Make Your Own Dishwasher Tablets
Unfortunately, commercial dish detergent is loaded with awful chemicals that coat everything you eat off of. This recipe for DIY Dishwasher Tabs is a safe alternative that you can make right at home, and have comfort knowing you arenโt washing your dishes in harmful chemicals!
Store bought tabs can contain many toxic chemicals and fragrances which leave residue on the plates. Since we eat off those plates, we have the potential to ingest that residue.
I feel so much better knowing my kids are eating off plates without harmful residue on them.
This DIY contains the cleansing power of doTERRA On Guardยฎ and Grapefruit oils, leaving your dishes clean and smelling fresh. You could substitute the grapefruit for Lemon if you prefer.
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Supplies and Ingredients for your DIY Dishwasher Tabs
You’ll need some baking soda for this recipe. You probably already have some in your pantry.
Silicone Mold
A silicone mold like this one will make your dishwasher tabs uniform in size, and nice and clean looking. Be sure the size of the cubes in the tray will fit in your dishwasher. Ice cube trays could work, too.
- ใUpdated Multi-Function Setใ4 in 1 ice cube maker mold contains 2 ice cube trays with lids + an ice scoop + ice tong + ice bucket. Freeze your icecubes and pour them into the ice container for easy use. Each ice cube trays pack comes with everything you need to make ice in your refrigerator. (Each tray makes 14 nice-sized cubes for a total of 28)
Food Grade Citric Acid
You’ll want to make sure you have Food Grade Citric Acid since you’re using this on your silverware and dishes that you eat from. I’ve used this one from Amazon many times. (You can also use this to make Fizzy Bath Bombs!)
- One Ingredient: Sour taste, fine crystal, granular texture; Food grade and Non-GMO, product of Thailand. Premium, high quality stand-up pouch with resealable zipper for maximum shelf life; No junk, no fillers, no preservatives – Nothing else!
A Note on Essential Oil Usage and Safety
Please make sure you are using an essential oil that is safe to consume for this recipe.
Since this recipe will be used on dishes that we eat off of, you want to ensure what you are using is safe. Most so called essential oils available in drugstores and supercenters are synthetic fragrance only. It’d be like washing your dishes with perfume.
The brand I choose to use is doTERRA which is the highest quality essential oils available on the market, and the only brand I will use on my family.
You also want to be careful where you buy your doTERRA oils because you want to make sure you’re getting real oil and not synthetic filler. Most people don’t realize that doTERRA does not authorize anyone to sell oils on Amazon because fraud is so rampant there. You never know what you’re getting and the bottle has frequently been emptied and refilled with coconut oil or who knows what! Scary, right?!
Be sure to order your doTERRA essential oils from a Certified Site like this one!
DIY Dishwasher Tabs Recipe
DIY Dishwasher Tabs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Baking Soda
- ยผ cup Citric Acid
- 1 TBL doTERRA OnGuard Cleaner Concentrate
- 5 drops Grapefruit Essential Oil (or Lemon)
Instructions
- Put baking soda, citric acid, doTERRA On Guardย Cleaner Concentrate, and Grapefruit oil in a mixing bowl.ย Mix together until the mixture is an even consistency.
- Press inย silicon mold and let sit for four hours.ย You may need to press down occasionally during this time. Remove tabs.
- Remove tabs and store in an airtight container like a mason jar.
- Use in dishwasher in place of store-bought dishwasher tablets.
Notes
If you found this recipe helpful, I would be very appreciative if you could please give it a 5 star review on the recipe card above, and share it with friends so that others can benefit.
Related: More DIY NON Toxic Cleaning Recipes
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DIY Reusable Dust Wipes with Lemon Essential Oil
Homemade Furniture Wood Polish Spray
Best Non Toxic DIY Essential Oil Cleaning recipes
DIY Homemade Carpet Powder Cleaner
DIY Non Toxic Dish Soap
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Dawn Goehring
Dawn Goehring is the founder of Desert Naturals. Combining her passion for holistic wellness, natural living and essential oils, she creates informative articles on essential oils, guides you through DIY natural bath & beauty products and homemade non-toxic cleaners, and self care.
What am I doing wrong ? I followed the instructions exactly but when I put the mixture into the silicone mold it keeps expanding after Iโve pressed it down !! Should I now be pressing it into the mold ?
Hi Rebecca. Any luck? This didn’t happen to me so I’m not sure. I would just keep pressing it down every so often while it dries, and maybe put less into the mold to give it room to expand.