Homemade Dishwasher Detergent: How I Beat Hard Water Naturally!

2 Materials
$10
2 Minutes
Easy

The following recipe I picked up at Wellness Mama so I can’t take total credit for this one. However, when I moved into Grandma’s House it just wasn’t cutting it because I opted out of adding a water softener (I’ve read many things on how the water is not very good for you to drink after salt has been added to “soften it” as well as the idea of my water being stripped of all those good minerals that I need just bothers me.)

Here’s the awesome Recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent from Wellness Mama: 1 cup borax 1 cup washing soda ½ cup citric acid ½ cup kosher salt (pink Himalayan salt is what I use) So, I moved in and then ran my first load of dishes and were absolutely horrified! For those of you with hard water you already know what I’m talking about: my dishes were absolutely covered in white horror, they even FELT dirty. And nothing helped. All those reviews on amazon about Lemi Shine had me really hopeful, my hard water laughed at it.

So, I did a little more research, headed back to Wellness mama and spotted it “You can also add white vinegar as the rinse agent…” Of course!!! Duh!!

So, I just grabbed a little mason jar and filled it up halfway and put it in the top rack. The difference was absolutely amazing! After three loads with half a cup of vinegar added you couldn’t tell I had hard water anymore!

All in the entire cost per load is around 10 cents!

Suggested materials:
  • Vinegar
  • Baking Soda
GrandmasHouseDIY
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 36 questions
Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 67 comments
  • Pam Turley Lucido Pam Turley Lucido on Aug 28, 2022

    I make my own as well, same ingredients except I don’t use the citric acid (It’s expensive!) Or the salt.

    I mix up a batch of equal parts washing soda and Borax. scoop about 2oz. Don’t use the dispenser, just dump it in. Then splash about a half cup of white vinegar in as well. You will hear the sizzle as it start to do it’s thing.


    I don’t like the chemical smell and residue of commercial detergents. Try it! It definitely took away the cloudy film that had accumulated on my beautiful set acrylic drink ware.

  • Carolyn K Carolyn K on Aug 21, 2023

    We just moved and had to put in a water softener. But my genius husband also installed a tap in the laundry room next to the kitchen that bypasses the softener. We use that for drinking, plants and pets. It's delicious, but was destroying our appliances and my hair. Win-win.

Next