, along with plain ol' white vinegar in the rinse dispenser, for one week with excellent results! I love being thrifty! Thanks again so much!
Michelle
Works great
I live in Spokane county WA and we recently were put on a phosphate ban in dishwasher detergent. So, unless we want to drive to Idaho and bootleg some Cascade we are pretty much stuck with some useless and extremely over priced products. I decided to try this recipe and I have to say it works so much better then the stuff we can buy here! The only thing I did that was different is that instead of using strait citric acid I used some Fruit Fresh I had left over from making jelly a couple years ago. Im so impressed Im going to put the link to this page on my blog
sourcing citric acid
If you have an Asian or Indian food market near you, ask for powdered citric acid, also called Kumba. It is used for making sweet and SOUR soup, curdling milk for buttermilk, and to balance sugar in cooked beets.
want to some ideas
hi
i am karth from india. i am trying to make natural liquid detergent soap, natural liquid dish wash and toilet cleaner....i want formulas to make this products.........please help me and mail me kumarprethyumnan@yahoo.com
karthik
flaking Ivory Soap
My son and I used Ivory Soap for Science Fair several years ago. What makes Ivory float is: it's got lots of air bubbles; was 'invented' by accidental overmixing. Thus, if you put a bar of fresh Ivory Soap in the microwave, it will foam up impressively. CAUTION: you will need an open window, as the soap smell sort of takes over for a bit. We used a paper plate, but the backside of cereal box cardboard or similar would certainly work.
After 'nuking' several brands of bar soap (w/none foaming as well as Ivory), I was faced with paper platters of 'soap lava'. If you crumble that, it is much like Ivory Soap that's used for laundry. I am not sure how long it would retain that light, flaky quality. We washed clothes in this stuff until it was used up. I don't know if such things can ever be cost effective, but it was fun, as Weird Science goes, and was very easy to demonstrate in the classroom.
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