Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

http://diynatural.com/simple-effective-jabs-homemade-dishwasher-detergent-rinse-agent/

5 SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

• 1 – 55 ounce box of Arm & Hammer® Super Washing Soda = $3.99 Many people seem to be finding this cheaper than me, I suppose I’ll have to shop around.
• 1 – 76 ounce box of 20 Mule Team® Borax = $4.99 People seem to be finding this much cheaper than me too.
• 1 – 48 ounce box of coarse Kosher Salt = $1.99 I cook with kosher salt as well.
• 1 – 2 ounce container of food-grade Citric Acid = $1.15 You can find this online or at your local brewery or specialty beer store. If you cannot find this you can substitute 10-15 lemon Kool-aid envelopes per batch **the small unsweetened ones**, if you use any other flavor you could easily color the inside of your dishwasher (you need 10-15 envelopes to equal the 1-2oz of straight citric acid.) If you do not use some form of citric acid… you will most likely have the cloudy residue left that most “green” cleaners leave.
  
• 1 – gallon of White Vinegar = $1.79 Yet another excellent use for a nearly universal cleaning agent.

COST BREAKDOWN & SAVINGS

Prior to making our own, we were using Palmolive eco+ liquid detergent. Here is the breakdown in cost analysis:

• borax | 76oz = 4.99 | 8oz=.53/batch
• washing soda | 55oz = 3.99 | 8oz=.57/batch
• citric acid | 2oz = 1.15/batch
• kosher salt | 48oz = 1.99 | 2oz= .08/batch
• total for 20 oz = $2.33/batch
• white vinegar (as rinse agent) | 1gal = 1.79 | 4oz=.06/fill

(**note** you only need to use 1 rounded tablespoon of this homemade detergent per load. If you feel it necessary… you may use a heaping tablespoon, but I do not.)

• Palmolive® eco+ gel 75 ounce detergent – $3.79 – 28 loads = $0.14 per load
• Jabs Homemade powder 20 ounce detergent – $2.33 – 30 loads = $0.08 per load

Here are the cost savings for my homemade rinse agent that goes along with this recipe:

• FINISH® JET-DRY® Rinse Agent 4.22 ounce solution – $3.99 – 1 fill = $3.99 per fill
• White Vinegar as a Rinse Agent 1 gallon solution – $1.79 – 1 fill = $0.06 per fill

That is a huge savings of 6650% on an effective rinse agent! Sounds too good to be true… but it is indeed true!

Not only am I getting my rinse agent for just pennies & cutting my costs by more than half, (I do not count time spent as cost because it is fun, educational, & useful for both you & me) there are also many other benefits of homemade products which I chronicle in an article on FiveCentNickel.com.

A SIMPLE RECIPE & MAKING OF A BATCH

Each batch yields 20 ounces of resulting product which you should store in some type of container you were going to dispose of. I suggest something 1 gallon size or smaller so you can fit it under your kitchen sink; old coffee cans work great. Feel free to double the batch, or multiply it accordingly to create any amount you’d like.

1. Start with these 5 ingredients:

2. Into a 32 ounce container – add 1/2 cup of borax:

3. Add 1/2 cup of washing soda:

4. Add 1/4 cup of citric acid:

5. Add 1/4 cup of kosher salt:

6. Put the lid on & shake it up good:

7. As you know… my wife loves her some label maker:

8. Fill “Rinse Aid” compartment with white vinegar:

When you do a load use 1 tablespoon of detergent per load (you can use a heaping tablespoon if you feel the need, but I do not).

This detergent will clump together but it doesn’t matter… just scoop out your tablespoon & forget about the clumps! It clumps because of the citric acid.

There you have it folks!

Simple, easy, fast, & efficient homemade laundry detergent.