Homemade dishwasher soap tablets are an easy to make recipe and are very inexpensive at 3 cents a piece! I’ve been using this recipe for years and love them. This continues to be one of my most popular recipes year after year!
Providing financially for a family of 8 is always a balancing act. When my older kids were babies, I couldn’t believe how much money it cost to provide for their basic needs. If only I could go back to those cheap days! Babies don’t even compare in cost to teenagers and college students.
*KA-BOOM*
That is what happened to my budget once my kids hit high school. College made a sound that is only audible to creatures in another realm.
As a result, I am always on the search for simple ways to cut my expenses. You already know how much I love obsess over my DIY cleaning and laundry products. Yes, they are extremely cheap compared to the store bought stuff, but the fact that they work great has me permanently converted.
I am proud to introduce you to my newest DIY product that I have added to my repertoire. Homemade dishwasher soap in tablets! I decided to give them a try because I already had the products on hand from my other recipes. What could it hurt, right? I am now converted and have I mentioned they only cost 3 cents each!I think that beats the enormous price I was paying for my tablets before 🙂
This homemade dishwasher soap mixes together really quick and I learned through experience that you need to be sure they are wet enough to form or they fall apart. Also, to keep them from sticking to your hands, I have found wet hands makes it so much easier. If you have sensitive skin, you might want to wear disposable gloves when forming the tablets. When forming your first tablet, be sure it fits into the dispenser of your dishwasher. Flat rectangles work for mine, but every machine is different!
Want more great DIY cleaning products? Here are our favorites!
Make your own tablets at home that are inexpensive and easy to make!
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes
Yield:22 tablets 1x
Ingredients
Scale
1 C Borax
1 C Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 C Epsom salt
3/4 C lemon juice
Instructions
1. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Add the lemon juice and mix completely. You want the mixture to be wet enough to mold without falling apart. Add additional lemon juice if needed.
2. These dry very quickly so working quickly and one at a time, portion out a tablet around 2 tablespoons. I used a small cookie scoop. With wet hands, form the tablet into whatever shape needed to fit the soap dispenser in your dishwasher. Place on a sheet of wax paper and let dry for a few hours before putting in a storage container. If a tablet happens not to fit into the dispenser, just toss it in the bottom of your dishwasher.
Author:Carole Jones
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Category:Cleaning
Method:No bake
Cuisine:American
Nutrition
Serving Size:1 tablet
Calories:0
Sugar:0
Sodium:0
Fat:0
Saturated Fat:0
Unsaturated Fat:0
Trans Fat:0
Carbohydrates:0
Fiber:0
Protein:0
Cholesterol:0
Carole Jones
Carole Jones is an Arizona-based cookbook author & food blogger. She's authored The 30 Minute Cooking From Frozen Cookbook and the self-published Take 5: Chicken e-cookbook. For the past 15 years, Carole has shared her culinary adventures cooking and baking for her six brutally honest children here on My Kitchen Escapades. Hot, crusty bread is Carole's love language, but her two adorable grandchildren are a close second. Yes, second. Don't judge.
106 comments
john
12 years ago
Would there be residue from the Borax on your dishes?
Carole
12 years ago
Some people who have hard water have said that there is a white residue left on some dishes
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I made these and it left a horrible white residue on my plastic and glass. It also left a white film on the inside of my HE dishwasher. We do not have hard water. I was very disappointed. I had to run a cup of white vinegar through 2 quick cycles to get rid of the film inside the washer.
Carole
11 years ago
That is disappointing Leann! I know some readers have had the white residue and others these worked perfectly.
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11 years ago
[…] am so excited to share this! I found a recipe here for homemade dishwasher tablets a while ago on Pinterest. This is so completely easy to make and […]
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Smush the ingredients into ice cube trays and they fit pretty well into the dishwasher compartment.
I had a different reciepy that used lemon koolaide but no one sells koolaide near me anymore so lemon juice such a better idea. Also gonna add a drop or two or essential oil because I really like the lemoney smell.
Thanks I’m so making this right now.
SiGee
8 years ago
I use these and love them! Our water is hard so I do add a few drops of Dawn and half a cup of vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher. Thanks for the recipe!
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106 comments
Would there be residue from the Borax on your dishes?
Some people who have hard water have said that there is a white residue left on some dishes
[…] make your own!!! AND… It’s super easy!!! AND… It only has one (1) ingredient!!! Baking Soda. https://www.mykitchenescapades.com/2013/04/diy-dishwasher-tablets.html DIY Dishwasher Tablets recipe from Cuckoo for Coupon Deals (makes 22 tablets) 1 C Borax 1 C Arm […]
I made these and it left a horrible white residue on my plastic and glass. It also left a white film on the inside of my HE dishwasher. We do not have hard water. I was very disappointed. I had to run a cup of white vinegar through 2 quick cycles to get rid of the film inside the washer.
That is disappointing Leann! I know some readers have had the white residue and others these worked perfectly.
[…] am so excited to share this! I found a recipe here for homemade dishwasher tablets a while ago on Pinterest. This is so completely easy to make and […]
[…] Homemade Dishwasher Tabs […]
[…] DIY Dishwasher Tablets […]
Smush the ingredients into ice cube trays and they fit pretty well into the dishwasher compartment.
I had a different reciepy that used lemon koolaide but no one sells koolaide near me anymore so lemon juice such a better idea. Also gonna add a drop or two or essential oil because I really like the lemoney smell.
Thanks I’m so making this right now.
I use these and love them! Our water is hard so I do add a few drops of Dawn and half a cup of vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad you made them work for you!