Our last box of dishwasher detergent ran out this weekend; instead of buying some I decided to make my own!  It turned out to be super simple and cheap, the most expensive item is the citric acid so I need to find a cheaper way to buy that.

Here is the recipe:

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup Citric Acid
• 1/2 cup Kosher Salt

I mixed all these things together and put them in the old detergent box; it filled about half the box.  It worked great because there is already a spout and I know that the box fits in its home.

I still have lots of laundry detergent so I’m not planning on making that anytime soon (although, it looks like a lot more work so I’ll probably just stick to buying it).

So far I’ve done a few loads with it and it seems to work just as well as the original Cascade.  I’m still using JetDry as a rinse agent and have a few bottles left but after that I might try using just plain white vinegar as I read that it works well with this recipe.  We’ll see what sort of coupons I find for JetDry before making this switch.

Has anybody tried to make their own detergent?  Did it work well for you?