I love the convenience of dishwasher tablets, but the price is just crazy. So lately I’ve been making my own, and guess what? Making your own dishwasher tablets is super easy, and it doesn’t break the bank either.
You’ll Need:
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Epsom Salt
3/4 Cup Lemon Juice
Directions:
Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly. You want to get the consistency wet enough to mold, but not too wet that it will fall apart. You may have to add a little more lemon juice to achieve it.
Because they dry pretty quickly, and I have major OCD, I like to place the mixture into 1″ square ice cube trays to make the tablets uniform. {Just don’t fill the ice cube trays up to the top, or the detergent door won’t close on your dishwasher.} I have found that a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop is just the perfect amount to use.
Once you have the DIY dishwasher detergent in the ice cube trays, give the trays a little shake to even out the portions. Allow the tablets to dry for a few hours and then put them into an airtight container until ready to use.
Making your own stuff is awesome!
~Mavis
Here are a few more DIY Recipes you might like:
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Elise says
Fantastic! Does your dishwasher have a stainless interior? I’ve been using Finish Powerball since we got our new (and uber expensive but TOTALLY worth it) dishwasher a few years ago, would LOVE to try this, just a little gun-shy. I suppose I could make a few and see how they work!
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Elise, yes, my dishwasher has a stainless steel interior. 🙂
Shana says
Definitely going to try this! I already have the dry ingredients because I make my own laundry detergent. Epsom salt is a friend to my marathon-runner hubby. Lemon juice is on hand for making my own mayo. Looks like I’m set! I’m wondering about the stainless inside also. I agree with Elise… Finish Powerball is awesome (and expensive… I only buy when I have a coupon and it’s on sale). I’ll love not having to use it, though!
Maggie says
I would love if you posted your Mayo recipe: )
Shana says
The mayo recipe is as follows:
1 egg
1tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup olive oil
Combine first 4 ingredients and 1/4 of the oil in a blender. Turn on high and SLOWLY add remaining oil while blender is running (through the top hole in the lid). Mayo will thicken within a couple of minutes. Store in a jar in the fridge.
Shani says
How long does the mayo keep?
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
How clever!! I don’t currently have a dishwasher, however! I’m totally doing this when I get one!
Sarah says
Awesome! How many tablets does this recipe make?
Gwenn says
How does it work to cut grease on dishes? I make my own laundry detergent (LOVE it) but I use Cascade with Dawn for the dishwasher. If it works to cut grease (especially on plastic storage dishes) then I’m game.
rachel says
I’m guessing the lemon cuts the grease.
Lauren says
Mavis, my dear, you are a GENIUS! THANK YOU!
Gardenpat says
How well do they clean the dishes?
Mavis Butterfield says
Great! That’s why I shared the recipe. 🙂
Kitty says
I made these and they didn’t work for us at all. There was still stuck on peanut butter on all the knives and only half the bowls were clean. Any ideas? I’m going to try a different recipe till I hear back…
Mavis says
Hmmm. Not sure what to tell you. I use them all the time without any issues. Let me know if the other recipe works better!
Indio says
Ive tried a few homemade dishwasher detergents with borax and i do t like the way the dishes feel grainy after washing. It makes me think we are probably eating borax so i end up rinsing them off.
Caralee says
I can’t use any lemon products in thea dishwasher because of my silveware.. any substitutions you could recommend?
Diana Martin says
If you don’t have some type of citric acid you will have cloudy dishes. I would just wash the sterling silver by hand…stainless isn’t a problem. But the rest of your dishes won’t be satisfactory if you don’t have citric acid to cut film/grease.
Jackie says
Use Vinegar 🙂
Viki says
Hi. I am wondering if you have hard water where you live? I have a problem with it in PA, so I’m wondering if this recipe will work with hard water. Thanks.
scott says
the epson salt is used for the hard water
Diana Martin says
I’ve read if youy have hard water the borax in the recipe is more likely to cause clouding. I saw a recipe that used 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup washing soda, 1/2 cup citric acid (or 3 packets unsweetened lemonade mix or 1/2 cup fresh fruit ) and 1 cup kosher salt or epsom salt. I just made that recipe and added enough water to scoop into ice cube trays 3/4 to top to throw in 1 cube per load. Haven’t tried it yet, though.
The Nerdy Housewife says
I’m wondering too about how this works with hard water. We’ve got REALLY hard water. I tried another “dishwasher sauce” recipe that left some of my dishes filmy.
Lindsay says
Which compartment do you put this in. The open one or the one that closes?
I hope to try this today. Thanks for the recipe!
Mavis Butterfield says
I put mine in the one that closes.
Lindsay says
I made this and I’m still up in the air about it. One of my problems is that I had a hard time getting them to come out of the container without breaking in two. I used ice cube trays. Any hints? Also some of them were a bit wet, but maybe next time I’ll use a bit less lemon juice.
Thanks!
Lindsay
Bettie Towner says
Let them dry longer. I had the same problem. I let mine sit about a day and that helped a lot.
April says
I tried this but it leaves my dishes cloudy. Any idea why?
ricky says
You could try some white vinegar as the rinsing agent. We make our own dish washing detergent and the vinegar helps prevent spotty dishes. Nerdy housewife, this may also help you.
Kelly says
I haven’t heard this before ricky. How do you add the white vinegar?
ricky says
Just fill up the rising agent spot in the dishwasher with white vinegar. I got this from another DIY recipe.
Ric Furley says
I made these using Pampa lemon juice and they took on a wonderful color! I used a small cookie scoop, and let them set up as-is, since my detergent compartment is broken, I didn’t worry too much about the shape. They had to dry overnight, though, as our humidity has been kind of high the last few days. We simply toss the “lozenge” into the silverware basket. I made sure the first load of dishes had some dried-on gunk for testing purposes. These little guys worked great! So proud! We love diy household items! I’m storing them in an Electrasol can, and it is the perfect size.
Charde says
Second time round and they are better than purchased ones. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE. Kind regards, Charde
shellie nemes says
just wondering how many tabs this recipe makes i see someone already asked this but no answer was given , i also make my own laundry detergent and am very happy with it so im looking forward to trying this
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Shellie,
I believe it made around 45 tablets. 🙂
shellie nemes says
thanks im going to buy the silicone molds that you tagged in the recipe im a tad ocd about making them the right shape to fit will the recipe dry out in the mixing bowl while i wait for the molds to dry? the molds hold 30 you get a set of 2 that hold 15each. and then put ONE TABLESPOON of the mixture in each square?
christy says
I put mine in mini muffen pans made about 30 !
Lindsay says
I made these and I’ve had a really hard time with things not getting clean and having a gritty residue. Any thoughts on what I can do?
Tangela says
My dishes aren’t coming clean either and a spotty white residue is left on the glasses. I’ve put vinegar in the rinse compartment and it didn’t help. My dishwasher door – where the bottom rack pulls out – is even not coming clean. I will try to make the recipe again, but thus far, I’m not impressed and was so hoping to be. 🙁
jenn says
I’ve gone back to the powder version. Works great with no residue
Melissa H says
Hi there–I’d love to know if it HAS to be epsom salt. Or does it just need to be larger salt than regular ole table salt? Such as kosher salt or sea salt? I’d like to make some today, but am missing the epsom salt!
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Melissa, I’ve only used Epsom salt before.
LisaMarie says
Epsom salt is not the same as edible salt. Eating epsom salt would make you very ill. You can find it in almost any store that sells household cleaners, and it is pretty inexpensive.
charde says
Hi there, I love these but I am finding they struggle to cut the grease in a really oily load. Also over time they tend to crumble even in an airtight container. Any tips? Thanks, Charde
Tarina says
That’s not accurate. Epsom salt solutions are consumed for constipation. Probably don’t want gallons of it, but a little won’t hurt you. Rock salt or ice cream salt (often cheaper) should serve the same purpose if you don’t have Epsom on hand. Don’t think you would want to use table salt though
Diana Martin says
Definitely not table salt. Kosher or Epsom.
Jen says
Chemically, kosher salt is NaCl as is table salt (without iodine). E only differ nice is the size of the grains.
Lula says
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been using Method Smarty Dish, but ran out and decided to follow your recipe. For the price of 20 Smarty Dish tabs, I got the big boxes of borax and washing soda. I’ve run two loads of dishes with the tabs already, and they work just as well as the Smarty Dish. I’m never going back! I’ve used white vinegar as my rinsing agent for a year or more, and I’ve never had a film on my dishes. I have to admit that my tablets didn’t come out as nice-looking as yours did though. They look a little rough but still work great.
Mavis Butterfield says
Rough = Artistic. 🙂
Richele says
Mavis– I really appreciate YOU!!! Inspiration is what you are. BTW, is that you in a commercial on TV? I believe it was for yogurt? If not, it’s a sure doppleganger.
Sarah siskin says
I’ve been using homemade tabs like this for awhile but always found a cloudiness to my glasses and sometimes the dishes were not clean.
I did some research. Turns out Citric Acid is the solution, and, it comes in a powder so you need to add in a half cup and therefore a bit more liquid. Citric Acid is pricey, and is found in the canning aisle. Here’s a much cheaper thing to use: unsweetened lemonade drink mix. Kool-Aid. Just make sure it is unsweetened. $0.20 a package. Add in 3 or 4 packages. You can also use just water and forego the lemon juice. If you don’t have Epsom salts on hand, kosher salt or baking soda will do.
Great way to save money, that’s for sure.
Pene says
What about using TANG in the recipe. I use this to clean my dishwasher and it does a pretty good job.
You can citric acid from Camden Grey Essential Oils http://www.camdengrey.com/essential-oils/citric-acid.html I have been using product from this company for years.
You can get bulk Epson Salt at a warehouse like Sam’s or Costco.
Don”t forget to clean out the filter periodically either
Diana Martin says
Tang has sugar. You could use lemon or orange unsweetend drink mix as long as it’s really dried citric acid concentrate in the mix.
karen says
I made these yesterday although I was a little skeptical because of some of the comments. Since I already had on hand all of the ingredients, I doubled the recipe. It was fantastic and unlike some, I think my dishes were actually cleaner! Def keeping this recipe and passing it along. Thank you, now off to get my beet bed ready!
Michelle says
That was my experience, too. These work far better than anything I’ve ever purchased, and there is no residue. My dishes literally sparkle. Thank you!
stacey says
Hi, I’m in Japan with the military and I couldn’t get the Arm and Hammer washing soda today, is there a substitute? Thanks, I can’t wait to try this!
Sarah says
Stacey~ Washing soda is just baking soda that is baked “oven style”. Put your baking soda on a cookie sheet bake @ 350 for 20-30 min and you’ll have “washing soda” (LET COOL) 🙂 Hope this helps! Sometimes the ingredients are hard to get in certain parts of the world but this is a sure fire substitute 🙂 I’ve also used Kosher Salt instead of Epson salt in a “pinch” 🙂 Best wishes!!
Diana Martin says
I had a recipe that called for both baking soda and washing soda and no Borax. They DO look different though have same alkaline properties, as all soap does.
Stay@homeDad says
I JUST finished these this morning, took 5 minutes to make, and I spooned some on to parchment paper, and used some seed starting trays for the majority of them. They dried in under 2 hours (I wasn’t paying attention to the time), and they work wonderfully! Now with vinegar where the jetdry goes, my dishes come out perfectly clean, and my dishwasher is clean as well. Great tips!
Erica says
I have made this recipe twice and I don’t seem to be getting it right. My glassware and transparent plastic stuff still seems to come out cloudy. Also I never get anywhere close to 45 tablets, the max number I’ve gotten is 27. That’s using a tablespoon measuring spoon and the ice cube trays you linked to. The second time I even added some kool-aid packets as was suggested in the comments and I’ve been using white vinegar as a rinse aid. Any suggestions on what I need to change?
Diana Martin says
I’m like you. I made 25 with my first batch. I’m going to do them just over half full next time. Too much soap might be causing residue for some folks in addition to hard water issues, which is why I left out borax and just did washing soda/baking soda/citric acid (had fresh fruit on hand and added lemon juice to water).
Angi says
it could be the borax that’s the issue with cloudy glasses. I tried making ‘flumps’ with borax and the glasses were cloudy so now they are ‘toilet flumps; 🙂
I also ended up putting mine in the freezer to set because I added too much lemon juice and they were too wet, and they’ve stayed in the freezer – I use them straight from there.
Today I put a 100ml or 1/4 cup of white vinegar in a small container in the cutlery basket and also a container of:
juice of half a lemon
teaspoon of citric acid
teaspoon of table salt
teaspoon of washing soda
and mixed it up before putting it in the dishwasher – it did fizz 🙂
seemed to do the trick 🙂
it would be more convenient to just pop a flump in though so I’ll try and mix up a batch 🙂
p.s. we have very hard water
Jenn says
I tried this recipe and all my dishes are cloudy- esp the glasses. I use vinegar as a rinse aid all the time. Kids love making and using these, but will have to find another recipe 🙁
Danielle says
We have hard water so I have been skeptical about making dishwasher tabs. I had used a few tabs from a friend of mine a while back and the dishes came out cloudy.
I tried this recipe, and for whatever reason it works! Really well!
Per details from another site (don’t know if I should link or not?) after I mixed all the powders together, I took 1 cup of mixed powder up and added 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. After I mixed that all together I formed the tabs in the ice cube trays (patting down as much as possible)
I then took the remaining powder and added lemon juice to where the end result looked similar to the first batch. I am the type of person that needs specific xyz instructions when it comes to doing something for the first time so that really helped me.
I let mine dry overnight.
Have been using for about a week now- I run the dishwasher at least once a day – and it’s been working great!
Espi says
Well, wish me luck. I just made my first batch however, it’s raining today and tomorrow so I’m thinking it won’t dry for a while.
I love how easy this was to do. I can’t wait to try them. Thanks for the recipe and the inspiration to try it.
Kristina says
Could I use citric acid instead of the lemon juice? Would the amount be the same? 1/2 a cup or would it be more?
I am looking forward to making these1
Nicole says
I tried these tablets & let them dry overnight & they set perfectly. I stored them in an airtight container & i used them for 3 days but when i went back on the fourth day the tablets had all crumbled. Any suggestions to stop this happening?
Mavis Butterfield says
Hmm. Maybe set them out for 48 hours to harden?
Dawn H says
I make mine with 2 cups of baking soda, 1 cup of citric acid, 1 cup of Epsom salt, 1 tsp citrus essential oil and a few sprays of white vinegar (it will fizz a bit when it comes into contact with the vinegar but not much). I mix the dry ingredients, add the oil and mush it around. I then spray it with the vinegar a few sprays at a time, mushing it around in between until it gets where you can hold some in your hand and squeeze and it stays but is not wet- it’s more dry. I then press it into ice cube trays about half way up- any more than that and it will be too big for the dishwasher- I get 50 or more cubes from this batch. I then let it dry for a few hours, put the tray upside down and smack in onto the table and they usually all fall out. I then let them dry over night. So far, my dishes are clean and the plastic is not cloudy and it’s cheaper and less chemical-filled than commercial brands.
butterfly84 says
Thank you for the great recipe! I have been struggling with homemade dishwasher powder for almost a year! After countless recipes, and research this is the one! I made these 2 days ago and used one today, they are amazing!
I put one tab in the bottom and use white vinegar and a little lemon juice in the rinse compartmemt. No film or cloudiness!
For those who have cloudy/etching on glass ware, I had this problem while I was tring to find something that worked, try using the highest heat setting, that may work! Also regularly cleaning out your dishwasher makes a huge difference as well. I take all the parts that come off, clean them, clean the inside of the dishwasher. Then put it all back and run 1 cup of vinegar on a regular cycle. I do this once every 6 weeks.
Mavis says
Every 6 weeks? You are awesome. I totally need to do that more frequently! So glad you liked the recipe.
Nanci says
I made these and they came out great at first, I STORED them in a ziplock bag and now they have crumbled, Im still going to use the crumbled ones. How much would you put in about 1 tablespoon? Any suggestion why they crumbled? I let them sit overnight.
Danielle says
Thank you for posting this!
I’m in Arizona which has a scary high level of calcium in the water. Where about in the USA is your water source from?
By knowing that, I’ll know if these will work out here.
Jennifer says
Aren’t Epsom salts supposed to make hard water even worse?
I’d like to try these, as I make my own tablets too. But we have awful hard water and I don’t want to make it worse!