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
Amy Whitfield
13 years ago
My dishwasher has 2 little dispensers (one that closes and the other that stays open). Do I put one tablet in each or just one in the closed one?
Carole
13 years ago
Amy-it would go in the larger one that closes or just toss it in the bottom of the dishwasher.
lpeck
13 years ago
Do you worry about the borax not rinsing completely? Isn’t it toxic if ingested?
Bart and Lace
13 years ago
I tried making these and I love how they clean but the leave my dishes with horrible spots. Any suggestions?
Kathleen
11 years ago
Use vinegar as a rinse aid.
Carole
11 years ago
Thanks for the tip Kathleen!
Carole
13 years ago
Do you have a rinse agent in your dispenser? If not, you can use just plain white vinegar. I haven’t had trouble with spots.
The Manning Family
13 years ago
Hi Carol. I made this today, but yet to try it. How much did your products cost you, because my costing per tablet worked out to 18 cents per tablet. I live in Australia though, so assuming your ingredients cost a fraction compared to me.
Thanks Natalie
Trisha
13 years ago
I googled it and found out if you put your baking soda in the oven @ 400 for 30 mins to an hour it turns it into washing soda! Which is awesome because the baking soda is a lot cheaper and easier to find!
TommyG
7 years ago
Until you add in the cost of the natural gas, propane or electricity you used to turn baking soda into washing soda. Then it might not be cheaper.
MamaNatural
13 years ago
@lpeck No, borax is only as toxic as table salt. It is actually good for you! Look it up. My husband and I use it as a supplement.
It CAN be an irritant, true.
Remember you can also injest too much water.
All things in moderation.
Patricia @ ButterYum
13 years ago
for those who are skeptical – according to the borax website – it can be used safely to clean dishes and improve the performance of the dishwasher so I look forward to giving this recipe a try.
Debi
13 years ago
I recommend making a small batch first…just to make sure you like it. I made these (with the ice cube trays) and they left a horrible white powder on everything. I did try and run it through another wash without detergent and it wouldn’t come off. I had to rewash everything by hand. Someone else commented that they thought it was because of hard water.
Wendee
11 years ago
Add white vinegar to the bottom of your dishwasher if you have hard water….vinegar is a natural softner. Apple cider vinegar can even be used as a conditioner for your hair.
Carole
11 years ago
Awesome tips Wendee! Thanks for sharing them – Carole
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106 comments
My dishwasher has 2 little dispensers (one that closes and the other that stays open). Do I put one tablet in each or just one in the closed one?
Amy-it would go in the larger one that closes or just toss it in the bottom of the dishwasher.
Do you worry about the borax not rinsing completely? Isn’t it toxic if ingested?
I tried making these and I love how they clean but the leave my dishes with horrible spots. Any suggestions?
Use vinegar as a rinse aid.
Thanks for the tip Kathleen!
Do you have a rinse agent in your dispenser? If not, you can use just plain white vinegar. I haven’t had trouble with spots.
Hi Carol.
I made this today, but yet to try it. How much did your products cost you, because my costing per tablet worked out to 18 cents per tablet. I live in Australia though, so assuming your ingredients cost a fraction compared to me.
Thanks Natalie
I googled it and found out if you put your baking soda in the oven @ 400 for 30 mins to an hour it turns it into washing soda! Which is awesome because the baking soda is a lot cheaper and easier to find!
Until you add in the cost of the natural gas, propane or electricity you used to turn baking soda into washing soda. Then it might not be cheaper.
@lpeck No, borax is only as toxic as table salt. It is actually good for you! Look it up. My husband and I use it as a supplement.
Borax can be toxic! It depends on the dose. https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+328
It is also a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant.
It CAN be an irritant, true.
Remember you can also injest too much water.
All things in moderation.
for those who are skeptical – according to the borax website – it can be used safely to clean dishes and improve the performance of the dishwasher so I look forward to giving this recipe a try.
I recommend making a small batch first…just to make sure you like it. I made these (with the ice cube trays) and they left a horrible white powder on everything. I did try and run it through another wash without detergent and it wouldn’t come off. I had to rewash everything by hand. Someone else commented that they thought it was because of hard water.
Add white vinegar to the bottom of your dishwasher if you have hard water….vinegar is a natural softner. Apple cider vinegar can even be used as a conditioner for your hair.
Awesome tips Wendee! Thanks for sharing them – Carole