Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Long before I ever got all crunchy I used to notice the film that was occasionally left on dishes washed in a dishwasher and wonder if it was safe to consume.

You see, in Africa where I grew up we didn't have a dishwasher (well, actually, we had several...their names were John-Mark, Melodie, Nathan...) so all our dishes were washed by hand and rinsed in clean hot water. In the States grandma had an automatic dishwasher and when we visited we'd marvel at the inventions of modern man. Yet there was sometimes a little detergent residue stuck to the dishes...

Turns out normal dishwashing detergent isn't really that safe after all. Here's a list of harmful chemicals found in most dishwasher detergents (sourced from this website):

• Chlorine bleach; a common respiratory tract irritant that also finds its way into the environment and forms toxic compounds stored in the fatty tissue of animals. 
• Sodium hydroxide; a severe skin irritant that can cause blindness if it comes into contact with your eyes, but is commonly added to dishwasher detergent as a degreaser.
• Sodium lauryl sulfate; might be one of the most common detergents found in the home and is prevalent in shampoo and hand soap, making worrying about it in your dishwashing detergent seem a little pointless. According to the Journal of the American College of Toxicology, laboratories around the world use it as a skin irritant.
• Propylene glycol; might help soften baked-on foods and allow the other chemicals in your dishwasher detergent to do their jobs. But it's also a carcinogen that alters skin structure, helping those same chemicals to penetrate your skin and find their way into your bloodstream.
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While you might think these chemicals aren't affecting you because you're not touching them, even the best dishwasher leaves a thin film of residue on your dishes, so you might be exposing  yourself to more than you think when you eat from them.

This isn't healthy for anyone, but especially little babies.

Additionally, if you google the dangers of dishwasher detergent, you will find countless reports of children ingesting this substance. The cute little individual packs are the most tempting for a little kid to pop into his or her mouth. 

Part of my reasoning in moving towards more natural cleaning products is to not have these dangerous cleaning products around at all, as I have a very curious one year old. During my time as a missionary in Liberia I worked with some children who had accidentally swallowed caustic substances and were near death due to the horrific consequences of this. Thankfully we were able to help many of them, but every one of these children will face lifelong medical issues because of these injuries. 

Completely natural dishwashing detergent kept in a locked cupboard is one step I can take to keep my little boy safe, from when I serve him food, to when he wonders into the kitchen alone.

Making homemade dishwashing detergent was my second DIY natural home care product after my laundry detergent. This recipe comes from my friend Ashley from college. She has a lovely blog where she shares her journey into a more natural life and celebrates the growth of her children. Those looking for more DIY natural home and body care products should definitely check out her blog!

Ashley did all the work to test this one out, I just followed her instructions. I'm happy to say this recipe has been great and I have no complaints! And there is no residue either, not even on the glasses.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

2 cups washing soda

1 cup borax

1 cup baking soda

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. You may want to sift it through a sieve to remove any lumps. Store in a large container with a lid. Keep a one tablespoon measuring spoon inside the container. You will need 2 tablespoons of detergent for every load.

Some people may need a rinsing agent depending on their water types. I do not, but I wanted to share a rinsing tip I've heard others use.

Note: Washing soda, borax, and bulk packages of baking soda can all be found in the laundry detergent section of Wal-Mart and most grocery stores.

Rinse Agent: Place 1/4 cup white vinegar in a small shallow container on the top wrack of the dishwasher. Run the load as usual. Do NOT put the vinegar in the compartment in the door designed for store-bought rinse agents. The plastic is not made for vinegar and you can damage your washing machine by using it in this way.

For other great homemade dishwasher detergent recipes check out this website here.

{This post is linked up at Homemade Mondays, Living Green Tuesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Fabulously Frugal Thursday,  Thank Your Body Thursday, and Small Footprint Friday.}

Do you make your own dishwashing detergent? How does your recipe compare to mine?

Homemade Laundry Detergent

In my journey to a frugal healthier lifestyle, I've started making a certain number of home and personal care products that are not only healthier than store-bought versions, but cheaper. 

All over the web you can find tons of recipes for home and body care products, but many call for ingredients that are expensive or hard to find. One recipe I saw for a natural cleaning product had about 5 different kinds of essential oils. While I'm sure it cleans well, for folks like me who nearly have a heart attack at the purchase of one tiny bottle of tea tree oil for $8 or $9, these items are just not worth it for use in my home products. Tea tree oil and peppermint oil are the only two essential oils I use for my home and body care products. Every other ingredient you can get easily at regular-people stores.

Laundry detergent is the first DIY home or body care product I started making about a year ago. My primary motivation was to cut back on the high cost of most laundry detergents.  This was even before I started considering the potentially dangerous additives found in most normal laundry detergents, which include phenols, surfactants, and optical brighteners, to name a few.

"Think about it: clothing is in constant contact with your skin. The skin is exceptionally permeable; it quickly absorbs outside substances directly into the blood stream. Many experts recommend: if you wouldn`t eat it or drink it, you shouldn`t be letting it come into contact with your skin. Ditch the commercial laundry detergents and seek out more natural ways to clean your clothes." (Click here to read the rest of this health report.)

Natural laundry detergent is certainly not my primary concern when it comes to healthy living. I am most concerned about the things we put directly into our bodies. But I found this detergent considerably cheaper than store-bought detergent, easy to make, long lasting because you use way less than you think you would need, and it happens to be healthier. That's just an added bonus!

Laundry Detergent

1 bar Fels Naptha soap, or 2 bars Kirk's Castile soap (This is the more natural option.)
2 cups washing soda
2 cups borax

Shred the soap using the fine side of a cheese grater. I had the ingenious idea to use the smallest grater on my Kitchen Aid. This saved tons of time. 

Note; some recipes will suggest grinding the soap in a food processor, or, if you're like me, you'll come up with that on your own. I'm not pointing any fingers, but someone in my house may have thrown her dying food processor over the edge by trying this. So yeah, the soap is too hard on the machine. 

Mix the shredded soap with the washing soda and borax. If there are lumps in the powdered ingredients you will want to sift them through a sieve before mixing them with the soap.

Now, at this point most recipes will tell you to mix the powder with a ton of water to make liquid soap. I didn't realize I was supposed to do this at the beginning of my detergent making career, so I was just using the powder by itself. Guess what? It works fine! The soap shreds have no problem disolving. Plus it takes up less room in my laundry room/closet and it saves a big inconvenient step.

Store in a container with a lid. An empty coffee container is perfect, or get a clear plastic container specifically for this purpose. I prefer a clear container so I can see when I am getting low.

 Keep a quarter cup (1/4) scoop in the container. You'll need one to three tablespoons depending on the size of the load. Yes, that's all you need! This soap even works for my husband's dirty work clothes (he's a construction superintendent). Sometimes I'll use four tablespoons if the clothes are particularly dirty, but this soap really works amazingly well. Plus it is suitable for high efficiency machines.

I usually end up making a double batch so it will last twice as long. 

That's it! Easy, natural, and cheap. What's not to like?

Update: Borax, washing soda and Fels Naptha soap can all be found in the detergent section at Wal-Mart. They should also be available in most major grocery stores.

DIY laundry detergent funny; 

"Why are there weevils in your laundry detergent?" 

My sister was visiting and throwing in a load of laundry and didn't know what the yellow soap shreds were hanging out in the detergent!

{This post is linked up at Natural Living Monday, Modest Monday, Wild Crafting Wednesday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Tasty Traditions, and Small Footprint Fridays.}

Do you make your own laundry detergent? How does your recipe compare to mine?