Eco-friendly Handmade Dishwasher Detergent

Just wanted to post a quick review of handmade dishwasher detergent.  Lots of folks like me make their own laundry soap, but few people make their own automatic dishwasher soap.  I thought this was worth trying since it uses some of the same ingredients as laundry soap (which I will post some other time).   This not my recipe, just one I found on PlanetGreen.  This is a website worth checking out.

I made up a batch today and tried it and I must say, my dishes came out sparkling clean.  Just like laundry soap, I'll never buy dishwasher detergent again.  I'm saving a huge bundle of money too.   When you see how easy it is to make, you'll wonder why people spend so much money on commercial products. 

Here's the recipe:

You can find washing soda and borax in the laundry section of your grocery store

1 cup washing soda (I used Arm & Hammer)
1 cup borax (20 Mule Team)
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup citric acid (Fruit Fresh) or unsweetened lemonade packets

Mix and store in a mason jar or other tight fitting container.  Use 1 tablespoon per load. 

If you have a rinse dispenser, fill it with white vinegar for best results.

My dishes came out sparkling clean, no spots and no filmy residue.   Everything in this soap is eco-friendly, and since I have a septic tank, this is important to me.  And who wants to drain chemicals into their public sewer system?  Washing soda (sodium carbonate) is a natural substance made from salt and limestone and acts as a grease cutter.  Borax is also an ingredient that occurs naturally in the environment and usually mined.  Salt is well, salt.  Can't argue that.  And citric acid is also a natural ingredient.

These are some of the ingredients in the bottle of soap I have left.  These are only the emergency treatment ingredients, so who knows what else is in it:  sodium carbonate (that's ok), sodium hydroxide (lye, which is caustic),  sodium silicate (used to preserve eggs and pressure treated wood, really?  WARNING! HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED. CAUSES SEVERE IRRITATION TO EYES, SKIN AND RESPIRATORY TRACT), clorine bleach (is highly toxic to fish and invertebrates).  Well, yeah, I'm rethinking using bleach in my laundry now.  So the bottle under my sink also cautions against getting in eyes or on skin and breathing fumes.   No, not the kind of stuff I want in my dishwasher. 

So folks, do yourself and the environment a favor and try this soap.