homemade automatic dishwashing detergent--help me tweak this recipe

[Praise]

I can't find an automatic dishwashing detergent that doesn't have something derived from either coconut or seeds. :(

So, I'm going to make my own! :)

Found this recipe (from kklibrarian):

AUTOMATIC DISHWASHING SOAP

1/2 cup liquid Castile soap (I'm going to shred 100% olive oil bar soap)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea tree extract
1/4 cup white vinegar
Combine water and liquid Castile soap. Stir and then add lemon juice, tea tree extract, and vinegar. Stir until blended evenly and store in a squeeze bottle. Use 2 tablespoons per wash in a standard-size dishwasher. Note: Do not substitute conventional liquid soap for the Castile soap unless it is a "low sudsing" soap. Regular soaps will produce too many suds and overflow the dishwasher.

Now, the part I want to substitute is the tea tree oil. I've read some stuff about it that makes me hesitant to use it daily on things we'll all ingest. So, any ideas?

I was thinking about orange essential oil, but don't know if it will be strong enough. :shrug

[Singingmom]

Does tea tree extract have disinfectant properties? I think vinegar does, so it may be that it would be fine without any substitution for the TTE, especially with the soap in there. :think

[me]

What if you did peppermint instead of tea tree :shrug

[WanderingJuniper]

:doh Wish I saw this before I went to the grocery store today. Thank you for this. I'll have to give it a try.

[Praise]

What if you did peppermint instead of tea tree :shrug


I thought about this. :think But I'm really hesitant to add something that could be toxic in large doses since if any got stuck in any nooks and crevices, we'd be eating it.

(Link about peppermint oil: http://www.naturalstandard.com/naturalstandard/demos/patient-peppermint.asp)

[canadiyank]

3 drops per bottle? That's hardly toxic doses, considering you won't even be having a fraction of a drop per load, which then gets rinsed off. :shrug I'd leave it out if you were concerned, the soap part of it should still work fine. :)

[hink4687]

Lavender Oil also has disinfectant properties like TTO. I've never seen this recipe before...I'm going to try it too!

[me]

What if you did peppermint instead of tea tree :shrug


I thought about this. :think But I'm really hesitant to add something that could be toxic in large doses since if any got stuck in any nooks and crevices, we'd be eating it.

(Link about peppermint oil: http://www.naturalstandard.com/naturalstandard/demos/patient-peppermint.asp)
:think what about doing something citrus like grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime instead? I use to live in a part of the country where I would add this stuff called citruclean :scratch I think it was called. It was just citric acid powdered. It left the dishes so so clean and sparkly, not a streak. :shrug
I know mint leaf is completely safe to eat in large amounts, not crazy amounts, but large amounts. Its been done for centuries. But thats just the mint leaves that I use to grow. Im guessing since its concentrated thats why it isnt recommended. Thats to bad. :/ You could do a little detective work and call a company that sells mint oil and ask them how much a drop of oil would equal in natural form. If its crazy like in pounds, I wouldnt use it. Or something like .66 oz (a typical package/bundle bought in the store) you should be more than fine.
:)

[Iarwain]

Yeah, in those teeny tiny quantities I don't think it poses even a remote risk.

I am really interested to hear how well this works! I hate the chemical stuff but the natural brands are so doggone expensive that I have stuck with the conventional stuff anyway (plus we have well water and many brands don't work so great in our water). This recipe would be reasonable to try out and if it works that'd be even better!

[me]

Yeah, in those teeny tiny quantities I don't think it poses even a remote risk.

I am really interested to hear how well this works! I hate the chemical stuff but the natural brands are so doggone expensive that I have stuck with the conventional stuff anyway (plus we have well water and many brands don't work so great in our water). This recipe would be reasonable to try out and if it works that'd be even better!
I have alternative reasons to help :O I will one day ask how it worked ....then steal the "secret formuler"(spongebob)... :shifty... :lol

[Myrtle]

when you get it tweaked and use it, will you let us know how it works? :)

I'd like to try something like this, but if I have to wash the dishes after I wash the dishes, it's not so much worth it right now. :shifty

[Lady TS]

If you are overly concerned about it, I would likely just leave the TTO out.

My other suggestion(other than the citrus oils others have mentioned) is Grapefruit Seed Extract. But I think it has its own list of 'potential problems', too.

Before I discovered I was sensitive/allergic to citrus, I was taking 10 drops of it in orange juice when I felt I was coming down with something. So I would think a few drops per bottle of detergent would be acceptable. :shrug

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

I will try it :) I will use dr bronner's lavender, hopefully that will work!

[me]

I will try it :) I will use dr bronner's lavender, hopefully that will work!
I was thinking earlier how peppermint bronners would be great but since the op'er didnt want coconut I didnt bring it up.
I want to know how it works for you with bronners :yes

[celestial princess]

:cup

[tempus vernum]

I will be curious too if this works. :rockon Someone else posted a recipe VERY similar and I tried it and it didn't work for me :doh I still keep wondering if I did something wrong. I substituted the tea tree oil for orange essential oil or was it lemon? Trying to remember. :think

I have recently heard that adding baking soda to the dispensers and a "glug" of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher is an easy and cheap dishwashing detergent! I never remember to try it though :O Maybe next time I run it I'll try.

[Praise]

3 drops per bottle? That's hardly toxic doses, considering you won't even be having a fraction of a drop per load, which then gets rinsed off. :shrug I'd leave it out if you were concerned, the soap part of it should still work fine. :)


Yes, yes, you are all probably right :lol I'm so overly cautious about these sorts of things. Me (the poster), I'm going to check out citruclean and I think I will test one batch with peppermint oil too.


I will try it :) I will use dr bronner's lavender, hopefully that will work!


You'll probably get to it before I do--I still need to get my olive oil soap. :yes Which reminds me, in my quest, I also found a tip to try cornstarch in the rinse cycle. :shrug Oh, and a reminder that you need to manually add the vinegar at the end during the rinse cycle because otherwise it will just come out during the wash cycle.


I have recently heard that adding baking soda to the dispensers and a "glug" of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher is an easy and cheap dishwashing detergent! I never remember to try it though :O Maybe next time I run it I'll try.


Now this I can try soon! This will be test #1! :giggle

[me]

I will be curious too if this works. :rockon Someone else posted a recipe VERY similar and I tried it and it didn't work for me :doh I still keep wondering if I did something wrong. I substituted the tea tree oil for orange essential oil or was it lemon? Trying to remember. :think

I have recently heard that adding baking soda to the dispensers and a "glug" of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher is an easy and cheap dishwashing detergent! I never remember to try it though :O Maybe next time I run it I'll try.

I have poured vinegar at the bottom of an empty dishwasher to remove odor and it worked wonderfully.
Then right before we moved I poured, and left, vinegar at the bottom. We went back 2 months later to check on the house and there was still no odor.

[celestial princess]

Well, I made the recipe without any changes and ... I guess it worked, if you don't mind a cloudy film on your dishes :/ Actually I used bottled lemon juice instead of fresh - could that have caused it? Anyone know how to fix the film?

[Praise]

Well, I made the recipe without any changes and ... I guess it worked, if you don't mind a cloudy film on your dishes :/ Actually I used bottled lemon juice instead of fresh - could that have caused it? Anyone know how to fix the film?


I read about the film! The trick is to add the vinegar manually during the rinse cycle. (The little holder for rinse cycle formulas doesn't hold liquid :/ only gel/powder, so if you add it bin the beginning it will drip out during the wash cycle.) The other thing to try is cornstarch in the rinse holder. :shrug

:clap Hurray for trying it! Still waiting for my soap. :blah

[celestial princess]

:scratch what's a rinse holder? is that where jet dry goes?

[Praise]

:scratch what's a rinse holder? is that where jet dry goes?


:yes When will you try next? :eyebrows :giggle

[celestial princess]

Well, i have a sink full right now that I was too discouraged to deal with last night!

Are you SURE that little cup won't hold liquid? Last time I used jet dry - a long time ago, admittedly - it may have been somewhat more viscous than water, but not much. I mean, I guess you aren't the expert on rinse holders necessarily :giggle but I seem to remember jet dry being pretty watery. And do you have any idea which is better - corn starch or vinegar?

[canadiyank]

I put vinegar where the jet dry goes. :shrug Seems to work fine. I bought some "natural" stuff to put in there now, can't remember the brand, but am still using vinegar right now.

[celestial princess]

cool. I'm gonna go load RIGHT NOW and run it. I'll let y'all know how it goes!

[Praise]

How exciting!

(I've never used jet dry before. :shifty Glad you knew canadiyank!)

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

I made mine today, by tomorrw the dishwasher should be full and I'll try it..... but I am glad I came back to read this thread. I also used lemon juice from a bottle. I have no clue how to work the rinse aid feature on my dishwasher...It seems complicated, I'll have to get the manuel out so I can figure out how to put the vinegar in.

[celestial princess]

:/

Still foggy. I would really like to use this recipe, so I'm going to keep working on it. Which should I try next - adding vinegar directly to rinse or adding cornstarch?

[Praise]

:think I have no idea what the cornstarch actually does (just read it as a tip somewhere :giggle), so perhaps try adding the vinegar directly? *crossing fingers*

Still waiting for my soap... :sigh

[me]

I bought a bottle of vinegar from White House vinegar and it actually says on the label:
"For sparkling clean dishes, add a few tablespoons of White House Distilled Vinegar to the dishwasher along with an inexpensive dishwasher detergent. The vinegar will cut the grease and boost the cleaning power of the detergent"
I havent tried it yet but sounds like you can just add it in, in the beginning :shrug

[Iarwain]

I do pour vinegar in the bottom of the dishwasher at the beginning and it does help a lot. It makes sense that for the full rinse aid effect it'd need to go in later, though.

[tempus vernum]

The cloudy results have always been my problem :td Hope you fix it and can tell us your solution :giggle

After trying about 3 different recipes, I finally broke down and stick with environmentally friendly dw detergent - found out trader joe's is cheap and works great :giggle but not as cheap as homemade ;)

I was starting the dw yesterday having forgotten to try the baking soda trick and thought that maybe salt would cut grease and film :think

I was thinking of trying salt and baking soda w/vinegar into the next load. I use my rinse aid compartment for white vinegar. It's worked great for a long time so I am surprised to think It may be for gel or powder only :jawdrop Live and learn I guess :giggle

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

my dishwasher cycle just finished.....it left alot of film on certain things :( ALOT! some things look perfectly clean though? I figured out where to put vinegar in the rinse cycle and I did that.

May-be next time I'll try some washing soda too? I'm sure if our water softner was fixed that would help.

[celestial princess]

I don't know - we have city water and i had the exact same problem. When I went to put everything away, it seemed like everything had the film. So. I'm really disappointed; I SOOO wanted to be able to use my own homemade DW det.

[Praise]

This does not sound promising. :no2

:think I'll keep thinking too. (And hoping my soap arrives soon!)

[swimming with sharks]

I have recently heard that adding baking soda to the dispensers and a "glug" of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher is an easy and cheap dishwashing detergent!

I tried this last night. We have well (hard) water and it worked ok :/ there was a film on some things and some stuff (coffee grounds it looked like-I was thinking maybe it was cleaning the inside of the dishwasher so that's why there was the stuff) on a few of the items- I'm going to try it again and put vinegar in the rinse compartment tonight. I hate the regular stuff with all the bleach but the 7th generation didn't work at all.... :think

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

Hm :think maybe I could put some washing soda in the dispenser as well? I'll try it next time I run it....hopefully I don't break it :shifty ...the manual says not to use anything but certain types (Cascade probably paid them to put that in there :giggle

[Lady TS]

Has anyone tried just 1TB borax and 1TB baking soda for each load? I tried some before we got our new softener and IIRC, it did leave a film. I haven't tried it since then, but I still have my mix under the sink for in case I run out of our powder.

(As an aside, I went with the cheap Walmart brand of dw detergent this time and I cannot stand the smell of the house when the dw is running with that in it! Ugh! It's enough to drive me away! I usually get Electrasol orange but was thinking cheaper so went for the Walmart brand. I am so glad I didn't get the super mega-huge box of Walmart stuff!

Link to 'recipe' for borax/soda and other tips:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/02/02dec09b.cfm

Please forgive me, OP, if you didn't want an alternative. ;)

[celestial princess]

Lady TS, I feel the same way about the smell of the WM stuff! :sick :no2

[HummusDip]

wow thanks for that recipe, I'm going to try it!

[Praise]

Please forgive me, OP, if you didn't want an alternative. ;)


I'm horribly offended! :P~

Another thing to try: cornstarch mixed with white vinegar to form a paste, and then put that where the JetDry would go. I thought of this because I tried just water and cornstarch yesterday when I washed my mirrors--and it worked great! :tu So perhaps cornstarch does help...although I have no idea why.

Still. Waiting. For. My. Soap. :hissyfit

[WalkByFaith]

Has anyone tried just 1TB borax and 1TB baking soda for each load? I tried some before we got our new softener and IIRC, it did leave a film. I haven't tried it since then, but I still have my mix under the sink for in case I run out of our powder.

I've done this and it's left a film on all of my stuff. I've actually tried every recipe out there (okay, not really, but I've tried a lot!) and none seem to work for me. I just run my dishwasher on a hot cycle now and don't use any soap! I do rinse some things off before going in the dishwasher (like eggs!). I still use the vinager in the jet dry dispenser because it seems to help my dishes actually dry during the dry cycle. If I don't have vinager in the jet dry dispenser my dishes are still wet after the dry cycle.

[FaithfilledGranolaChick]

I've tried everything I can think of(or suggested in this thread) no luck at all....so I decided to buy some :( I got the Palmolive brand that says phosphate free and eco plus on the front. I am going to still continue to see if I can find other recipes. But the I hope soon we won't be using our dishwasher much at all.

[247mom]

So...I know this is pretty old. Did anyone ever find a solution? I know that I've had good luck with the Melaleuca brand and Shakley. I like Shakley best. I also like 7th gen but maybe it's cuz my dwasher is new and I don't have hard water.

[mrsd]

I was thinking about alternatives to 'store bought'. THanks for the ideas.

[littlefirewise]

I use a recipe with borax, baking soda, lemon/lime Kool aid Powder (Yes! Kool aid!) the Kool aid powder is for the citric acid so you don't have a white residue left on your dishes...And I use vinegar in my rinse dispenser. So far I have not had the issue of film left behind on my dishes...I have also heard of people using 1 Tbsp. Borax, 1 Tbsp. Baking soda & 2 teaspoons sea salt....