DIY: Powdered Dishwasher Soap

Since I already had most of the ingredients on hand from the laundry soap, I decided to see if homemade dishwasher soap would be worth it and if it would clean as well as the liquid kind I usually buy. I found the recipe through Pinterest on this blog.

• 1 Cup (6.2 ounces) of Borax (Cost = $0.25)
• 1 Cup (8.8 ounces) of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Cost = $0.53)
• 1 Cup (6.2 ounces) of LemiShine (Cost = $1.92)
• 1/2 Cup (3.9 ounces) of Coarse Kosher Salt (Cost = $0.20)

All of the above ingredients are available at Wal-Mart. The LemiShine is with the dishwashing products. 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Gotta love simple!

The above recipe makes 25.1 ounces of soap. It fits in a quart size canning jar. The total cost for the batch of soap is $2.90. You only need about a 1/2 ounce for one load of dishes, so the cost per load comes out to $0.06. The price for Cascade Powdered Dishwasher Soap at Wal-Mart is $3.97 for a 45 ounce box. For comparison's sake, let's say you use 1/2 an ounce of it to do a load of dishes - this comes out to a cost of around $0.05 per load.

So, will making your dishwasher soap save you any money? It doesn't appear so. What it does do is make you more aware of what is going into your water supply. The less chemicals the better, I say.

It cleans just as well as the commercial soap. I have read suggestions of adding vinegar to the pre-treatment compartment, to help with spots, but we aren't that concerned about our fine china being spotty. :-)

One note about this soap: it does tend to clump. I would recommend putting a Dessicant packet in the jar before you store it.