Kicking Commercial Cleaners For Good! (Dishwasher Cubes)

Dishwasher packs were the last thing to go when I started making my own cleaning supplies. I had the recipe for it when I started making laundry soap, but it took me a while to get around to actually doing it. I think we were just waiting until we ran out of the commercial packs we were using.

This recipe doesn't contain a rinse aid, so we use white vinegar in the dishwasher. I'll give the details on that at the end of this post. 

             

               

        You Will Need:

• 1 Cup Borax
• 1 Cup Washing Soda
• 1/4 Cup Epsom Salt
• 3/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• Ice tray

Combine all of the dry ingredients into a bowl
and mix well.

Add the lemon juice until the mixture is the same consistency as wet sand, the kind you could build a sandcastle with. You might use a hair less than 3/4 cup, but usually that's the perfect amount.

TIP:
The citric acid in the lemon juice will react with the washing soda and fizz, so if you have kids this is a great, "fun" recipe for them to help with :)

Spoon the mixture into the ice tray and pack it down as tight as you can. If it's too loose your cubes will fall apart when you take them out. 

This is another fun part for the kids to help with, just make sure everyone washed their hands when they're finished. 

Warning! 
If you have any kind of open wounds on your fingers this will hurt! Just something I wish I would've remembered ;) 

Set them up on a window sill (or anywhere warm 

and sunny) for about 12 hours to dry. 

I make mine in the afternoon and they're good to go 

the next morning.

Turn the tray over and tap the bottom to release the cubes.

Store them in a plastic baggy, Tupperware, or any canister that will keep them nice and dry. We use the container our commercial dishwasher packs came in. 

To Use:

Use 1 cube for each load. To avoid film and water spots, use white vinegar as a rinse aid. Fill a cup with 1/2 cup vinegar and place it on the top rack. This will also keep the inside of your dishwasher free of hard water build-up and mold/bacteria if you load your dishwasher as you go. SO much cheaper than commercial rinse aid, and chemical free! 

***  DO NOT put vinegar in the rinse aid compartment of your dishwasher! It will erode the rubber tube that goes from the compartment into the dishwasher.