Comments on: Homemade Dishwasher Detergent: An Update

By: Ernestine

Ernestine — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:09:24 +0000

Well – I have done both – and the ‘film’ is from residue = we have soft water here and by using a bit more of the Lemi Shine, it worked beautifully. I don’t use vinegar in the rinse agent container.
The cost (according to my numbers) are better for the homemade – but for me it is more a matter of being ‘green’. Jolyn said “frustration” and “wasted water in rewashing” wasn’t worth the $0.01 a load difference. With all due respect, why did you feel compelled to rewash the load? If it was just the spots as an issue, try more lemi shine. The reason the dishes are spotless with Cascade is because of the phospates. To me, a little bit of ‘film’ that isn’t anything wrong but aesthetics. isn’t worth the damage to the water shed by using phosphates. Just my $0.02 but why are you so frustrated Joyln with a little water film? Just food for thought that there are choices we all make … and the extra water you use to ‘rewash’ the dishes won’t have the phosphates. It isn’t always about the money. No offense intended Jolyn – just a different perspective.

By: Dustin Bryson

Dustin Bryson — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 16:34:36 +0000

Jolyn,

Hi, Dustin from Lemi Shine here, I just wanted to let you know about a new humanitarian project we launched called Project Ethiopia. We are challenging our blog friends to help us get the word out. If you would like to write a post about it here are the direct links to the information.

Press Release > http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/lemishine/prweb8896551.htm
Website > http://projects.lemishine.com
Direct Video Link > http://youtu.be/3wL9j4MVV9M

By: jolyn

jolyn — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:36:28 +0000

Thanks! I may have to give homemade another go!

By: Cindy

Cindy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:07:59 +0000

I’m late on this discussion, but I’m using a little different recipe and adding salt (to soften our hard water) and a 1/2tsp of liquid dish detergent per load. I also put 1/2tsp of the liquid detergent in the pre-wash place as well and so far it’s done as well as Cascade did! We’ll see how it goes over the long run!

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:49:12 +0000

I live in the country of Canada and we can’t find a whole lot of the same cleaning luxuries that can be found in bigger cities. Anyhow, washing soda is “sodium carbonate” and I have found that I can get that in the “swimming pool” section at Walmart. They use it in pools to raise the alkaline level in the water. Also, I use the Lemishine (in the detergent) with the vinegar on the rinse cycle since we have really hard water. Good luck with it all! It is fun to play with chemistry in the kitchen! ha ha!

By: jolyn

jolyn — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:28:24 +0000

I am so disappointed about the dishwasher detergent! But I am loving the laundry detergent; I’ll probably do a post on that next week.

I saw your post on your minimizing your kitchen dishes. Very impressive.

By: Our Lives

Our Lives — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:30:02 +0000

Jolyn,
I am sorry to hear you are unhappy with your home made dish washer detergent. I got the recipe from the internet but my dish washer went out of order shortly after so as I have to hand wash all of my dishes right now, I could not tell you how I’d have liked the result of the homemade dish washer detergent. One thing though, I did use a bit more than one tablespoon in each cap of the washer. I don’t mind hand washing dishes now since I have minimized a whole bunch of glasses and dishes. I did stop making my own dish liquid soap because the organic liquid soap I used for the recipe was just a bit too expensive for me right now. My laundry detergent, however, is still going strong. We all love it! Are you still making your laundry detergent?

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:31:51 +0000

I’ve always wanted to try that, but never got around to it (the recipe I had called just for Borax and “washing soda”. I have no idea what washing soda is, and I’ve never seen either of those things at any stores I frequent, so I just stick to what I can find on sale!) I’d be curious to know what the price for those things are at regular grocery stores, because I wonder if you might end up saving more money per load if you aren’t paying commissary prices? And when all is said and done, do you like the end result of your current recipe more than a store bought brand?

By: Forest

Forest — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:53:17 +0000

I’m sure tweaking and playing will lead to a more cost effective recipe in the end… Instead of Borax what about straight Boric Acid from a chemical suppliers? I don’t have a dishwasher so I guess I need to look into a handwash version of this recipe.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:32:32 +0000

I’ve tried, and been unhappy. Reworked the recipe, tried, and been unhappy. Tried a new recipe, and been unhappy. Eventually gave up and used leftover trials for cleaning toilets and floors. Bought a big container at Costco when it was on sale. Similar costs, way better results. Guilt over not beeing as ‘green’ as I could/should be totally overridden by the frustration (and water waste) of rewashing dishes by hand after the dishwasher.