Funny thing, chores. They’re necessary (if you want to avoid drowning in dirty dishes and clothes), but they’re not something that most of us get super excited about. I mean, I’d rather sit through a root canal than clean toilets. And yet…I end up cleaning toilets on a weekly basis. If you’re the same you’ll love these DIY dishwasher detergent tablets, click here for the recipe.
Easy DIY Dishwasher Detergent Tablets
Thankfully, the boys are finally old enough to help out with chores (can you hear the excitement in my voice, Y’all?!), which means they both have daily (and weekly) chores to help around the house. That’s right. My kids do chores. In fact, they actually fight over certain chores so I have to keep track of who goes to vacuum last and who polished the sliding doors.
True story.
One of the other things that the boys help with is dishes. They are responsible for setting and clearing the table, as well as unloading clean dishes and loading their own plates (unless they are helping cook dinner).
That may seem like a lot, but Y’all. I want to raise functional, polite humans.
Also, I am not the maid. This is their house, too. Unpopular view nowadays, I know, but honestly?
I don’t care.
It works for our family, and I know that when the boys go to college, or trade school, or get roomies because they can’t afford rent (when I allow them to move out…mama is still in denial that they’re growing up too fast over here), my children will most definitely not be the ones that are slobs.
That doesn’t mean that our house is always tidy, but they know to pick up their toys and where to put their dirty laundry.
And they know how to load and unload a dishwasher.
Time To Make DIY Dishwasher Detergent Tablets
Those detergent pods are bad news. I mean, you’ve seen the pod challenge thingy.
Not the best argument for the future of the human race.
But even before morons decided to eat freaking detergent pods, they always kind of freaked me out.
I mean…that’s plastic-y stuff and it looks like a candy.
But I like the idea of having my detergent and other cleaners (we also use DIY tablets to clean our toilets and drains in this house) in pre-measured amounts. Check out my dishwasher cleaning tabs as well, they are a dream!
Makes it easier for me and for the boys to not overdo things (I’m also a huge fan of toothpaste tablets, in case you were wondering), which means we end up with clean dishes and less mess.
As someone who overflowed her girlfriend’s dishwasher as a child (we loaded it up with Dawn instead of dishwasher detergent…), this is something that I’m very passionate about.
But I digress. I looked for dishwasher detergent tablets that didn’t have chemicals that I could not pronounce and came up empty.
Easy DIY Dishwasher Detergent Tablets
- 3/4 cups Washing Soda
- 3/4 cups Borax
- 1 tablespoon Baking Soda
- 3/4 cups Epsom Salt
- 3/8 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 50 drops of your favorite Essential Oil (my favorite by far is lemon, but you can also use any citrus oil, such as grapefruit or orange)
Gather all of your ingredients, a large mixing bowl
Add the washing soda, borax, Epsom salts and baking soda to your large mixing bowl.
Using a spoon, gently press out any clumps, then mix your dry ingredients together.
Add your drops of essential oil, and then your apple cider vinegar. Mix it together quickly to avoid the vinegar activating the baking soda.
A small amount of activation is going to happen, but you want to move quickly enough to avoid a volcano in your kitchen. Save that for cleaning dishes.
Use your spoon to add the mixture to your silicone mold
Allow your mixture to dry for 24 hours, then transfer your DIY dishwasher detergent tabs to an airtight container
Store your tabs in a cool dry place, and add one to your dishwasher per load of dishes.
If you’re worried about water spots, turn off the heat dry option and towel dry your dishes as you put them away, or add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white vinegar
These are so easy to make, last us almost a month on one recipe, and best of all, I feel comfortable having my kids add the tabs and start the dishwasher themselves.
