For the last year, I have been making my own dishwasher detergent. I use the powdered version as I haven’t found a liquid one that I like and works well. My kids have their doubts on the powdered version working well, but if they would keep up on the dishes and not let the food dry to the dishes they would find out differently!

The great thing about this recipe is that it uses some of the same ingredients from the homemade laundry detergent. I like stuff like that – makes life easier!

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

3 cups Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
30 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
2-5 packets of unsweetened powdered lemonade (optional)

1. Mix washing soda and borax together in a container or bowl. I prefer to use the container that will be storing the detergent. Less mess.

2. Add the 30 drops of lemon oil in a random pattern. If you add it all in one location, you will have some clumping issues.

3. Mix the oil in the washing soda/borax. Using your hands works really well here because you can break up the lumps easier. Just make sure to wash your hands well afterwards!

4. You can be done at this point. I add the powdered lemonade to help clean the dishes as well as the dishwasher. That is optional, however.

For those with hard water, you might want to add some kosher salt (1/2 to 1 cup) to help soften the water and not have the detergent clumping in your dishwasher.

Just add 2-4 Tablespoons of the detergent to your dishwasher and start the machine. You can use less for lightly soiled dishes or light loads and more for full loads or heavily soiled dishes.

This does make a fairly good sized batch of dishwasher detergent. I like that because I don’t have to make it as much!

Try this out and let me know!

Have a great day! Thanks for reading!

Sharing is caring!