Trying Out a Natural Dishwasher Detergent | Live Simply Well [Episode 4]

Introduction

Welcome to my kitchen and another episode of Live Simply Well! In this series, we’re learning how to enhance our slow and simple lifestyle in a more sustainable, economical way with natural, low-waste tips, tricks, DIY projects, and recipes. In this episode, we’ll learn how to make a natural dishwasher detergent to replace the expensive, chemically Cascade Platinum dishwasher tabs that I usually use, and we’ll try it out together. The receipt comes from page 91 of Simply Living Well by Julia Watkins.

Ingredients

Per load, you will need:

• 1 tablespoon of washing soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid
• 2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar

Directions

When you’re ready to start a load of dishes,

1. add the washing soda to the detergent compartment of your dishwasher
2. add the citric acid to the detergent compartment of your dishwasher
3. add the vinegar to the rinse compartment
4. close all the doors and run the dishwasher

Julia instructs not to combine the ingredients ahead of time, because they’ll clump together and make it difficult to scoop out. So, she suggests storing everything in separate containers.

Trying it Out: My Experience

Now that I’ve tried this natural dishwasher detergent, I have mixed feelings. While it’s not quite as effective as the Cascade Platinum tabs I’m used to, it still did a decent job overall. Most of the dishes came out clean, but they weren’t sparkling like I’m used to. I noticed a whitish film on my stainless steel French press, and some food residue left in a glass mixing bowl. None of that happens when using Cascade.

I had hoped this recipe would be a more sustainable, economical, and naturally healthy alternative. While it has potential, I think I’ll give it another shot and be more diligent about rinsing everything before loading the dishwasher. If that doesn’t help, then it might not be the solution I was looking for. But, Julia does have a dishwasher tab recipe that has a few more ingredients, and I’m curious to see if that will yield better results.

Conclusion

Making small changes like this helps me move toward a more natural, sustainable lifestyle, even when everything doesn’t work out perfectly the first time. I’m still on the lookout for the best eco-friendly alternative to conventional products, but I’m not giving up yet! If you have any dishwasher detergent recipes or tips, I’d love to hear them in the comments. We’re all learning together on this journey.

Thank you so much for watching this episode of Live Simply Well. Don’t forget to subscribe for more sustainable living tips and DIYs every other Tuesday; until then, keep living simply well!