Many conventional detergents contain numerous surfactants as well as fragrances that pollute the environment and can cause allergies in humans. But is it actually so hard if you want to make a dishwashing powder or a classic liquid dishwashing liquid yourself? Not at all, so let’s go. We will show you how to make DIY dishwashing detergent yourselfin order to meet the principle of zero-waste in the future.
1. Make DIY dishwashing detergent
In the kitchen, we inevitably need a dishwashing liquid to get plates, pots and pans really clean. However, even organic or organic rinses still contain a lot of substances that are not necessary to fulfil the actual purpose. So try it yourself and make DIY dishwashing detergent.
In principle, almost all recipes are very similar. You need these ingredients for just over 500 ml of the basic detergent:
- 30 g bicarbonate of soda
- 15 g core soap
- 500 ml water
Good to know: You can also make a special dishwashing liquid variant with ivy. To do this, chop 50 g of ivy leaves, boil them in 500 ml of water, add 20 g of washed-doda, then pour the mixture through a sieve.
Rub the core soap into the water and heat it so that the soap can dissolve. Stir in the soda and make sure everything has dissolved before filling the detergent into a bottle.
If you have used conventional detergent, you can re-use the plastic bottle. Alternatively, there are also beautiful glass bottles with a practical dispenser as a dosing aid.
The make DIY dishwashing detergent works very well if you do not have too chalky water at home. Otherwise, you can add lime soap, which impairs the cleaning effect, so you need to use a little more rinse.
How to make natural DIY laundry detergent
Admittedly, without soap it gets heavy and also core soap contains surfactants. However, if you use a high-quality soap (e.g. pure olive oil soap), it is much easier to break down as no palm oil is used. Environmental protection is therefore a priority.
2. The scent of the dishwashing agent
If you make DIY dishwashing detergent, you don’t have to give up a pleasant scent. Unlike finished products, however, you can rely on natural fragrances.
Essential oils are an ideal complement for any detergent. Experiment a little with the different fragrances. For the above described amount of 500 ml, you need between 5 and 20 drops of essential oil, depending on the feeling of fragrance.
The following fragrances are particularly pleasant for many people:
Rely on natural fragrances.
- Lemon
- Orange
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Peppermint
Follow these tips, but try it yourself to find the perfect fragrance. You can also mix some oils with each other. Your dishes don’t get cleaner, but maybe it’s a little more fun to do the washing up.
Essential oils also have to be degraded in the water, which negatively affects the water quality. If you want to keep your biological footprint as small as possible, it is important to dose sparingly or to completely dispense with fragrances.
3. Make a dishwashing detergent for the dishwasher yourself
The powder replaces the typical tab.
Almost all households now have a dishwasher. This is also useful, because if you rinse by hand, you will consume on average significantly more water than a modern dishwasher in savings mode. Find out more in our separate article.
Since you are probably using tabs for the dishwasher, a liquid product is out of the question. In addition, the correct dosing with a dishwashing powder is much easier than with the liquid version.
For the powder you need the following ingredients:
- 140 g citric acid
- 140 g soda
- 320 g wash soda
Mix the three ingredients together and keep them protected from moisture,otherwise there will be a premature reaction that will adversely affect the later washing performance.
Add about 30 g of the mixed powder to the tray each time you wash the dishwasher.This way you can get along with the above quantity for about 20 flushing courses.
Attention: For older dishwashers, you should also add some dishwasher salt, as they do not yet have an integrated water softener. For the above quantity, about 50 to 60 g are sufficient.
In case of stubborn dirt, you will come to a limit with this dishwashing detergent to make yourself. In this case, it is worth having a few tabs in reserve. Here, too, there are some good eco-products, which are highly recommended without putting too much strain on the environment.
