You always see blog posts of things gone right, but before they go right, they often go horribly, hilariously wrong.
This is one of those times.
See, I'd run out of dishwasher tabs so, naturally, I looked up a bunch of recipes online on how to make dishwasher detergent and even found
this one on how to make dishwasher tabs, which I used as my base recipe.
Instead of washing soda, which I didn't have, I used baking soda which I'd seen in some other powdered recipes.
Because I was using baking soda, instead of using vinegar for the acid as she suggested, I used citric acid as cited in this and several other dishwasher recipes online. I'd also seen this baking soda/citric acid combo used for bath bomb recipes.
It wasn't very clumpy.
So some little neuron in the back of my head somewhere fired off another old memory of a bathbomb recipe and how you lightly spritz it with water to help it pack together - not enough to make things react, but just enough to help things pack together. So I did that with this. I lightly misted and mixed the powder with distilled water from a spray bottle until it was holding together when I pressed it with my hands.
Here's a tip: don't do that.
Sure, it was packing beautifully, but towards the end it was getting wetter and stickier in my hands.
Odd that.
Anyhoo. Popped one in the dishwasher and it worked great! Beautifully! I was a convert!
Then a few hours later, I returned to the kitchen to see this.
...Yeah.
It kept a slow foam for a few days - never actually spilling over the plate - but gradually losing all effectiveness as a dishwasher detergent. On the third or fourth day, we chucked the lot in the bin.
For now, I'm mixing up individual (if a bit heavy handed) batches of dishwasher detergent as I need it while I plan my next move. I'm using:
-2 tsp borax
-2 tsp baking soda (I haven't managed to buy washing soda yet, but I suspect it will work better.)
-1/2 tsp epsom salt (I checked all over my little town. Kosher salt was not to be found.)
-1/2 tsp citric acid
-2 to 3 drops dish soap
-skip the essential oil for now
All these measures are done on the scant side. Drop the dish soap into the compartment first. That way if it over-pours you can wipe out the excess. Mix the powders a bit. Pour into the soap holder. Splash some white vinegar into the bottom of the dishwasher. Run the load. The vinegar is definitely important. I forgot once and my plastics (including my son's sippy cups) came out with a white powdery film on them. It rinsed off reasonably easily, but still. Not nice. Use the vinegar.
Dishwasher tabs, just you wait. I will conquer thee!
