How to Make Homemade Dishwasher Detergent? | Simple Powder Recipes

For the full breakdown, see our best Environmentally Friendly Dishwasher Detergent guide.

Making your own dishwasher detergent is one of the easiest swaps in a low-waste routine, and it costs pennies per load once you have the ingredients on hand. The trade-off: DIY powder is not standardized like commercial tabs, so expect some trial and error with your specific machine and water. The recipes below are the most consistent starting points, tested across the usual sources and ready to adjust.

What Goes Into Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

Four dry ingredients carry the cleaning work, and each one has a specific job. Washing soda cuts grease and softens water. Borax boosts cleaning power and helps control odors. Citric acid fights film and hard-water spots. Salt helps the powder dissolve cleanly without leaving residue.

Let it cool before mixing.

Two Basic Powder Recipes That Work

Both recipes below use the same simple method: combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, break up any clumps with a fork, and store the mix in an airtight glass jar. Use one tablespoon per load as your starting point, and move to two tablespoons if you have hard water, run cooler cycles, or regularly face very dirty dishes.

Standard powder recipe: 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup borax, 1/2 cup citric acid, and 1/2 cup kosher salt. Mix dry ingredients, then add 15–20 drops of lemon essential oil if you want a fresher scent. Store sealed.

Borax-free powder recipe: 1 1/2 cups citric acid, 1 1/2 cups washing soda, 1/2 cup baking soda, and 1/2 cup kosher salt. If your water is soft, you can drop the salt entirely. This formula suits households that prefer to avoid borax.

Kosher or coarse salt dissolves more predictably than table salt in the wash, though table salt works in a pinch. Just avoid adding regular liquid dish soap to your powder — it can create excessive suds and damage the appliance.

How to Make Dishwasher Detergent Tablets

Tablet-style homemade detergent follows the same ingredient base but adds a liquid to bind the powder into a solid. Use your standard powder recipe, then add just enough lemon juice, water, or white vinegar to reach a damp-sand texture. Press the mixture firmly into silicone molds or ice cube trays and let it dry for 24 hours to two days until fully hardened. Store the tablets in a sealed container and use one per load.

The tablet route takes more patience than the powder method, but it gives you pre-measured doses and a more familiar shape. Just press the mixture down hard — loose tablets crumble into the wash basket and dissolve unevenly.

Using Homemade Detergent: Rinse Aid, Storage, and Setting Expectations

White vinegar or citric acid works well as a rinse aid when added to the rinse-aid compartment, not mixed directly into the main detergent powder. This step matters more with DIY detergent because your wash results will shift with water hardness and cycle temperature.

What to expect honestly: DIY detergent performs best on normal hot cycles with moderately soiled dishes. Hard water will reduce performance, and cool eco-cycles often need the higher two-tablespoon dose. You may need to adjust the ratio of citric acid or add more salt to eliminate film on your particular machine.

Since DIY formulas are not standardized, one load does not tell you everything. Run a few cycles, note what your dishes look like, and tweak the recipe accordingly. For a tested list of commercial options that skip the guesswork, see our roundup of the best environmentally friendly dishwasher detergent.