Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I appear to be on a roll in regards to making my own cleaning products!  It's addicting!  I keep thinking, what else can I make?  What I love most about making my own is that they are phosphate free, free of dyes and perfumes, and super cheap!!  The other products I've done also work really well!  Bonus!
I recently made dishwasher detergent in powder form and I'm still making changes to get it right~

 Here is my recipe:
1 c. Borax
1 c. Washing Soda
1/2 c. salt ( I used coarse Kosher salt)
1/2 c. Citric Acid ( I used canning citric acid)

Use 1- 2 tbls of mixed powder per load.

Rinse Aid is 2 tbls. white distilled vinegar, and that is a crucial step!

Now mind you I've only used this recipe once...
 
My thoughts are:
1- It would work better with soft water. You wouldn't get a hazy film on glass ware...maybe.
Not all my glasses had a cloudiness left on them, just some.  And honestly most of them had that on there long before I tried this!  The Melamine plates I have are black, and I could see some haziness on them also.  However they aren't meant to go in the dishwasher anyway...
2- The dishes that got rinsed off beforehand, got cleaner! Really? No kidding?  So that is a must with this recipe, or you will be rinsing them off after you run them thru the cycle....
3- The Rinse Aid is something I've never used before (which is why my glasses always had a haze on them).
After some review online, the vinegar I put in the rinse compartment wasn't a great idea.  With repeated use, the acid in the vinegar can break down the rubber components in your rinse compartment.  The amount of vinegar that was released during rinsing wasn't sufficient anyway.  You really need about 2 tbls and the rinse compartment only releases a little squirt or splash at a time.  Even if you turn it to max, it still may not be enough.  One suggestion I found was to put a small cup of vinegar, face up on the top rack and run as usual.  So I will do that next time.
4- Alot of people complain about clumping when making homemade powder, but I didn't have that issue at all!  Maybe it was the salt? Maybe it was the citric acid?
5- I used the Citric acid from Ball in the canning section at Wegmans.  It has an anti-clumping agent already built in.  It was about $4.  And you use half the bottle.
 However, as you can see from the picture above the recipe makes almost jar-full, which I guessing will last a month or more??

Conclusion: We have hard water and this recipe isn't great for hard water.  From what I read, home made liquid detergent would be better.  I am lazy though and wanted to use what I had on hand, without too much fuss and spending any more money!  I will continue to keep using this recipe.  Its better than some other "green-cleaners" Ive used,   and some not "green" dishwasher detergents.  I should be rinsing my dishes off beforehand anyway, so this forces me to do that!  If I'm not happy after a few weeks, Ill try the liquid recipe.
 Hope some of you found this helpful!

Homemade Scour and All-purpose

Now that I make my own laundry soap and love it, I'm addicted and moving on to other cleaning supplies.

I hate to clean the tub!  I avoid it at all cost.  Until I found this recipe...

All-Natural Homemade Scouring Powder
2 c Baking Soda
1 c Borax
1 c Salt ( I use coarse salt)

I mixed it all together in a bowl and poured it into a large canning jar.
(next time I may pour the ingredients directly into the jar and shake to mix)
With a large gauge nail and I punched holes in the lid, as pictured in the image above.

To use, I sprayed vinegar on the tub first, then sprinkled the powder. Letting it sit for 5 min. It was cool to hear the reaction taking place between the vinegar and baking soda. (You would use vinegar for a more dirty tub, as opposed to one that gets clean weekly).    I thought about taking a before and after photo, but I'm embarrassed my tub was so bad...
I used a scrub brush, like the one above, but felt I was using too much muscle power.  When I switched to the scrub sponge the grime came off easy!  Ive never seen my tub sparkle so much!
I tried it on the tile surrounding the tub and it too came clean, even in the grooves of grout.
The Borax is an anti-fungal, which is why it does well on mildew.  In the wash load, or the wall!

Another quick- easy to make- cleaner that I use every day is:

All-Natural All purpose cleaner
1 tbls Baking Soda
2 tbls Borax
2 tbls Vinegar
4 c water

I keep it next to the sink in a spray bottle.  The mouth of the spray bottle is small, so you have to use a funnel for the ingredients.
What I love about it:
1- Its natural
2- really inexpensive
3- anti-fungal and anti-bacterial ( from the Borax and vinegar)
4- versatile!  You can add essential oils, like lavender, or tea tree oil.
 5- I love the way it makes my counter tops feel.  I was pleasantly surprised the first time I used it, and haven't looked back!  They are smooth and less 'stained' as a result of the baking soda.

I don't claim to take credit for any of these recipes.  I find them online at my favorite blogs, or google till I find one I want.  I've been reading the comments from others under the recipes, finding tips on clumping, prices, improvements, etc...
Here is the website I used: http://wellnessmama.com/1348/all-natural-homemade-scouring/

Stay tuned for the dishwasher detergent recipe I plan to use.   Just need a trip to the store for citric acid...