It’s been a long time since I have addressed the subject of homemade dishwasher detergent. I have written posts about a homemade dishwasher detergent and a homemade dishwasher soap, as well as an easy 3-step method for cleaning your dishwasher. I guess I felt like I’d said all I had to say on the subject!
Read More:Â Easy and Affordable Homemade Dishwasher Detergent, Â Homemade Dishwasher Soap – Not Detergent
But a while ago I received a comment from a reader named Heather on Facebook. She had made my Homemade Dishwasher Detergent and while she loved the way it worked, her user experience was less than ideal. In Heather’s own (hilarious) words…
“Jillee!!! Simply awesome! My dishes were DIRTY and CAKED with food. This homemade detergent is fantastic! Everything looks gorgeous! One thing… The mixture in my container is already semi-solid. I had to knife it “psycho”-style to be able to get my tablespoon filled. Still works great, but I was surprised by how easily it bonded!  Thank you! Thank you for the work you do!!!!”
I owe Heather a “thank you” right back, because her comment inspired me to try something new that I think turned out pretty great – homemade dishwasher tablets!
It occurred to me as I read Heather’s description of having to hack away at her homemade detergent with a knife “psycho-style,” then surely the detergent should lend itself to being formed into a solid state without too much difficulty! So I went ahead and took a “stab” at it! ;-)
Just as a quick refresher about the detergent itself, each of the ingredients has its own benefits. Washing soda (or baking soda, you can use either) helps to cut through grease, and it’s a great all purpose cleaner. Borax is another great cleaner, and it also helps to disinfect. Salt helps mitigate the effects of hard water, if that’s a concern in your area, as does vinegar. (Vinegar also helps to bind the ingredients when making the tablets.) And finally, there’s a bit of lemon essential oil in the mix, added for it’s antibacterial properties, and its fresh, clean scent!
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Tabs
Ingredients:
- 2 cups washing soda or baking soda
- 2 cups borax
- 1/2 cup coarse salt or epsom salt
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 15-20 drops of lemon essential oil
Directions:
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Mix all the ingredients together with a spoon. (The addition of the vinegar will cause a little fizzing, but not much.) Once all the ingredients are well combined, you will notice it actually will start clumping all by itself.
Transfer the mixture into a couple of ice cube trays or your favorite silicone mold, and press down until each compartment is hard packed with detergent.
Now the hardest part for me… waiting! These babies need to DRY good and hard before you use them. Put them in a dry, sunny spot (preferably out of sight so you won’t be tempted to mess with them before they’re completely dry) and let them sit for at least 24 hours.
When they are good and hard and DRY, remove them from the trays and store them in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
Using Your Dishwasher Detergent Tabs
Add 1 tablet to your dishwasher detergent compartment along with 3 drops of dishwashing liquid. (This is optional, but I think it gives my homemade stuff a little extra cleaning/grease-cutting kick.) Do not use more than three drops! The dishwasher will overflow if you use too much dish soap, and no one wants to clean up a bubble explosion!
These dishwasher tablets are incredibly handy around the house, because besides doing the dishes, there is no end to the uses for dishwasher tablets for tough cleaning jobs inside and outside. Once you discover how useful they are, you may be making them all the time!
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Then splash 1/2 to 1 cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher (or put it in a cup on the top rack of the machine) and start the machine. Note: If you have hard water like I do, adding the vinegar is crucial if you want to avoid cloudy dishes!
Enjoy your sparkling dishes!
I made this with a silicone mold that was too big to fit my dispenser and had to break it apart. Make sure the mold you use will fit the dishwasher dispenser………………………………….FYI
I tried this once before several years ago am I have been completely next the idea. I’m going to try again and see if he is happier. I have faith!
Thanks, Jillee, for another great homemade “recipe”!
Hi Jilee,
Thank you for the recipe but I live in France. In Europe, Borax is NOT available to public. What can I replace it with, please?
I tried one of tabs a while ago. It didn’t exactly turn out. It was all crumbly and I kept having to add more water. Also where I live in the Midwest is and can be humid, so that may have been a factor.
Good morning, I do not have a dish washer, but could this be used for regular dish washing.
Jilee, I have just recently started reading your emails and I can say I am quite amazed at all of them! I am into saving as much as I can at the grocery store, and some of your homemade recipes will help that happen!! Thank you so much for sharing your creations and ideas!!
Kristal
You might think about Lemishine or other citric acid to add instead of the vinegar for those of us with very hard water.
Have made these and love how they work. Stacey Fogoros is correct-use a small mold. I too, the first time around, used too big of a mold and had to break apart the tablets.
Jilly, I have a question. I have dark, forest green tile in my shower. I have noticed that there now are white “blotches” on the tile. I am puzzled, as the shower is thoroughly wiped down after each use. Is this from shampoo, bar soap? What will clean this off? I have used over the counter products and the white spots return.
Can you or one of your readers help me out?
Most of the time we all use way too much soap whether it be in our dishwasher or washing machine or even on our hair! I would suggest using the little plastic pop out mold/things that the Eclipse and other type of gum comes in. Small, convenient, and if you worry you can use two.
Hi Jillee, just got your email this morning regarding this article. Funny, we all must be thinking about dishwashers this week. I have linked this article into my own Dishwasher article that I had posted a few days ago. I also shared it in one of my Facebook sites too. Thanks, everyone is always looking for money saving tips, no matter whether in the US or up here in Canada. Keep up the great work.
I would assume that i want to be careful how large the compartments are in my moldso that I don’t use way more than I need per loaf?
Wish I had known about this when I had a dishwasher , now I do them by hand , but quite enjoy it (good for wool gathering etc )
However I do rinse in a pan of hot vinegar water , making the dishes squeekey clean .
Great in laundry rinse also, gets all soap out . ….all soft in.!
Love it . Will share this link with ladies who still ! use a dishwasher lol.
Jillee, the borax washing soda isn’t cheapo at Safeway. Baking sode is about $1+ on sale. I can buy a lage box of store brand detergent on sale for about $4 when it’s on sale (usually). I get quite decent results. I did follow your recipe for DIY, but I no longer have the time, energy, nor space to work in. But I will be saving your recipe for others that want a good, great! dw detergent recipe.
On the subject of dishwashers, though, can I digress. My kitchenaid has a smart water cycle. It takes 3 hours, but is the most energy and water conserving cycle. Since it’s so long, I usually divide it by removing some pet dishes (first), plastic cutting boards, and some metal mixing bowls. I add things into that space and get 2 or 3 for one loads.
Can anyone speak to whether this is safe for septic systems?
When our Samsung dishwasher was giving us fits (eventually the control board had to be replaced, but I guess we should be happy it didn’t catch on fire like those other Samsung products) the repairman mentioned in passing that dishwasher tabs are a very bad idea. If the water isn’t hot enough, the tabs will not completely dissolve and you end up with a clogged hose. Not worth the hassle to save not a lot of money, especially if you void your warranty by not using a recommended product.
Dishwashing PODS after a while did indeed clog up my sprayer arm holes!!
Worse idea ever! Went to Melaleuca Diamond Brite, the best liquid dishwasher stuff! But am going to make these this week, I love making my own products and saving money!
Here’s another dishwasher hint: If you have spots on the racks where the white covering has slits or is broken away from the metal, use Flex Seal to mend it. It’s available at Home Depot or Lowe’s. That stuff is so handy around the house. It comes in black or white. I’m using it to seal my leaky mailbox, and I’m using white so I can see inside it easier!
I just throw my tabs in the bottom of the DW and fill the compartment with Lemi-shine or vinegar.
Just wondering why the citrus acid was omitted when making the tabs versus dry? I like tabs so my kids put the right amount in without making a mess.
I just made these. The powder seemed dry when I put it in the molds. I’m afraid they will fall apart when I take them out. Is this how they are supposed to be
It should be moist enough that you can pinch a bit of powder together between your fingers :-)
Hi just have a small doubt if we use the home made dishwasher tablet then why do we have to add three drops of detergent can’t we avoid detergent.
You can, I’ve just found that that works best for me :-)
What size of mold should be used? Standard ice cube size? Or would 2 small ice cube size be enough per load?
Why couldn’t you add 3 drops of detergent to each tablet after you’ve formed them and before you set them to dry?
The soap makes the tablets start to crumble :-(
Just a comment about tablet size….I have found that using ice cube trays to form these tablets are too large for my dispenser in my dish washer. If you have any doubt about them fitting yours, freeze a tray of ice and pop out an ice cube and try it for size, if it’s too big, remember to adjust how much you fill the ice cube trays with, leave a little “wiggle” room at the top. I have also found that using about a tablespoon of the Dawn dish soap mixed completely into the mixture works well. I have not found any difference in the cleaning ability in my dish washer. Sometimes you just have to experiment. Thank you so much Jillee for all your awesome recipes!!
I added the dish soap to the tablets without having them crumble. However, I wasn’t terribly impressed with them in my dishwasher. BUT I found a great alternate use for the leftovers!!! They make great little presoak bombs for my kiddies clothes! Bucket of warm water and drop one in and add the clothes!
Love the idea!!! Hands down, Awesomeness! But…. for me, I don’t wanna have to add dishwasher soap and vinegar to every single load. The price for all items needed have to be around the same price as just buying a tablet! Just pop one in and done! Also if you just watch the sales and do a little couponing you can get boxes for .80cents or less!! I SERIOUSLY do not need to buy any Tablets for the rest of this year! It’s been months since that sale occurred at my local Harris Teeter and I picked up so many boxes that I’m good for a very long time! If you feel like me and don’t wanna have to add the extra stuff every load, watch a quick beginners couponing tutorial! It’s so easy and saves you so much time and money!
Marcia, I totally understand what you are saying… Some people would rather not use all of the chemicals that come in the store-bought products. :-)
How much should be in one tablet and is it dishwashing soap or dishwasher soap. i am very excited to try this out
I just mix all of the ingredients together and use the mold I show in my post. It is for the dishwasher.
Hi Jillee,
The place I living in , I can’t find washing soda is there any replacement for that as my dishwasher detergent finished and I can’t get it in this place.
I made these a week or so ago. I have left them sit. Every time I go to remove them from my silicone molds they just crumble. I am so disappointed:(. Any suggestions as to why? I waited 48 hours then everyday since.
I love the knowledge you share with us but I have trouble saving the topic to my pinterest account. Do you have any suggestions?
Sarah, I would suggest you sign up for OGT Free. signing up for OGT Free. One of the best benefits is you can save all of your favorite posts on our website. Then you can find them whenever you want. The best part is it’s free for life!
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