# Homemade Automatic Dishwasher Detergent?



## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

What do you use in your automatic dishwasher? I have used laundry detergent and borax in a pinch when I've run out of the store bought stuff. What do you make to use?


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## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

A whopping big slug of Bleach!


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

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 
30 drops citrus essential oil--lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, or a mixture 

Put all of it in the container, shake it up. 

To use, put a Tblsp. or so into each cup of your dishwasher.


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## crunchy_mama (Aug 7, 2010)

Forgive the intrusion- if I could ask a question

I haven't made any yet but seen the same recipe as linn posted and had read that the addition of the citric acid is really supposed to help get them clean- Can I ask how does it work for you? Any issues at all? I need to just make the leap and try it but now I have about 6 months worth of the storebought kind. Also, do you have hard water? I have read that makes a difference in the effectiveness as well.


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## TNHermit (Jul 14, 2005)

Just came to ask the same question  Looking forward to lots of answers 

Men don't wash dishes  

Don't throw things


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## tlag1986 (Jul 3, 2010)

I have not found a recipe for dishwashing that I like. Mostly because of my hard water it makes it very difficult to get them clear afterwords. We have always had a thick film.

I make the homemade laundry detergent and love it. It is simple 1/3 fels naptha bar, 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, and enough water to make two gallons. I start out with the laundry bar grated down small to melt in about 8 cups water on the stove to melt it down. I then add the washing soda and borax. They say you should not put the hot liquid in a container full of cold water. So I have enough hot water to keep it from gelling up or whatever. When your done you wait about 12-24 hours and you have 2 gallons of gloopy laundry soap. Just mix with spoon and use 1/2 cup per load. I love it.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I have the same problem as tlag ... always a thick film left on dishes. We do have hard water & use a water softener, but always a thick film.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I think adding white vinegar during the rinse helps, but I have to admit that I have not found a homemade recipe that works as well as the store bought. We also have very hard water. I think citric acid is supposed to help prevent the film on the dishes.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

Now you all have me wondering if my home made laundry soap would be any good in the dishwasher. 
I have made the recipe mentioned for dishwasher soap and I didn't care for it too much. We have since moved and our water here is much harder than it was before. So, I can't imagine I would like it more here. I don't even like the store bought stuff I am using right now. Hope to find SOMETHING that works soon!


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## HomeOnTheFarm (Mar 9, 2004)

2 cups of Borax
2 cups of WASHING soda
2 Tbsp. LemiShine (citric acid)

Stir up really well. 1 Tbsp in the locking cup, 1 Tbsp on the dishwasher door (interior!). I keep the Rinse Aid dispenser full of white vinegar. This works better for me than the storebought varieties I tried (and it's much cheaper!). The harder the water, the more LemiShine to add.


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## samm (Dec 6, 2008)

equal parts of washing soda and borax... i use 2 heaping tablespoons in the soap hole thingy and pour vinegar in the rinse hole thingy , my dishes are clean and the glasses dont have the white filmy stuff getting on them, and the old ones that did dont seem to be as bad
samm


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## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

I will never try it again. It got my dishes clean, but after a few weeks my glasses were etched by the harsh baking soda. They were ruined.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

AR Transplant said:


> I will never try it again. It got my dishes clean, but after a few weeks my glasses were etched by the harsh baking soda. They were ruined.


Same here; plus after a couple of weeks there is also like a hard film that develpes that nothing takes away, not even soaking in vinegar.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Mne were etched also but I didn't use baking soda. I used borax & washing soda with white vinegar in the rinse.


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## HomeOnTheFarm (Mar 9, 2004)

I don't have a problem with etching (first time without water spots too!). As the above posters have shown, however, it can happen. Judging from the recipes posted (they seem very similar), I would imagine that it has to do with water quality in your location.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Same results at 3 locations (in 2 states), all well water with water softeners.


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## Haven (Aug 16, 2010)

i have not bought dishwasher soap in years. My dishwasher has two little soap cups, a closed one and an open one.

Just place a dime to nickel sized squirt of regular dish soap (Palmalive or Dawn type) in each cup and dishes come out great. Use less soap for soft water, and more for hard water. Huge savings.

Just be sure that you dont add too much since the reg dish soap is highly sudsing, and the suds will overflow your machine if you put more than a tiny squirt in.

I just fill the rinse cup with white vinegar.


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## Nellie (Oct 18, 2006)

Haven said:


> Just be sure that you dont add too much since the reg dish soap is highly sudsing, and the suds will overflow your machine if you put more than a tiny squirt in.


This is why I used laundry detergent, it's low suds.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

If you are getting a film you need more citric acid. My recipe was equal amounts of all three ingredients. (Sometimes I use washing soda sometimes baking soda.) It is the citric acid that helps keep the film off. 
My biggest problem with it is that it has a tendency to absorb humidity in the air no matter how tightly it is capped. So I use it when I run out of store bought.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

My problem (besides the film) is the actual etching of the glasses (and I'm sure the rest of the items in the dishwasher).

I think this is a great recipe for those that live in town and have city water. I've been on a well for over 20 years (3 locations, 2 states).


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

Hmmm maybe it is the borax then that is causing the etching that seems to be the key ingredient that is the same in all recipes. Are those of you who get the etching using equal amounts of all ingredients or more of the borax or another ingredient?


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## MontanaKJ (Aug 10, 2009)

This is the recipe that I like best, especially with hard well water:
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Washing Soda
1/4 C Citric Acid (or lemon koolaid in a pinch - 20packets)
1/4 C Kosher Salt

Mix all ingredients & store in airtight container. Use white vinegar in RinseAid compartment.


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## SheilaOH (Jan 8, 2010)

OK folks. I have a similar recipe for dishwashing soap. I, too, am getting a film on my dishes after dishwashing. The only thing I'm missing is citric acid and salt. Are all the citric acids you folks are using a powder form and where do you get them. Or can one use a couple squirts of real lemon juice or something like that? What is lemishine and where can you purchase it?


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## HomeOnTheFarm (Mar 9, 2004)

SheilaOH said:


> Are all the citric acids you folks are using a powder form and where do you get them. Or can one use a couple squirts of real lemon juice or something like that? What is lemishine and where can you purchase it?


Yup, powder form. Lemishine is citric acid and I found it in my rural grocery store in the dishwasher detergent aisle.


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## SheilaOH (Jan 8, 2010)

Well folks, just went to the store Friday and looked in the dishwasher detergent isle for lemishine. Nothing at all that claimed it had citric acid in it.
(Other than regular dishwashing stuff.) I see some of you live in Oklahoma that were kind enough to reply. Maybe we don't have the same stores or something. The ones I've tried in the past have been Kroger's, Aldi, Walart). The only place I could find Borax at was Meijer's. Any further advice on this subject?


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## HomeOnTheFarm (Mar 9, 2004)

Sheila, I've read that an alternative to LemiShine is lemonade Kool Aid.


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## highlandview (Feb 15, 2007)

You can also buy straight citric acid


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I am trying LemiShine granules for the first time this morning with my dishwasher detergent. Will let you know how it worked for me.


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## NostalgicGranny (Aug 22, 2007)

You can buy citric acid from any cheese making store. I got mine online at: http://hoeggergoatsupply.com/xcart/home.php?cat=34 Which reminds me it is time to reorder. I would love to buy it in larger quantities as I use it for winemaking too. And hopefully someday for cheese making.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I couldn't see much difference in the glassware, so don't think the LemiShine was worth the money. LOL


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## HomeOnTheFarm (Mar 9, 2004)

Play around with the quantity...water is different across the country. While I don't need as much here, my parents have nasty hard water that requires more citric acid.


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## MontanaKJ (Aug 10, 2009)

I find my citric acid at the organic grocer in the bulk food section. It's pretty inexpensive.


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