The Best DIY Dishwasher Detergant

Like many families, we are on a tight budget. When we first came to this life style, we had to look at what we could keep doing, and what had to go. In attempts to save as much money as possible, I began looking up DYIs. I tried many different DIY laundry detergents, some worked, some didn't. To be honest brand name laundry detergents have worked the best for us. We live in a VERY hard water area and don't have a water softener, so unless I used a ton of the homemade detergent, it didn't really clean our kids clothes.

Laundry detergent wasn't the only thing I tried doing myself. I tried making a couple dishwasher detergents too. The one that I found and liked the best can be found on the Eco-Friendly Family blog. I used this recipe for years. However, it wasn't quit perfect. Being the hard water area we live in, I had to do a vinegar rinse after every wash to rid the calcium clouds left behind. A vinegar rinse takes a while to dry. So, I had a clean and safe wash, but not perfect.

About two years ago I was in the grocery buying more Lemi Shine for my dishwasher detergent; I saw that Oxi Clean made a dish detergent too. I liked what Oxi Clean had done for my laundry, so I wanted to see what it could do for my dishes. Wow! What a difference! I no longer need to do a rinse after every load. I might need to do a rinse once a week, or every other week. The Oxi Clean detergent is made to be a detergent on its own, but with my recipe the number of washes you get TRIPLES and cleans just as well. (hooray for tight budgets!)

I like to keep my Super Washing Soda in an air tight zip lock
to keep it from clumping and hardening.

Dishwasher Detergent Recipe

1 12.7 oz container Oxi Clean Dishwasher Detergent

1 1/2  Cups Super Washing Soda

1/2  Cup Pure Baking Soda (cleaning, not baking kind)

1/2  Cup Sea Salt (any brand should do)