The Best Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

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Happy springtime and sunny weather, all! I bet you are loving the sun…

I am pleased to say that I am finally done with school and life seems a little simpler now. With school out of the way, I’m feeling ready to do some things for myself and devote more time to blogging! I’m also so excited to get started on some of the other goals/things I want to work on. One goal I’ve had this year and I’m starting to make progress on is switching to natural, homemade cleaning products.

Some people ask me why in the world I would go through the extra effort to make homemade cleaning products. Here’s some of my “whys”:

1. reduce waste
2. money savings
3. better for us
4. better for the environment
5. It makes me feel GOOD!

Really that last one is what it comes down to for me. I feel good when I make our own cleaning products. When I made this homemade dishwasher soap I felt SO GOOD after. There was this feeling of accomplishment. Using my recycled glass jar instead of going through more plastic made me feel like I am making a small, yet significant difference. And the essential oils smell SO FRESH and real. I hate those artificial scents typically added to cleaners, but the essential oils give it the smell of something real and natural (because it is!).

I had my reservations about making my own homemade dishwasher detergent. I have issues with the cheap powder detergent from Walmart because it leaves a nasty residue. Would my homemade dish detergent leave the same icky residue? I decided to go ahead and give this homemade dishwasher detergent from Life n Reflection a try and the results were AMAZING! It works as good or better than the fancy natural (expensive) stuff I was buying and it was super cheap to make.

The recipe I used is below. I ended up making a slight variation of the recipe shared on the link above, using my own blend of essential oils. I used the AWAKE blend from Grove Collaborative. It is an extremely fresh, clean smelling scent that makes me excited to start another load of dishes in the dishwasher! It’s a mixture of essential oils that includes lemon, grapefruit, orange, lime, and bergamot. I love it. If you visit the Grove Collaborative website through the link below, you’ll get a free gift set with your first purchase and I’ll get $10 credit for referring you. Win-win!

Visit Grove Collaborative

This non-toxic homemade dishwasher detergent is SO easy to make. Start with a big mixing bowl so you can stir all the ingredients without spilling.

Mix the super washing soda, baking soda, citric acid, and salt together. Be sure to mix all the ingredients together really well, so the cleaning properties are evenly distributed.

Once you have mixed all of your dry ingredients, it’s time to add your essential oils. Not only do these leave your detergent smelling AMAZING, but they have cleaning properties of their own. Like I mentioned above, I used a mixture of lemon, grapefruit, orange, lime, and bergamot and Carter and I both LOVE it. You can find that essential oil blend here.

Feel free to experiment with essential oil blends! This is the bonus of making your own dishwasher detergent and other homemade cleaning products… you can choose what they smell like and how much smell you add. So don’t hesitate to get creative here 😉 .

Again, be sure to mix the essential oils in thoroughly, so you don’t have any clumpy spots. As long as you stir it in thoroughly, you should not have any problems with adding essential oils to your dry detergent.

Finally, find a large glass jar to keep your detergent in. I used a quart sized (32 oz) canning jar that we had on hand and it fit the mixture perfectly. This is a great opportunity to up-cycle an old jar you have been holding onto. Just make sure the jar is sealed tight so extra moisture doesn’t get in and make your detergent clumpy.

Et voilà! There you have your very own homemade dishwasher detergent that WORKS. Add one tablespoon to every load and you are good to go!

When you try this recipe, please let me know how it goes! I would love to hear your feedback and see your success with this awesome detergent!