Homemade Dishwasher Detergent (without Borax)
Homemade dishwasher detergent might sound crazy, but I am attempting to make everything that we use in our house from scratch. This way I can get the toxins out and save a little cash! Dishwasher detergent was next on my list but after searching for the “recipe” I kept coming up with ingredient lists that included Borax. I do use Borax in my homemade laundry detergent, but something about using it on our dishes just seemed wrong. I looked it up on the Environmental Working Group website and here is what I found:
Egads! I do not want to bathe our dinnerware in a substance that causes endocrine disruption and that has negative reproductive effects! I just might have to change my laundry detergent formulary too. So, I searched a little more and found a recipe that did NOT include Borax.
Homemade Dishwasher Detergent (without Borax)
Note: if you store your detergent in an area with high moisture, like under your sink, it can clump and even harden. To avoid this, simply put some rice in a sock and put it into the container or put some of these into the container to absorb the moisture and keep it a nice powder.
Here is where you can find the ingredients:
I bet you are wondering what the heck is in the other ingredients. Well, I looked that up too…
Here is what I found out:
Lemi-Shine: the EWG didn’t have a thing on their website and I found the actual Lemi-Shine website not to be very user friendly at all. But, then I found this guy (a chemist) and after much testing and analysis, he decided that Lemi-Shine is harmless and, at the end of the day, it’s just citric acid. I’m cool with that. I took enough chemistry in college to appreciate his effort and take it for what its worth. I do not want to go back to the lab.
Super Washing Soda: harmless, its just sodium carbonate (made from salt and limestone). You can even make your own washing soda by baking baking soda. The heat causes a chemical change. Pretty neat!
Baking Soda: harmless (c’mon, we put it in our food after all), its just sodium bicarbonate
Sea Salt: harmless, its salt!
So, after much investigation, I have decided that this recipe is the one I am sticking with! It also has been getting my dishes super clean….without any endocrine disruption. Win, win! Use Homemade Dishwasher Detergent as you would with your regular dishwasher detergent.
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Hi, my name is Kate.
I love food. Real food. We eat all of the things that nursing school taught me were bad for you: butter, eggs, bacon, and raw milk.
I am a Nurse, a Mom, and a Real Food loving blogger. Just trying to save the world.