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I have spent HOURS on this database researching all of the possible chemical formulations of dishwasher detergent and it has completely CHANGED how I make homemade dishwasher detergent!
Cleaning Power
1. NO commercial dishwasher detergents contain BORAX.
Isn’t that nuts? I was so surprised. I studied the chemistry and I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a PROBLEM in the dishwasher, but I’m pretty sure it’s just not effective enough to justify the cost of including it commercially. It’s much less effective than washing soda at water softening and raising the cleaning pH. This means it’s great for washing or boosting the cleaning on your fine china and your delicate laundry, but poo-poos for blasting the crap out of your daily dish grime.
Conclusion: Borax is fine, but if you’re having trouble getting things CLEAN (which is not the same as deposits), replacing borax with washing soda will make it more powerful. Don’t wash your fine china without it!
2. NO commercial dishwasher detergents contain SALT.
It *is* a water softener, but it’s WAY weaker than washing soda. And if you have lots of stainless steel, ingredients with chlorides are not recommended.
Conclusion: If it works for you, great. But if you’re having problems getting things CLEAN or getting spots on your stainless, ditch the salt and put in more washing soda.
3. ONLY ONE contained any BAKING SODA
Baking soda is only half as strong as washing soda at softening water and doesn’t allow the cleaning pH to go nearly as high. Like borax, it’s great for delicate stuff, poo-poos for daily dish grime. And if you have a stronger product on hand, why dilute it with a weaker one?
Conclusion: Like salt, and borax, if you’re having trouble getting something clean, eliminate the baking soda and replace with washing soda. Conversely, if you want to make your detergent more mild, toss in one of those.
4. WASHING SODA IS KING!
Most commercial detergents at least 50% washing soda. It’s twice as strong as baking soda or borax or salt. Unless you’re washing something delicate, none of those three products add anything exciting enough to the equation to merit inclusion. Washing soda is a super water softener and shoots the cleaning pH through the roof.
Conclusion: Definitely a must-use.
5. SOME powdered commercial detergents use an oxygen bleach.
Oxygen bleaches loose their poop after they sit for a while in water, so they come in powders. But there’s no need to mix your own since they just break down into washing soda and peroxide. If you have stained plastics, a slosh of hydrogen peroxide or a spoonful of Dollar Store oxygen cleaner will work just as well. Borax has been touted as an oxygen bleach but it’s very weak, which is likely why it’s never found in dish detergent.
I only have the odd plastic piece that gets stained. It’s easier and more cost effective to just deal with them individually with a bottle of peroxide than to fool with whole detergent formulations.
Conclusion: If I have stained plastics, I’ll treat them individually with peroxide. If you have lots of stained plastic and want it in your every day formula, the cheapest solution is to use the dollar store Oxiclean.
6. SOME commercial dishwasher detergents contain “SURFACTANTS”,
This could mean SOAP or synthetic NON-SOAP detergents. Yes, both will foam in your dishwasher, but I think the key is type and amount. I have done it with and without soap in the recipe.
Conclusion: It’s up to you. I like it in the mix. Makes me feel good.
Now, Let’s Talk Sediment
7. Vinegar dissolves the salt deposits on your dishes.
YAY!!!! You can just put it in your rinse compartment, but I find that while it works fine on the glass, there’s still sediment on the outside of plastics. The rinse compartment just doesn’t let enough out to get it off the plastic. However, I have found that if you mist them with your spray bottle of vinegar, light sediment almost immediately disappears.
Conclusion: Put it in the rinse compartment. If there is light sediment when the washer is done, mist the dishes with a spray bottle of vinegar while they dry. If there is heavy sediment, see the following options.
8. FEW commercial detergents contain CITRIC ACID.
Citric acid helps take all those hardwater deposits and keeps them suspended in the wash water so they don’t settle on anything. Citric acid is more often found in rinse aids and dishwasher cleaners. If you are getting sediment on your plastics, this is where you can turn first. It will work better in the rinse compartment than vinegar, but I have no idea how strong to mix it.
Conclusion: Hurray!
9. CITRIC ACID reacts with WASHING SODA.
As you add more acid to the mix, and decrease the possibility of deposits, you are neutralizing the washing soda. This is why it’s more often seen in rinse aids, dishwasher cleaners, and other situations where washing soda is used. To use it with washing soda, you have to overwhelm the citric acid with washing soda to make sure there’s enough left to do it’s high pH cleaning thing. In the detergents I’ve seen, it’s at least 4 parts washing soda to 1 part citric acid.
Conclusion: Use 1 cup of washing soda for each 1/4 cup citric acid. If I still get sediment, I use more detergent, not raise the citric acid concentration in the detergent.
10. Almost all dish detergents contain SODIUM SILICATE
It’s almost 50% in some cases. Many detergents are just 50/50 washing soda and sodium silicate. Why?
- It’s fantastic for rinsing away deposits
- It doesn’t fight your washing soda like acid
- It protects the metal in your washer from corrosion
- It’s fairly hard to come by these days outside of commercial dish detergent.
This is what I believe is the main difference between commercial and homemade dishwasher detergents. This is why some of us get sediments on the plastics, even if we use citric acid but get none with commercial detergents. This is why manufacturers want us to use commercial detergent to protect our machine parts. You *can* make it from potash and sand or silicon packing beads and sodium hydroxide, but it’s akin to trying to make your own lye from ashes.
Conclusion: Bummer.
So, what to do?
- I would say, first try a spoonful of plain old washing soda. Maybe add a little soap, if you like. This is 100% cleaning power, no sediment protection.
- Use vinegar in the rinse compartment.
- If you get sediment, see if it’s a matter of a quick spritz with vinegar just after the dishes finish.
- If not, start fooling around with citric acid in the detergent, maybe the rinse compartment too.
I have to use citric acid in the detergent, vinegar in the rinse, AND spritz with vinegar at the end. Here’s my recipe:
- 1 cup washing soda
- 1/4 cup citric acid (Lemi-Shine original)
- optional 1/2 cup grated soap
Good luck!
{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
I also love the vinegar. I found what works best for me and my machine is to just dump anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup right on the bottom of the machine just before I start it. This seems to be perfect for the dishes overall and it seems to help clean the machine some too.
What type of soap do you add?
Thanks so much for posting this. I’ve gone around and around on homemade dishwasher detergent and have had nothing but failures. This is the most detailed information I’ve seen on the subject.
When we had a dishwasher we just dumped the Lemi-Shine in the bottom of the washer. Actually, that’s what we did with everything, soap, etc. included. That’s the only way we could get the dishes clean if using the dishwasher, because our water was always so crappy to deal with.
I wonder if it would hurt anything to use this formula when washing by hand…?
Very interesting article! (especially since I’m working on my own homemade dishwasher detergent right now) Maybe I’ll have to add more washing soda and less Borax to my recipe. I like using Borax since it’s a disinfectant. I can’t use soap in my recipe because my water is way too hard. It just leaves too much of a film. Wish I could get my hands on some sodium silicate!
I’ve been wanting to try this again, but had such a problem with the citric acid clumping the whole concoction together. Do yo mix your ingredients together or keep them separate? And how much do you use in each load?
Where the heck do you get washing soda?
susan–Arm&Hammer makes it. It’s in the supermarket laundry products aisle.
Wow. Really? Thanks, Daisy! I’m gonna give it a try!
You have two choices on including the citric acid. You can mix it up and press the concoction into ice cube trays and let them make tablets, or you can leave the top off for a day and go by and stir it periodically. I use 1-2 T depending on the dirt.
Just wanted to let you know I’ve been using your recipe for about a week and I finally have a working homemade dishwasher detergent! I blogged about it and gave you a shoutout here:
http://jessieimproved.wordpress.com/2012/06/20/dont-give-up-try-this-homemade-dishwasher-detergent/
Ok – I love your blog and especially these detailed explanations. Sorry, but is your recipe her washing load? It seems like a lot, but I wanted to check with you.
You just use a TBSP or two per load, as you see fit. Sorry about that.
Cleaning our the filters and bottom of the dishwasher also usually will help a lot I have found. On some machines you might have to unscrew some parts to get at the filters Refer to your owners manual before doing anything.
What do you use if you’re incredibly allergic to washing soda?
You have a histamine reaction to washing soda? Is this is contact allergy? Or maybe super sensitive skin? I would definitely “sour” the laundry after you use ANY detergent to get rid of all the residual soda and change the pH back to your skin’s preference. email me directly and we can talk it over.
I get bad asthma.
Cool, I have used salt and baking soda the first time I made dishwashing detergent, now I am trying it without. Can you say anything about the reaction of citric acid with washing soda? When I mix the two I get foam and it gets cold. Then I don’t really have powder in the end but a soft mass. I think the washing soda is hygroscopic, can I dry it somehow?
It reacts and turns to salt water. That salt water is still effective at keeping sediment off your dishes, but is not effective for actual cleaning. You have to put in enough washing soda that after the reaction, there’s enough left to clean. It’s 4:1. And you need to use it dry. Even if you got it to mix and dry it, the reaction with the air would make it lose potency quickly.
I got this recipe from another website and then I found yours.
My recipe is
1 c baking soda OR washing soda OR a combination of both
1 c borax
1/4 c Kosher Salt
1/4 c citric acid OR 2 pkgs unsweetened lemon Koolaide (that is citric acid, too)
Use 1 to 2 Tblsp with 3 drops (not more than 3 or dishwasher will foam) and 1/2 to 1 c of vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher.
I was so excited and ran out and bought everything, brought it home and then hubby said that he was worried about using citric acid because he saw somewhere that it was hard on dishes or silverware (or something like that). Have any of you heard that?
I make my own laundry detergent and love it and wanted to make my own dishwasher soap, too.
My laundry detergent is
1 c borax
1 c washing powder
1 c OxyClean (you can do 1/4 to 1 c of OxyClean but I just went ahead and did 1 c)
1 bar of Fels Naptha grated really fine
Stir it together and leave it in a Ice Cream tub with the lid on. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of the mix and fill the rinse compartment with white vinegar. I have been using it for a couple of weeks and love it. Clothes are white and clean and I don’t use fabric softener because I have a dryer full of my home made wool dryer balls so the clothes are soft and static free.
I sure could use some input on the citric acid, though.
Strong acids should not be used in isolation on things with the properties of grout or granite. That said, the mix for the dishwasher, if done correctly creates an overall BASE pH, which is safe. The recipe you have above will not hurt your dishes, but it may also not clean them. It only calls for enough washing soda and borax to neutralize the two acids (completely unnecessary to have both in there, BTW). You’d need double the baking soda to do it. There might be a little borax left to help clean, but this recipe has you basically using salty water to wash your dishes. It should make SOFT water, but after all the acids and bases have neutralized each other, the only CLEANER is the soap.
I tried the dishwashing soap recipe last night for the first time and I LOVE it. My dishes came out sparkling clear and clean. We have hard water and it leaves a white film and spots and not all the dishes came out clean with Cascade or Finish.
I was thrilled to see that all of my dishes were spotless and crystal clean in just one load. I can barely wait to use it again. I found out that lots of others used this recipe, too.
Now instead of using the Koolaid for the citric acid, I will go buy the Lemony Shine which is the same thing. I used the Koolaid because it was only 20 cents a package instead of springing for $4 a can. Now that I know it works, I am going to get the can
I also didn’t have Dawn liquid dishwashing soap, just the Dawn foaming soap so I squirted three foam blobs and it worked and wasn’t too foamy.
I put one of those moisture absorbing packets that sometimes come in purses (mine came in my nutrition shake mix). My powder doesn’t clump anymore!
Nice trick, Stephanie!
Thanks for the tip with the moisture paks
I have two huge bags of these from my food storage activities. What I do right now is put my DIY dishwasher detergent in a large cool whip container I washed out and before using I give it a really good shake side to side and top to bottom. This helps distribute the cleaners better and there is no clumping because of the sealed lid.
If you’re going to use citric acid, skip the overpriced and diluted version in lemi-shine or in koolaid and go buy straight up citric acid crystals. It’s about 4 bucks a pound (you really don’t wanna know what the per-pound cost of the citric acid in koolaid packets works out to) and can be obtained at your local oriental food store (usually right next to the MSG) or on Amazon.
Update on my dishwashing – It worked great to begin with for the first couple of weeks but I found that after using half of the container that some of the larger crystals had been used more than the fine and what was left is leaving a white powdery substance on my dishes. I added more salt and that seemed to help for a load but not really so I added more Koolaide packages and more vinegar. Still powdery – so I made up a completely new batch and added it in to the left over from the old. Mistake. Powdery white crap left on the dishes
Now what do I do. Throw it all out and start over? Try a new combination? Frustrated….
Help!
I have a quick question for you, and hope you can help. I see that you do not use Borax in your dishwasher detergent, which may be why my dishes were all filmy when I made this the first time. I can cut that from the “recipe”, no problems. However, I have some silverware that says that I am not supposed to wash them with “lemon”. I would think that citric acid is pretty much the same thing. Can I just use washing soda and vinegar? Do you think my dishes will get clean? Also, is it safe to put OxyClean in your dishwasher? Any and all help would greatly be appreciated! I want to be able to run my silverware in the dishwasher, but may have to hand-wash, if I can’t find a “recipe” to clean and disinfect my dishes without citric acid. Thanks in advance, for your help!
Homemade dishwasher soap is still a work in progress. Thanks for all your hard work and info! What kind of soap do you use for this? Are you still using the same formula?
call me lazy, but after messing around with a good number of homemade variations, I’ve decided to use the dollar store commercial powder. I decided upon this because I really felt like I needed the Sodium Silicate. After researching getting this for my homemade version decided using the dollar store commercial powder is a way better use of my time and it appears to be very low cost per load. I am tracking how long it will take us to use a box right now.
Hi, First off, these are some great tips; however, I just have a quick question, not sure if you know how to answer or not… I have heard that vinegar will ruin the seals in your dishwasher’s rinse aid compartment, mostly on the newer models though. I have heard, also, of putting a very small bowl in the top rack filled with vinegar instead.. but I have not had the best luck with vinegar and have been searching relentlessly for an alternative to vinegar as a rinse aid, as well… Does anyone know of anything or any truth to what I’ve heard about the seals???
I wonder if the sodium silicate that you can buy on Amazon would work? It’s used by potters and is very alkaline (11.3 pH). Any idea how much you would need to add to a load.
Sure, I guess. Send me a link.
Here is one. It’s offered in a variety of quantities by different suppliers.
http://www.amazon.com/ArtMolds-Liquid-Sodium-Silicate-Gallon/dp/B008AVOKXY/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1357755817&sr=8-8&keywords=sodium+silicate
If yiou heat baking soda on a hot stove it will convert to sodium carbonate or washing soda. This is probably not an economic way to obtain it, but if you have been using baking soda, you should make some. You can readily see the difference.
Hi, I was very happy to read your article today on homemade dishwasher detergent. Thank you so much for all the research! I have been using the Tropical Traditions (TT) dishwasher detergent for over 6 months, and after trying many different “green” alternatives (none of which cleaned my dishes) I am definitely impressed by the Tropical Traditions (and so is my husband, and that doesn’t happen easily!). Having said that, it is very pricey, so I thought I would try to make my own, which is how I found your site. These are the ingredients in the TT: sodium citrate (sour salt) sodium carbonate (washing soda) sodium percarbonate (sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide), surfactants, rinse agents and silica. After reading your article, I’m thinking of giving up on this battle and sticking with the TT! Here is the link to this great stuff, if you sign up for their emails every few weeks they’ll have a free shipping day, and then you can stock up.
http://www.householdtraditions.com/powdered_dishwasher_detergent.htm
I have done ceramics for years. And sodium silicate is readily available for hobby use. Could this be the same sodium silicate? It’s gotta’ be. It comes in both powder and liquid form as I recall. Anybody got any ideas as this seems to be the missing miracle ingredient.
Thanks for this detailed article. There seems to be hundreds of articles using the same borax, washing soda, citric acid combo with little explanation of how it compares to commercial dishwashing soap. I am still experimenting with ratios. We have very hard water and either we end up with dishes with film or dishes with no film, but not clean. If I could only get my hands on some sodium silicate…
I tried using homemade washing powder with borax, soap flakes and washing soda.
My poor son’s bottom after I’d washed his nappies in it…his skin was so bad, it was peeling.
I wanted to thank you for your wonderful tips about the individual ingredients, I think it will really help a lot while I try and find a mix that works for us. I also wanted to add a couple of tips of my own.
1)Baking baking soda in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour will convert it to washing soda. Since I can buy HUGE amounts of baking soda at Costco for cheap this is a nice trick for me, I’m doing my first batch right now
2)Another blog (sorry can’t remember which one, I’ve read so many) recommended keeping the citric acid separate from the rest of the detergent mix. When you do a load of dishes it said to put 1tsp citric acid in the wash cup and then 1tbsp in the pre-wash cup of the dishwasher. The goal wash to let the citric acid work separately after the detergent did it’s trick to wash away any sediments and get the dishes sparkling clean. I haven’t tried this yet but I’m going to when I get my citric acid.
I have tricky well water so I don’t expect miracles but really hope to find something that works. Using your info to guide the way.
Thanks Again!!!
Oh shoot… On tip number 2 I meant to say 1tsp citric acid in the wash cup and 1tbsp of detergent mix in the pre-wash cup.
Sodium Silicate is readily available. It is used in the ceramics business, to name just one. You can order it on line. But it needs extremely careful handling.
First of all, the borax is unnecessary, leaves residue, and is generally unhelpful. A half and half of soap and washing soda should do it. Also, skin is acidic, so a really high pH diaper is going to be irritating. be SURE to put vinegar in the rinse to remove any hard water deposits and to return the diapers to a non-irritating pH.
Hi! I just wanted to add that I too make my own washing soda (baking soda in the oven for 1 hour at 400) and use homemade castille soap (grate/cut one bar of Kirk’s castille soap, which is coconut-oil soap, into a big pot filled with 2 gallons of hot water. Put on lid. Leave overnight. No mixing, stirring or waiting. Dilute 1:1 with water when bottling. Use for everything: shampoo, bodywash, handsoap, toothpaste, etc. Think Dr. Bronner’s , but better! I add peppermint oil).
For my dishwasher soap, I just cover the pre-wash and soap dispensers with my homemade castille liquid soap. Then I just barely cover the surface of that , in both cups, with washing soda (we keep our homemade washing soda on the countertop, in a covered jar, with a 1/8 cup plastic scoop in it). That’s it. Wash as usual. My dishes are spotless!
I used to use the homemade recipe of 1/3 cup salt, 1/3 cup washing soda, 1/3 cup borax and 4 packets of unsweet koolaid, but it was just “okay”. My dishes come out sparkling with the simple washing soda + castille soap formula and it’s so much more economical & easy that it’s crazy.
Hope this helps some of you. You can buy Kirk’s bar soap at WalMart in the H & B soap aisle or at your grocery store. Bars are sold singly or in a 3-pack, typically.
Love DIY stuff!
Thanks–
Oh, when you add the castille soap to the dishwasher, just cover the BOTTOM of the dispensers with your soap. It doesn’t take much at all! Then, just cover the SURFACE of this soap with a sprinkling of washing soda. So, it uses very little. We also use white vinegar in our rinse dispenser.
The box of borax I bought today (I’m making another batch of laundry detergent today and use the Duggar family recipe) says you can also pour some in the bottom of your dishwasher to remove mineral deposits from dishwasher/dishes. However, washing soda also binds with minerals, and it’s probably cheaper since I make my own. I dont’ have any trouble with spots, but it might make a good “dump and run cycle” cleaner if you have a really heavy buildup of minerals in your dishwasher. Worth a try
I would definitely NOT be using salt in my dishwasher. If you have plastic coated racks and have a little cut in the plastic, it will rust something awful! Plus, any parts down below will be doing the same. My screws in the door hinges rusted too. And just for the record, borax is toxic, so I wouldn’t be using it on something you could be eating off of just in case it didn’t get rinsed good.
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