I was so happy with my homemade vegan laundry detergent, that I decided to try a similar formula for dishwasher detergent.
1/2 bar Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Soap (any flavor) 1 cup Borax 1 cup baking sodaGrate the soap with a carrot grater or food processor. Place all ingredients in an airtight container and shake. Use 2 tablespoons per load. I have been using this recipe for a week now, and I am pleased with the results.
Notes: I used baking soda instead of washing soda because washing soda is not meant to be used on aluminum surfaces. Some recipes for dish detergent just call for Borax and baking soda – that combination alone did not thoroughly clean the oil off my dishes, but the addition of a little soap made it work well. We have an old dishwasher so we rinse our dishes before putting them in the dishwasher; I would be interested to see how this formula works in newer dishwashers without rinsing the dishes.
UPDATE 07/08/08: After using this for a few months, I have found that less soap flakes works better. I am now using 1 cup fluffy shredded flakes (or 1/2 cup compact food processed soap), 1 cup borax, and 1 cup baking soda. I think it 1 cup of shredded soap is about 1/4 of a bar.
I tried this last week but I did not use Dr. Bronner’s – I used a different brand of castile soap. My dishes were left with a film all over them that took a lot of work to get off. Was the soap to blame? I desperately want a homemade dishwashing detergent that works, and just plain baking soda and borax does nothing for me. Oh, and I have really hard water. Thanks a lot, I love your blog!
Jade – thanks for the comment. I think it might be your hard water. A good friend made this with Dr. Bronners, she has hard water, and it did not work for her. From other online sources I found two other recipes but have not tried them myself. Let us know if you have any success. Thanks!
1 C Borax
1C Baking Soda
1/2 C salt
Mix it all together. Use 1 TB detergent, and use vinegar as your rinse aid.
1 cup borax
1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup salt
1/4 cup citric acid
30 drops citrus essential oil–lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, or a mixture
To use, put a tablespoon or so into the wash cup of your dishwasher.
I just tried using the castille soap in the dishwasher. I just squirted some in, not a whole lot. I think I’ve got a real mess to clean off. Everything was coated in a white goey film. So I ran it through with Cascade, normal cycle with the two cups filled. Still has the goo film and smells like the castile soap. I’m running some vinegar through now as a rinsing agent. I can’t believe Cascade can’t wash this off?
I’m having a hard time understanding why this isn’t considered residue on my hair. Second time I used it, I did the vinegar rinse which did remove the goey residue feel for the most part, except where maybe I didn’t get rinsed very well. This is definitely residue though. I’m just not understanding otherwise.
Oh … but at least it’s not poison!
How much did you use? Castile soap is very concentrated. Depending on the hardness/softness of your water, you may only need a teaspoon per load. Also, it tends to react better with soft water than hard water. The borax and baking soda will help cut down on the residue.
As far as your hair, I have not had luck washing my hair with castile soap.
It was probably more than a teaspoon, that’s so little. I did a squirt. Didn’t think it was much or maybe not enough. I think the water around here is hard.
Vinegar rinsing, a couple times, they finally got clean.