Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I know there are a million posts on this on the web, but just in case you are following me here, I thought I would add mine.  We are on well water and I am pretty stubborn about what goes in our water.  Plus, I am trying to cut the "fat" from our budget so I made our own "detergent" when ours ran out.  You can use citric acid in place of the Kool Aid, but it is more expensive and this way works just great.  Make sure you completely rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.

What you need:

• 1 cup borax
• 1 cup washing soda
• 2 envelopes lemonade Kool Aid (not sugar free)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 10 or so drops of essential oil if you want a fragrance 
•  empty container

Fill the container, give it a shake and add 1/2T to each cup in your dishwasher.

I also filled our rinse aid bottle with white vinegar and it works like a charm.

The breakdown became...drumroll please... $1.43 per batch.  NICE!!!