Ingredients
- 1 cup Washing soda or Baking soda (I've seen many recipes that use both..so use whatever you have on hand)
- 1 cup Borax (Borax and baking soda/wash are both natural disinfectants and mild abrasives.)
- 1/4 cup Kosher salt (reduces the effects of hard water)
- 1/4 cup citric acid (available at brewing places or Amazon.com. Or as an alternative you can use the same amount of Fruit Fresh or two packets of Lemonade-Flavored Kool-Aid, ONLY lemon and ONLY unsweetened!)
Preparation
Step 1
What went in my jar: borax, washing soda, kosher salt, fruit fresh,
20 drops lemon scented essential oil.
OPTIONAL: If you like a scented experience...add several drops of your favorite essential oil--lemon, grapefruit, orange, tangerine, whatever strikes your fancy. I used about 20 drops of lemon in mine and it smells soooooo good! Course I'm a major sucker for ANYTHING lemon! I have the Pinterest board to prove it! :-)
Combine and store in airtight container. I just poured everything directly into the container I was going to use and gave it a good shake!
Add 1-2 tablespoons per load along with a splash of white vinegar as a rinse agent to prevent spots. (I just splash some straight into the bottom of the dishwasher). Personally I think the vinegar makes a HUGE difference! I have been using it with my brand name detergent for quite awhile now. Makes the glasses shine!
Using my very limited math skills...I figure this is about 9 cents a load compared with Cascade at 21 cents a load. Compare that with Seventh Generation or BioKleen and it's a STEAL!
Another great idea I read about was to use this same mixture as a scouring powder!
I put some in my favorite shaker canister (like the one I keep my cinnamon sugar in) from Walmart....and use it to scour my sink. The salt gives it extra scouring power and it smells so good!!! :-)