Avoid harsh chemicals with these simple, yet effective, tablets.
Andrea Fabry
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DIY Automatic Dishwasher Tablets
A silicone candy mold works well for these tablets.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/3 cup washing soda (make your own- directions here )
- 1/2 cup citric acid (available online or health food store)
- water (spray bottle is ideal)
- Optional:
- 1 tablespoon EM powder (Effective Microorganisms - see this previous post )
- Mold (I use a silicone brownie mold found here .)
- 30+ drops essential oil (suggestions: lemon, tea tree or rosemary)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except water, in bowl.
- Spritz or sprinkle water onto the mixture. You won't need much!
- Combine with your hands until the mixture becomes dough-like. Keep spritzing until dough forms.
- Press into molds.
- Allow to harden for 24 hours.
- Using the mold pictured here each tab is 1.5 inches square and weighs approximately 8 ounces.
- Remove and place under sink next to the dishwasher.
- Use one tablet per load. Place in bottom of the dishwasher, cutlery basket or the dispenser if the tablet fits.
This is how my dishes respond to one tablet placed in the bottom of the dishwasher.
Additional tips:
It may some trial and error to find the right fit for your water and dishwasher. If your dishes are cloudy, try adding 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the bottom of the dishwasher to act as a rinsing agent. (Vinegar can corrode the plastic dispenser.) Or throw in 1/4 cup of DIY Citrus Cleaner. (View the recipe here.) You may also add a tad of liquid castile soap to the bottom to help with clouding.
This is awesome, I never thought to make my own dishwashing tabs. Thanks for the recipe – pinning to try later 🙂
I can’t believe how well these have worked. Hope they work for you too, Roechelle!
Andrea,
What type of mold do you use?
Hi Laurie!
I use a candy mold. I found it on Amazon. I will link to it in the post. Here it is.
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-2105-4923-24-Cavity-Silicone-Brownie/dp/B001T4URXG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1398531631&sr=8-4&keywords=silicone+mold
I found the same mold at AC Moore and got to use a 40% off coupon to buy it 🙂 Just as an alternate place to look for one! 🙂 Love this recipie!
Great to know, Tiffanie! I’ve never heard of A.C. Moore. (Looks like it’s an East Coast chain.) Thanks for the tip.
Have been contemplating this for awhile. Could you use plastic/ silicone ice cube trays?
Carol,
Absolutely! Those should work great.
I can only find EM liquid – do you think that would work the same? If so, how much would I use?
Thanks!
I think you’re fine skipping the EM liquid honestly. You can use a bit in the water that you use to make the tablets if you would like. I use this powder, but I am sure the tablets will be fine without.
http://www.teraganix.com/TERRA-Powder-p/4011.htm
I’ve been making these for a few months and they are so easy. However, I did run into a little problem. The first time I did them, they turned out great. Then, the next time they foamed out of the the molds and made a huge mess. I thought I just used too much water. I decreased the water the next time and it was only slightly better. They still worked (not quite as great as the first time, it seemed), but were kind of airy and bubbly. I finally had to do so little water that I was practically putting it is the molds as a barely wet powder. Then, last time, I tried filtered water, and voila! They were perfect! No bubbling over, no foaming. I discovered that something in my tap water was reacting with the tablets (chlorine or something else?). I’m not sure if I had just happened to use filtered water the first time I made these, or if there has been a change in my tap water. In any case, we are buying reverse osmosis water to drink now!
This is so helpful Krystle! I will add this to the post to help others avoid the problem. Thank you so much for posting!!
I’m so happy I discovered the source of the problem, and I’m glad it may be helpful to others! Thank you for this great recipe!:-)
Nice to hear from you as always, Krystle.
Hi — Could you just make a powder that you could scoop into the dishwasher soap dispenser?
That’s a great question. Absolutely! You can put it in the bottom of the dishwasher or try using it in the dispenser. I always recommend adding a bit of white vinegar with the powder.
I make your laundry soap and it is working absolutely wonderfully! I’m looking at recipes for dishwashing detergent and am just wondering why you don’t include sea salt in your recipe like so many others… Thanks for your time and input! You are a blessing to so many!
I haven’t needed the salt, Karen. But for some types of water it may be needed. Can’t hurt to add a bit to this recipe!
Thanks so much for the prompt response 🙂 God bless you for your service to our great God!
Hi Andrea,
I’ve been looking on Amazon for silicone molds I can use for making dishwasher tablets, but am having a hard time finding one that makes individual pods that are 1.5″X1.5 (or 2″), which is what will fit in my dishwasher. Can you or your readers list where you found yours? Thanks so much!
I found mine on Amazon. If you type in silicone molds you’ll find all sorts. I hope you find one that works.
How big of a bottle of lemon juice? Is real lemon considered reconstituted?