We dealt with Wicked Laundry a couple of weeks ago (ok - so it was two weeks ago!). I did not hang laundry out this week and still we got a foot and a half of snow over the weekend! March - in like a lamb and out like the Abominible Snowman I guess! What does that have to do with dirty dirty dishes you ask? Everything - My boys were supposed to travel this weekend to the cabin for some guy time and leave me alone in my house for some cleanup time! I just want it clean for 5 minutes in here and not have someone walk across it with the boots and shoes on. And when everyone is stuck in the house for the weekend they create a ton of dirty dirty dishes!
Because of the Abominable snow, my people were not able to go to the cabin and leave me alone!
Dont get me wrong, I love my people, but when I'm expecting to just get to do my own thing and not have to do umpteen loads of dishes, it gets a little frustrating! So, because I dont like commercial detergents, and I don't feel like they work well anyway, I made my own dishwasher detergent! Its not far off from being laundry soap, just one or two ingredient changes and you have it!
Dirty Dirty Dish Detergent
1 C. Borax
1 C. Washing Soda
1/2 C. Baking Soda
3/4 C. Kosher salt - I use coarse salt
3/4 C. Citric Acid powder (in the health section at Kroger/Fred Meyers)
Mix it all up and store in a very airtight container. It may clump a little while in storage, but use your scoop and smash the clumps out - its no worries. Use about a Tablespoon of product per load, depending on your water and machine. I have to use a little more due to having hard water (lots of minerals in it) so I use about two tablespoons and I am good to go. No weird smells on the dishes, dishwasher stays clean, and I dont have to worry that it is going in the lake since its eco-friendly! I also sometimes throw about a half cup of vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher before I run it if I have dishes that are really gunky!
This recipe can also be used to clean your sinks and bath tubs - just like a soft scrub cleanser! Sprinkle it in and rub out the stains and gunk! It works great as toilet cleaner as well! Put 1/8 C. in the toilet and add some orange vinegar, let sit for a few minutes and scrub with your toilet brush! Beauty! Stay tuned for a soft scrub/hand cleaner recipe in a future blog!
Great article! Thanks for sharing I added some thoughts on Hand cleaner sometime ago
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