DIY Dishwasher Detergent

The other day I ran out of dishwasher detergent and in a house of 5 members, that's no bueno. I didn't want to make a special trip to the store just for that but the sink was piling up with dishes and I had three choices; wash them all by hand (no thank you!), go to the store and buy detergent, or make some.

I had seen a few pins on Pinterest about making your own dishwasher detergent and decided now was the perfect time to try my own. The ingredients are simple...

Borax - 1 cup
Washing Soda - 1 cup
Citric Acid or Lemonade mix as a substitute (I used two packets of Lemonade Kool-aid)

There are variations of the recipe out there but this is the simplified and very basic version, also the cheapest.

Since April, I have been making my own laundry detergent (works just as well as store bought but for a fraction of the price) so I already had the Borax and Washing Soda on hand (also had the Kool-aid on hand, thankfully). The directions are super easy too...

Thoroughly mix the three ingredients together and use only 1 Tablespoon per wash.

After using this for a week now and through several wash cycles, I have discovered using more detergent causes a film to stay on the dishes so don't use more than directed. This recipe should last you about 2 months if you're like me and run your dishwasher every other day. It is very easy to double or even triple the recipe if you'd like. And total time to make this detergent? Oh, about five minutes. Way less time and much cheaper than if I had gone to the store.

Winner winner folks.