DIY Dishwasher Detergent

This post has been a long time coming, but I am happy to be able to finally share this recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent, courtesy of my friend Kim. The good thing about being so busy that I haven't been blogging much is that it's given me a solid two and a half weeks of using this recipe non-stop -- my dishwasher runs an average of once a day. That means you all get my honest-to-goodness opinion on how well this homemade version works (versus the over-the-moon excitement I felt the first time I used it).

Aside from the citric acid, which I purchased on Amazon, these are all ingredients that you can find in any grocery store. This is always something I appreciate in a homemade cleaning solution. Four ingredients is a manageable amount, in my opinion, which is another plus. Everything is reasonably priced, with the citric acid being the priciest component (breakdown of cost to follow).

The main reason for why I wanted to make my own dishwasher detergent wasn't to save money -- although I will do that! The real purpose was to eliminate more chemical crap from the household. This was one area that I have had a hard time finding a good natural alternative to. (I had previously tried a different recipe and it didn't work all that well. In fact, this turned my off from even trying again for a good 18 months or so!) However, my greener spring cleaning series of posts raised the question "What do you use in your dishwasher?" and this prompted me to seek out a better alternative.

Good news, folks! While this one doesn't always remove every single food particle (and let's be honest, your store-bought stuff isn't always up to the tough jobs either, right?), it works pretty darn well -- much better than the previous recipe. (To be fair, the primary reason that I occasionally find stuck-on food is what I will refer to as "operator error." I tend to overload the dishwasher, and that doesn't help it to do its thing in the most efficient way possible -- but I'm stubborn, and I refuse to run it unless it's full, so that's my catch-22.) My conclusion is that it has to be the citric acid that is making this work because that's the only difference from what I had tried before. (On a side note, I've seen some other recipes for dishwasher detergent lately, and many of them call for lemonade mix. My guess is that people have found the citric acid in it to be the magic ingredient that really cleans their dishes. My only thought here is, why use something that has artificial colors, flavors, and other added stuff when you can purchase pure citric acid and get the job done in a more natural way?) Just my two cents.

On the subject of dollars and cents, you may be asking, is homemade dishwasher detergent really a good value? Yup! Breaking this down, I found this to actually be cheaper than the Member's Mark dishwasher pacs we were buying in bulk at Sam's Club. (105 pacs at $9.98 works out to about 10 cents per use.) The Borax and Super Washing Soda are both things I have had at home for years and have been used for many different things including homemade laundry soap and all-purpose cleaner -- and I'm still working from the original boxes. (55 ounces of Super Washing Soda which cost $2.89 when I bought it and 76 ounces of Borax, which was $3.42 at the time. There is no way that you will convince me that these are not good values because even if you don't use them for the dishwasher detergent, you will use them for something.) Honestly, I don't remember how much I paid for my coarse Kosher salt, but I think it was less than $5, so for my calculations I am just going to overestimate and say it was $5 for the 48 ounce box. Again, citric acid was the most expensive at $11.99 for 36 ounces.

So, 55 ounces of Super Washing Soda divided by 8 ounces (per the recipe below) = 6 batches (plus a bit extra, but let's work in whole batches here.) This means that this ingredient costs 48 cents per batch. Borax: 76 divided by 8 = 9 batches, at a cost of 38 cents per batch. Coarse salt (again, I think I overestimated the cost): 48 ounces divided by 4 = 12 batches, at a cost of 42 cents (probably less) per batch. Citric acid: 36 ounces divided by 4 = 9 batches, at a cost of 75 cents per batch. Total cost = $2.03 for 3 cups of homemade detergent. If using the max recommended amount of two tablespoons per load (personally, I have found this to work better than one tablespoon), this works out to 24 uses per batch at a cost of 8 cents per use -- that's 2 cents cheaper than the least expensive store-bought cleaner that we were previously using. Since this only takes a couple of minutes to mix up and it keeps (meaning you don't have to mix up a new batch each time, which can be annoying with some recipes for homemade cleaning products), this is 100% worth your time to make! It's always nice to know exactly what goes into your cleaning products. Here's the recipe.

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

• 1 cup Borax
• 1 cup Super Washing Soda
• 1/2 cup coarse salt (I used Kosher)
• 1/2 cup citric acid

1. Mix well. (I stirred mine in a large glass bowl, but Kim puts hers in a container with a lid and shakes it up.) 
2. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load. 
3. Optional: You can also add vinegar to the rinse cycle, which I have been doing. This is a natural way to get shiny, spot-free dishes. I just filled the rinse cycle compartment and let the dishwasher dispense it during the rinse cycle.

(Note: Kim suggests storing the detergent in the freezer to prevent clumping, but I have not really had an issue with this. Mine is being stored in an old dishwasher detergent container under my kitchen sink.)

Thanks for reading! This was my 600th blog post. Cue trumpets. Okay, not really. Maybe for my upcoming 4th blogiversary...

Greener Spring Cleaning: Part 3 (Homemade Floor Cleaners)

Mud season is officially under way here in Michigan and that means plenty of dirt getting tracked in on my linoleum and wood floors. (And occasionally onto the carpet, as well, even though we have a no shoes in the house policy.) These are my current favorite homemade solutions for cleaning all of my floors.

All-Purpose Cleaning Solution: (For Hard Floor Surfaces)

• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dish soap (your safest bets are Dawn or something like Seventh Generation)
• 1 teaspoon Borax

Combine ingredients in a spray bottle (one that did not previously contain chemicals!) and shake gently. Using a funnel is helpful when filling your bottle. Optional: Add a few drops of essential oils if you would like a light scent. Label your bottle with the recipe using a permanent marker. Cover the writing with a piece of clear packing tape to prevent it from being wiped away over time.

To mop the floors, add a small amount to your bucket and then fill it with hot water. This solution cleans up all sorts of gunk and it disinfects, too. Personally, I have had no issues using this on our floors, but of course, you may want to test it on a small area before tackling all of your floors.

Now, what about carpet cleaning? If you have kids and pets, you are sure to get an assortment of spots on them. For small messes, I often grab my spray bottle of All-Purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth. But let's be honest. Most of the messes on my floors aren't small!

For bigger stains, I have successfully used baking soda and vinegar to remove every kid and dog-related bodily fluid that can possibly end up on the carpet. I'm talking blood, vomit, urine, and poop -- completely eradicated with just a couple of simple to use, inexpensive, and totally safe things. To get this nasty business out of your carpet without resorting to commercial carpet cleaners (which are loaded with toxins and do NOT work as well -- Believe me, I've tried a number of them, even the ones that claim to be specifically for pet stains.) follow these steps. This even works on old stains!!

{Urine Stain: BEFORE}

{Urine Stain: AFTER}

Carpet Stain Removal

• baking soda
• vinegar
• water
• clean cloths (microfiber cloths are good for this)

1. First, sop up as much liquid (and solids, if that applies. Ew, I know...) as possible.
2. Next, cover the soiled area with a generous sprinkling of baking soda. Let this set overnight.
3. Vacuum up the baking soda. You will see that this has already absorbed some if not all of the yucky stuff (and hopefully, taken a lot of the smell away, too).
4. Pour undiluted distilled white vinegar over the soiled area. Sit back and let the bubbling action do its thing for a minute or two.
5. Now, grab your microfiber cloth and start scrubbing the carpet. This should get out the remaining grossness.
6. Pour some fresh water over top scrub/mop it up with a second clean cloth.
7. Allow the wet spot to dry. You will be amazed! (However, if it is not as clean as you would like, repeat the above steps.)

{Unknown Set-in Stain: BEFORE}

{Unknown Set-in Stain: AFTER}

Homemade Bouncy Balls Experiment

Yesterday, we tried what was essentially a science experiment: attempting to make homemade bouncy balls. I found the idea on Pinterest. The only possible problem was that this blogger's directions very clearly stated that Elmer's Glue-All must be used, and I only had Elmer's School Glue on hand. So, I checked our local Wal-mart, but they were all out of the Glue-All for some reason. Then, I had the idea that Aleene's Tacky Glue is probably pretty similar to the consistency of Elmer's Glue-All, so I decided it was worth a shot.

The bouncy balls ended up being the right size, shape, and consistency, I believe. They bounced just a bit, which I think is the desired effect. I can't say for certain, since I did not try it with the Glue-All, but I think this worked as well as could be expected for homemade bouncy balls. Obviously, we could not expect them to bounce as high as store-bought balls. I think Mia was a tad disappointed by this because she said, "It just bumps a little bit." However, this provided some spring break entertainment without breaking the bank, which was what I was looking for in an afternoon activity.

{Finished Bouncy Balls}

{Bowl #2: BEFORE Mixing}

Materials:

• 2 Tbs warm water
• 1/2 tsp Borax
• 1 Tbs Aleene's Tacky Glue (or Elmer's Glue-All) not regular glue
• 1 Tbs corn starch
• 2 bowls
• spoons for mixing
• food coloring (optional)

Directions:

1. In the first bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of Borax. Stir to dissolve. There will be some powder that does not fully dissolve. Add desired food coloring and stir to mix. Kids can help with mixing, and also with adding food coloring, if you are comfortable with that. Tip: If you are unfamiliar with Borax, it can be found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store. I bought mine at Meijer for $3.42 and it has lasted me well over 2 years, so it is very affordable. It has lots of practical uses including making homemade cleaning solution (which I use to clean practically everything), homemade laundry detergent (which I use to wash all laundry except for diapers), and growing crystal snowflakes.
2. In a second bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of Aleene's Tacky Glue (or Elmer's Glue-All, not regular glue) with 1/2 teaspoon of the Borax mixture from the first bowl. DO NOT MIX! Let it stand for 15 seconds, then stir the mixture until it is too thick to continue stirring any longer. This is a bit harder for little hands, so probably will need to be done by an adult.
3. Using your hands, quickly roll the mixture into a ball. Kids can help with this step. Allow it to harden. We let ours set for about 30 minutes before playing with them. (You may not need to wait that long, but I wasn't sure.)
4. Try out your bouncy ball. Have fun, but don't expect it to perform like a regular store-bought bouncy ball!
5. You can repeat step 2 as many times as you like while you still have the mixture from step 1 available. We made two balls, one per child, but there was enough left over to make several more.

   

   {Forming the Bouncy Ball}

{Trying out the Bouncy Ball}

Make Your Own: Crystal Snowflakes

This project has been on my mental to-do list for at least a year, and thankfully, yesterday's snow day prompted me to finally make a real crystal snowflake with the kids. I got the idea and basic directions from this website. This project involves boiling water so it's definitely not one for kids to do on their own. Borax isn't something that everyone has at home, but it is definitely handy if you are interested in making your own laundry detergent or all-purpose green cleaning solution. The only things we changed were using a popsicle stick in place of a pencil to hold the snowflake in the jar, and I constructed the whole thing from white pipe cleaners instead of pipe cleaner and string. (Oh, and one small tip I learned by trial and error: if you think that maybe you can pour boiling water into a plastic peanut butter jar because you have one one hand, think again. It will immediately melt. Just saying. Enchanted Learning does apparently know better than I do when they say to use a glass jar.) This was a fun and simple science experiment and the kids were excited to wake up to find that crystals had really grown overnight. I think next year we will make several of these crystal snowflakes and either use them for Christmas ornaments, give them away as gifts, or perhaps hang them from the chandelier using fishing line.

DIY Laundry Detergent

My friend Jeanine gave me a recipe for homemade laundry detergent and I decided to give it a try. First of all let me say that this sounds like a daunting task, but it wasn't as much work as I thought it would be. If you really want to save some money on laundry detergent, this is the way to go.

Materials Needed:

• Fels Naptha Laundry Bar Soap
• Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda (not to be confused with baking soda)
• Borax
• 3 gallon bucket
• cheese grater
• large pot 
• long-handled spoon
• water
• funnel
• something to store your detergent in
• essential oil (optional)

Where to Buy:

Fels Naptha, Borax, and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda are all found in the laundry aisle of grocery stores. I know for sure that you can buy Fels Naptha at Meijer and Kroger. I paid $1.29 for one bar at Kroger. Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda is available at Meijer, Walmart, and Kroger. I paid $2.89 for a 55 oz. box at Kroger. I had previously purchased Borax for making Safe and Green Household Cleaner. It can be found at Meijer, where I paid $3.42 for a 76 oz. box, and it is also available at Walmart. You may also find these products at other stores or online.

How to Make Laundry Soap:

1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Laundry Bar Soap
1/2 Cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/3 Cup Borax
2 gallons hot tap water + 8 cups tap water

1. Grate soap bar and melt in a pot of water (8 cups) on low heat, stirring as needed. (Note: The smaller your grated pieces of soap, the quicker this process will be. I found the most time consuming part to be waiting for the soap flakes to melt--about 35-40 minutes-- so I would advise grating your soap as finely as possible.)
2. Fill a bucket with 2 gallons of hot tap water.
3. Add washing soda and Borax to bucket of water and stir to dissolve.
4. When bar soap is completely dissolved, pour mixture into the bucket and mix thoroughly with a long handled spoon. 
5. Pour directly into your containers using a funnel or store in the bucket if it has a lid. (I used 3 clean gallon milk jugs. Jeanine told me that she uses 3 100 oz. Dynamo jugs.)

* Makes approximately 2 1/2 gallons of laundry detergent. 
* Use 1/2 cup of detergent per load.

Tips and Suggestions:

• This soap will not produce lots of bubbles. This is okay, though, because it is not the bubbles that get your clothes clean, anyway!
• The mixture will be clumpy and will need to be shaken or stirred before each use. (I just shake up my milk jug before using the detergent.)
• Do not use regular soap to make detergent. Soap that is made for your skin can stain clothing.
• Jeanine adds 1 tsp. of orange or eucalyptus essential oil when making her detergent. I did not do this because I didn't have any and I prefer not to use soap with fragrance. (Unfortunately, the Fels Naptha has a fragrance. However, it doesn't transfer to the clothing.)
• This detergent doesn't work well for removing odors, particularly urine, so Jeanine says to add 1/2 cup of ammonia when washing especially stinky clothes.
• Jeanine tells me that she has tried other laundry bar soaps, but she feels that Fels Naptha is the best.
• I have still been using a commercial pre-treater to tackle tough stains. Sometimes, I also add Oxi Clean to the wash load.
• I have used this detergent to wash everything except diapers. After doing some research online, I do not feel comfortable using this on our FuzziBunz. I found that Martha Stewart recommends using Borax and washing soda for diapers, but it is the Fels Naptha that I am concerned about. It is a soap and soap is not recommended by the manufacturer.
• Be sure to label your containers with all ingredients. I also wrote a reminder on each container to shake before use and to use 1/2 cup per load.

Is It Worth It? My Opinion:

The ingredients needed to make your own laundry soap are not difficult to find. The entire process of making laundry soap is not complicated. It does take some time, but it's far from being an all-day chore and the amount yielded should last a few months so you will only need to make detergent a few times a year. To me, that is worth an hour or so of my time, especially once I did the math and figured out how little this homemade laundry detergent costs. I will break it down for you:

• Fels Naptha = $1.29/bar. Divide this by 3 since you only use 1/3 bar to make a batch of detergent and you get 43 cents per batch. Remember, one batch of detergent = 2 1/2 gallons.
• Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda = $2.89/55 oz. or 0.0525 cents per oz. You use 1/2 cup per batch of detergent and that comes to 21 cents per batch.
• Borax = $3.42/76 oz. or 0.045 cents per oz. You use 1/3 cup per batch, which costs 0.1197 cents. (I rounded that to 12 cents.)
• Add 43 + 21 + 12 = 76 cents per 2 1/2 gallon batch. If you use 1/2 cup per wash load, you will get 80 loads from one batch of laundry soap. After dividing, that comes to a grand total of....

0.0095 cents per load! I know that sounded too low to me, too, but I double-checked the math. This is absolutely, positively, waaaaaay cheaper than buying commercial laundry detergent. Plus, by making your own, you know exactly what is in it.

The Greener Cleaner Experiment

I have been considering trying out some homemade green cleaning solutions for awhile now. One reason I have considered this is to save money. The main reason, however, is that being home full-time with the kids means that we are home a lot more than we used to be, and therefore, exposed much more to whatever environmental pollutants are in our house.

My husband's aunt sent an email awhile back about how hydrogen peroxide had so many uses. I am skeptical about some of its purported health benefits, but I did believe that it is effective as a cleaning product. Then, a friend from my mom's group emailed a recipe for a green cleaner that she uses, and I decided it was time to start trying to make my own household cleaners. I already knew that baking soda, Dawn detergent, and lemon juice were handy for cleaning since I use those when I strip diapers, but I needed to investigate some other common household items that are said to be excellent cleaners. Here is what I have learned so far...

First Attempt: 2 cups vinegar left in toilet over night and then scrubbed in the morning.

Pros:

• The toilet is clean and sanitized and some of the rust ring is diminished (we have iron in our well water). 
• Vinegar is an inexpensive cleaning product that most everyone has at home. 
• This is very simple!

Cons:  

• The smell of vinegar is one that I can't stand. I am going to continue looking for a greener way to clean the toilet bowl, however, it must NOT make me want to throw up!

Second Attempt: Equal parts hydrogen peroxide and water mixed in a spray bottle. I used this to clean the kitchen sink, counter, and stove top, the toilet bowl, lid, and seat, dining table and chairs, bathroom mirror, and windows.

Pros:  

• Everything is clean and sanitized without a chemical (or vinegar!) smell. 
• This cost-effective cleaning solution is quick and easy to make. 
• It seems to clean glass well without leaving streaks behind.

Cons:

• I still need something to cut the grease residue on my stove. 
• Cleaning smudges from mirrors and windows takes a bit more elbow grease than with a commercial window cleaner. 
• There is some cleaning solution residue left on the table on chairs, possibly because the wood is finished.

Third Attempt: This recipe for an all-purpose cleaner is from my friend Darla. 

Safe and Green Household Cleaner

In a spray bottle mix:

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon Borax (found in the laundry detergent aisle- I bought a 4+ lb. box for under $5)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dish soap (I used Dawn)
1 drop scented oil (optional) 

*Shake
 
Pros: 

• Everything is clean and sanitized, and the vinegar smell is so minor, I am easily able to use this solution for cleaning just about anything. It really lives up to the name "all purpose cleaner."
• This appears to work better on grease than the hydrogen peroxide and water alone, I am guessing because of the Dawn.
• This works well on windows and does not leave streaks.
• I think this worked better on my linoleum floors than a commercial cleaner, and it smells much better, too. 
• This is much cheaper than commercial cleaning products, and it is simple to make.

Cons:

• My table looks about the same as with the 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water mixture: some residue left behind. (This bothers my husband much more than it bothers me.)
• For window cleaning, you may want to spray a bit on your cloth instead of directly on the window because it is a bit sudsier than commercial window cleaners (again, I think because of the Dawn.)

Fourth Attempt: I made a paste of baking soda and Dawn dish detergent and used it as a soft scrubbing cleaner. I tried this on my bathroom sinks and counters, the stove top, kitchen sinks and counters, the shower door, and the microwave.

Pros: 

• Everything is clean and sanitized without being scratched.
• This also appears to work better on grease than the hydrogen peroxide and water alone, I am guessing because of the Dawn.
• This really got rid of the soap scum and even mineral deposits from our hard water (both on the shower door and in sinks).
• This is much cheaper than commercial cleaning products, and it is simple to make with products that most everyone already has in their homes. 
• I even tried this mixture watered down so I could put it in a squeeze bottle. It worked just as well as the more concentrated paste. A little bit goes a long way!
• No chemical odors means that this is a safe cleaner to use (and I wasn't worried about cleaning without wearing gloves.)
• The inside of my microwave is cleaner than it has been in quite some time. (Okay, I will admit to having not cleaned it in quite some time, but still...)

Cons:

• This is so effective, that it's almost too sudsy. My only complaint was how often I had to re-wet my sponge.

The Verdict on Homemade Cleaning Solutions: 

Basically, I am thinking, "Why didn't I do this sooner?!" The amount of money saved by making cleaners instead of buying them makes it worth it. And that's before considering environmental impact, both for my household and overall. I feel so much better knowing that I am not filling our home and our bodies full of unnecessary chemicals.