Green Cleaning, Part 3: Dishwasher Powder

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The purpose of Tuesday’s Green Space is to give you an actionable tip that is both budget-friendly and eco-conscious. This is the third installment of our Green Cleaning series. Please see our first two posts if you missed them:

• Part 1, All-Purpose Cleaner
• Part 2, Borax Tutorial

As Meagan explained in the Borax Tutorial, Borax is an eco-friendly ingredient in many homemade cleaning solutions. She mentioned a quick and easy recipe for homemade dishwashing detergent that I thought deserved its own post.

Materials needed:
Borax (20 Mule Team brand can be purchased at WalMart for around $3)
Baking soda (purchased in bulk at a warehouse store)

Homemade dishwasher powder:
Use 1 T. Borax and 1 T. baking soda per load. Use a commercial rinse agent or vinegar to rinse.

Cost breakdown:
Borax cost me approximately 3.8 cents/ounce. A tablespoon weighs about 3/4 ounce. That comes to about 3 cents/tablespoon. Baking soda cost me 3.3 cents/ounce. A tablespoon weighs about 2/3 ounce. That comes to about 2 cents/tablespoon. My scale is not that precise so I had to approximate both weights.

Total cost: $0.05 per load

A couple of other notes:

• The whole point of a green cleaner is to get rid of the toxic chemicals which means this powder does not contain bleach as many commercial dishwasher detergents do. Bleach is a disinfectant. I have read that the water temperature reached in a dishwasher is not sufficient for disinfecting dishes. I do not have any hard facts one way or the other. I have, however, read some hard facts about the dangers of chlorine vapors. I encourage you to do your own research. I will also admit that when washing dishes that have had raw meat on them I use commercial dishwashing detergent. I just need to know they’re germ-free.
• Some people report that this recipe does not work for them because it leaves a powdery residue on their dishes. We have relatively hard water but have not had a residue problem. I suggest using a rinse agent of some kind and also not using more than 2 T. total of powder as excess powder may end up on the dishes. Personally, I would rather have a borax/baking soda residue on my dishes to rinse off than a bleach/toxic residue. But, like I said, we haven’t had a residue problem.
• Borax is an eco-friendly ingredient, but it is still a hazard. Please keep away from your eyes and out of the reach of children and pets.

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