Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent


Some people have never heard of 20 Mule Team Borax, but I am not one of them. That's because I lived in Bishop, CA - a lovely small town which is familiarly called the "Mule Capital of The World". Every Memorial Day weekend Bishop is completely packed to the hilt with mule lovers and fun-seekers for the annual festival of Mule Days. One feature of mule days is the longest non-motorized parade in the world, during which you will see the famed "20 mule team".

It is a really fun weekend. Some of my facts may not be completely accurate, but I think my point is made. After we lived in Bishop I was at least familiar with mules and Borax. Borax turns out to be a very affordable laundry booster that I use in my laundry - especially with linens and towels. But two weeks ago I used it to make dishwasher detergent!

simply mix:
2 c. Borax
1 c. baking soda
and add to dispenser as usual. Voila! Detergent!

A box of Borax cost me about $3.23, and a small box of baking soda was .50. I'm not going to break down the cost and figure in the ounces and compare the pricing with a box of regular detergent, because I'm not mathematically minded and I don't want to spend the time. Besides, it's so obvious that this is cheaper!!!!

I've been using it for 2.5 weeks now and so far it seems to work just as well as any other detergent I've used. So there you have it! Thought you might like to know!

Click here to see the Addendum post - a follow-up)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I use this stuff for laundry and other cleaning things! :) I haven't used it for dishwasher detergent yet, but I just might. :)

christy said...

oooh, exciting! i may have to try this when the old box is used up. and how do you use it for laundry? instead of detergent, or instead of something like oxyclean? love finding cheap and less toxic ways of doing things!

Christy said...

There is a way to make laundry detergent with it - I'm trying that when my current detergent is used up. As a laundry booster, I use it with linens and whites like I use oxyclean or Biz - add a little bit after I put in the detergent. It works especially well with kitchen and bath towels. Maybe I'm the only one, but sometimes these towels get mildewy smelling and the smell doesn't come out after one wash. The Borax helps.

It doesn't work as well as oxyclean as a pre-laundry stain treatment though.

christy said...

thanks, oh wise one. :)

Christy said...

namaste :)

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