Best recipe for home-made dishwasher detergent?

Question

I stumbled upon an article that claimed you can make your own dishwasher detergent using a combination of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and 20 Mule Team Borax (1 Tablespoon of each). It's supposed to be better for the environment and costs far less than store-bought detergents. I tried it and quite honestly despite the reviews I don't think it cleans dishes very well. Does anyone have a tried and true recipe?

Answer 1

There are several recipes for homemade dishwasher soap. Why bother? It's much more economical than buying the stuff, even if you're at DollarTree -- plus you know what you're using here, chemically.

To save the future of our environment I use this recipe

For each load:

1 Tablespoon Borax

1 Tablespoon Baking soda

or

2 Tablespoons of the following - 1 cup baking soda combined with 1 cup borax, and 2-3 tablespoons Fruit Fresh

For the rinse:

1 cup white vinegar, either poured into the JetDry vessel or placed into a cup securely placed into the top rack.

What's borax? It's a salt, naturally occurring in some parts of the USA as well as China, and it's used not only as a cleansing agent but also as a water softener and a preservative. Remember Twenty Mule Team Borax? It sponsored quite a few TV Westerns in the 1960s.

Answer 2

I'm not sure about home-made but I absolutely love Shaklee's dishwasher detergent.  It doesn't contain phosphates and I don't have the spotty residue I used to have when I used Cascade.

Answer 3

Just buy the dishwasher and save yourself the trouble. It doesn't cost that much. If you want to help the environment, recycle the container.