A homemade dishwasher powder tried and tested recipe?

kippers

Just wondered if anyone uses a good, tried and tested homemade dishwasher powder recipe? I would love to have a go at using a homemade powder.

Thanks for any replies

fannyadams

Math (don't know if he is still around) used to use Value (the cheapest) Biological washing powder one teaspoon per wash I think.
He also used vinegar as rinse aid
at a push I have used this when I run out of tabs and it does the job

cut the tabs in half is the other trick we use here.

kippers

fannyadams wrote: »

Math (don't know if he is still around) used to use Value (the cheapest) Biological washing powder one teaspoon per wash I think.
He also used vinegar as rinse aid
at a push I have used this when I run out of tabs and it does the job

cut the tabs in half is the other trick we use here.

As a long time oldstyler (lol) I already use distilled vinegar anyway and used the half a tablet for a long time in my slim line dishwasher, but this doesn't work in my newer large dishwasher. This is why I'm looking for something I can make at home that is still effective but cheaper.

I've been googling like mad and found that you can put soapnuts in your dishwasher (I have some knocking around somewhere as I wasn't impresed with how they cleaned my clothes but can't bare to throw things away lol) Has anyone tried soapnuts in your dishwasher?......how did you get on?

moments_of_sanity

I too would be interested in hearing whether the soap nuts would work as I bought some for washing clothes with but was unimpressed with them but still have them incase I can find another use for them.

Meadows

Not sure but I would include Soda Crystals in the mix as they act as a water softener as well as a cleaner (I use 50% wash powder mixed with 50% Sods Crystal for my washing machine makes my loads very cheap to wash, cleans the clothes and helps with lime scale by softening the water at the same time).


Do not use Soda Crystals on aluminum items.

kippers

Meadows wrote: »

Not sure but I would include Soda Crystals in the mix as they act as a water softener as well as a cleaner (I use 50% wash powder mixed with 50% Sods Crystal for my washing machine makes my loads very cheap to wash, cleans the clothes and helps with lime scale by softening the water at the same time).


Do not use Soda Crystals on aluminum items.

Yes I use soda chrystals too in my laundry liquid and they wash well. I wouldn't be surprised if you can use a borax (substitute) either

maryb

Funnily enough, I was searching for a recipe just recently and found a few
• 1 1/2 cups borax
• 1 1/4 cup baking soda
• 4 tablespoons of ground castile soap
• 1/4 cup citric acid
or

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
2 drops essential Tea Tree Oil
2 drops essential Lavender Oil
Mix all ingredients in a tightly lidded container, stirring well to combine the oils into the powder. Use 1 Tbl. in each dispenser (a total of 2 Tbls).

or

2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
1cup salt
3tbsp citric acid
30-50 drops lemon essential oil


I haven't yet tried any of these but the thing they seem to have in common is washing soda for grease removal and citric acid to get water stains off.

I buy Daisy dishwasher powder from Tesco which is cheap but pretty good. Our repairman told me always to use powder rather than tablets. I was thinking of eking it out with some extra washing soda and citric acid added to the mix. I'm not sure I would use a homemade one by itself because I used Ecover tablets recently, which is probably based on something very similar and within a week my dishwasher was coated inside with grease which was not dissolving even on a hot wash.

gayleygoo

I priced up making my own dishwasher detergent a while ago, and decided it was cheaper to buy cheap tablets or powder (I use Lidl's and I think they work fine, even half a one if the dishes aren't too dirty.) I'd have had to order borax and citric acid online and the postage upped the price quite a bit, if you can buy it cheaply in bulk in shops it might work out better.

kippers

maryb wrote: »

I'm not sure I would use a homemade one by itself because I used Ecover tablets recently, which is probably based on something very similar and within a week my dishwasher was coated inside with grease which was not dissolving even on a hot wash.

It's funny as I've read a couple of blogs that have said this too with Homemade DW powder. I have found one using D/W liquid made from soap nuts which I have (as I didn't think they were very good at washing and didn't want to throw them away)...I will have a go and let you all know how I get on.

Thanks for your help