Homemade Dishwashing Detergent

 UPDATE:  After using this for 2 weeks I am sad to say it has failed!!!  In other words, don't make it... not so much a frugal find.  I guess that will happen every now and again.  After about a week my dishes began to get cloudy.  Then, after not opening the soap for a week it decided to clump together.  Sadly, I threw it all away.  Back to Great Value brand for me. I will stick with the homemade laundry detergent instead!

After having success with making my own laundry detergent, I decided to try my hand at Homemade Dishwashing Detergent.  Over the past few months I had pinned a few recipes on pinterest.  After weighing the pro's and con's of each recipe, I decided on a recipe from Simply Designing and I must say, so far so good!  Not only was it easy to make but it seems to be doing a fantastic job getting my dishes sparkly clean.  The best part though, it's frugal.  Here are a few price comparisons to consider:

Cascade Dishwasher Cubes- 18cents per load
Cascade Dishwashing Powder- 16cents per load
Finish Dishwashing Powder- 10cents per load (comparable to most off brands)
Homemade Dishwashing Powder- 5cents per load

Homemade Dishwashing Powder Recipe
makes enough for 96 Loads


2 Cups Borax
2 Cups Washing Soda
1 Cup Lemi-Shine*
1 Cup Kosher Salt

Vinegar as a rinse aid*

Combine borax, washing soda, lemi-shine, and salt in a container.  Use 1 Tablespoon per load (70% in wash and 30% in prewash compartment)

*  If you have hard water you can use up to 2 cups of Lemi-shine for best results.
*  I have yet to try the vinegar as a rinse aid, but I am betting it works well.  If you try it, comment below and let me know what you think.  

All of these items can be found at Walmart.  The best part is, you will have leftover borax, washing soda, and kosher salt for future batches or other household cleaning needs.

Just one Tablespoon a load will last a while- If you run your machine everyday it will be 3 months before you need to make more.