DIY Dishwasher Detergent

"What are you making now?" 
That's what my husband says when something weird arrives in the mail. This time, it was citric acid from Amazon.com for my homemade dishwasher detergent. Don't worry, the rest of the ingredients can be found at the grocery store.


I'm on a mission to kick toxic household cleaners to the curb. There are plenty of natural products on the market (like Seventh Generation & Method), but they can be pricey. I like going natural and saving money at the same time. I also need natural products that work, and this stuff actually does!

I always load up our dishwasher as much as possible (to save water & energy) and start it right before I go to bed. This morning at around 5:45, thanks to Flynn, I awoke to squeaky clean dishes with no lingering toxic residue. Sing it with me... the best part of waking up, is no Disodium Decyl phenyl Ether Disulfonate in your cup! 


I used DIY Natural's recipe and they even do a cost breakdown. I love me a cost breakdown. I once did one with homemade iced coffee v. Starbucks, and it seriously makes Starbucks look like a bunch of con artists. I won't lie, their convenient drive-thru occasionally wins me over...

[5 cents per load!]

An empty couscous container made the perfect storage solution for my detergent, and I added a pinch of rice to prevent clumping. 1 tablespoon of detergent is all you need for a load of dishes, plus a few tablespoons of white vinegar poured in the rinse aid compartment to give everything a spot-free finish.

My husband used to think I was loony tunes for wanting to make my own cleaning products, but now the nerd in him thinks it's pretty cool. Yay for science.

Have you ever made any cleaning products? If so, did they work like you expected?