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
Lynda Benson
12 years ago
I have everything but the borax…this is pure genius and can’t wait to try 🙂
Anonymous
12 years ago
This recipe is absolutely fabulous. I subbed kosher salt for the Epsom and it worked great! I used a 1T cookie scoop and plopped them into ice trays, shook to flatten. This was in the morning. By that night, they were ready. I used one tonight and the dishes came out sparkly clean with no residue. Love this recipe!, thank you!
Callie
12 years ago
I made these last night and used one today. I packed the mixture down into ice cube trays. They set really well over night and got hard. Then I just popped them out. Easy Peasy. I made them a little smaller than the Finish tabs bc I was afraid of the residue others talked about. It worked GREAT!! No residue and much cleaner than with the Finish tabs. Thank you so much for this idea.
Anonymous
12 years ago
you need to add vinegar when it in the ice cube try, this will stop the residue on your dishes. also add Lemi Shine to your recipe, this wills top the spotting. Mavis of One Hundred Dollars a Month has a really good recipe for these.
ramas samar
12 years ago
Your articles don’t beat about the bushes these are actually exact t to the purpose.
Your writers are extremely fantastic that have made easy to understand everything for us.
Carole, you are a GENIUS!!!! I made my first tablets today….I used my little cookie scoop and ended up with the exact number you said. But more important than that, THESE REALLY WORK!!!! They are SUPER easy and quick to make and work REALLY well!! You are nothing short of a blessing to all of us Moms out here that are desperate to save money for our large families. Keep up the good work and THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Missy:)
Carole
12 years ago
So glad you love them Missy! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience -Carole
Danielle Haehn
12 years ago
I love how cheap it is to make these. Unfortunately there’s a white powder/film on everything. I even used white vinegar in the rinse cycle on the first run. I done an extra rinse cycle and there is still a white residue on everything 🙁 I really want to use these. Any suggestions of what else to do?
Carole
12 years ago
Danielle- I think those who have hard water struggle with the white residue. I’m not sure how to deal with that because I’ve never had experience with hard water. So sorry!!
Homemade Natural Dishwasher Tablets | Simplify Your Health
12 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 […]
Amy
12 years ago
I have had great success with these so far. I’ve made them twice. The first time I made them the 3/4 cup of lemon juice concentrate made them super watery, but the 2nd time, it was the perfect amount. It may be a matter of adding it in a little at a time.
In my case, after so long sitting in a airtight container under my sink, my “tablets” basically crumble, and stay in crumbles for the remainder of the time I use them. This has happened both times I’ve made them. Luckily, I am able to just use a tablespoon and scoop it into my dishwasher dispenser and it works just as well. But I have yet to figure out why they are crumbling. 🙂
Carole
12 years ago
Thanks for your comment Amy! My only suggestion would be to press your tablets together a bit more firmly. I have some that fall apart as well, but most stay together for me. -Carole
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106 comments
I have everything but the borax…this is pure genius and can’t wait to try 🙂
This recipe is absolutely fabulous. I subbed kosher salt for the Epsom and it worked great! I used a 1T cookie scoop and plopped them into ice trays, shook to flatten. This was in the morning. By that night, they were ready. I used one tonight and the dishes came out sparkly clean with no residue. Love this recipe!, thank you!
I made these last night and used one today. I packed the mixture down into ice cube trays. They set really well over night and got hard. Then I just popped them out. Easy Peasy. I made them a little smaller than the Finish tabs bc I was afraid of the residue others talked about. It worked GREAT!! No residue and much cleaner than with the Finish tabs. Thank you so much for this idea.
you need to add vinegar when it in the ice cube try, this will stop the residue on your dishes. also add Lemi Shine to your recipe, this wills top the spotting. Mavis of One Hundred Dollars a Month has a really good recipe for these.
Your articles don’t beat about the bushes these are actually exact t to the purpose.
Your writers are extremely fantastic that have made easy to understand everything for us.
I would be very concerned about the use of Borax. According to EWG, it is rated an F for toxicity. High concerns for reproductive development and some concern for respiratory/asthma and skin allergies. Here’s the link: https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/2507-20MuleTeamBoraxNaturalLaundryBoosterMultiPurposeHouseholdCleaner
Thanks Jennifer. I will check it out.
Carole, you are a GENIUS!!!! I made my first tablets today….I used my little cookie scoop and ended up with the exact number you said. But more important than that, THESE REALLY WORK!!!! They are SUPER easy and quick to make and work REALLY well!! You are nothing short of a blessing to all of us Moms out here that are desperate to save money for our large families. Keep up the good work and THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Missy:)
So glad you love them Missy! Thanks for taking the time to share your experience -Carole
I love how cheap it is to make these. Unfortunately there’s a white powder/film on everything. I even used white vinegar in the rinse cycle on the first run. I done an extra rinse cycle and there is still a white residue on everything 🙁 I really want to use these. Any suggestions of what else to do?
Danielle- I think those who have hard water struggle with the white residue. I’m not sure how to deal with that because I’ve never had experience with hard water. So sorry!!
[…] 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 […]
I have had great success with these so far. I’ve made them twice. The first time I made them the 3/4 cup of lemon juice concentrate made them super watery, but the 2nd time, it was the perfect amount. It may be a matter of adding it in a little at a time.
In my case, after so long sitting in a airtight container under my sink, my “tablets” basically crumble, and stay in crumbles for the remainder of the time I use them. This has happened both times I’ve made them. Luckily, I am able to just use a tablespoon and scoop it into my dishwasher dispenser and it works just as well. But I have yet to figure out why they are crumbling. 🙂
Thanks for your comment Amy! My only suggestion would be to press your tablets together a bit more firmly. I have some that fall apart as well, but most stay together for me. -Carole