Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I am in love with a recipe I found recently for home made dishwasher detergent. Not only does it do a good job, it does a better job than any store bought brand I've used. I know these types of recipes have been around for ages, but in an effort to try and save money where I can, I decided to give them a try. In addition to the dishwasher detergent, I also made some liquid laundry soap. While it does a great job at cleaning the clothes, I'm not as fond of it only because the clothes don't smell pretty when they come out of the washer. They smell clean, but not flowery like I'm used to with commercial brand laundry soaps.

What I like best about the dishwasher soap, though, is that it takes very little for each load, and the ingredients are easy to find and can make several batches. The dishes come out sparkling clean with no water spots!

Here's the recipe.

1 cup washing soda
1cup borax
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 packages unsweetened lemon-aid koolaid

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in a tightly sealed container. Use 2 tbsp per load. For extra sparkling clean dishes, add vinegar in the rinse agent compartment.

Since I didn't have any vinegar at the time I started using this detergent, I ran a couple of loads without it. The dishes were remarkably clean and sparkling, so adding vinegar is not necessary in my case. The dishes turned out just beautiful without it.