Have you ever thought about dishwasher tablets and the impact they have?

Let’s have a think about standard dishwasher tablets that are available in large-chain stores. They’re typically loaded with harsh chemicals which get washed down and away back to our planet, with traces on our crockery. They’re often pricey, mainly being sold in small packs of 10 or 13 and the tablets are usually individually-wrapped in unnecessary plastic packaging.

So, we did some digging and found that although there are natural, earth-friendly and plastic packaging-free alternatives that are available to us, those options are quite limiting and can be unaffordable for the average family. 

We decided to take a look at our DIY cleaning products section and create dishwasher tablets that are all-natural, convenient and earth-friendly at a fraction of the cost! We researched DIY dishwasher detergent recipes that existed online for some inspo, ingredient quantities we should experiment with and various methods to consider. 

Each ingredient is natural, available in our store, and all have amazing qualities.  Baking soda helps to cut grease, and remove build-up. Borax also helps to remove build-up and disinfect. The epsom salt disinfects, removes dirt and grime and helps to reduce the effects of hard water. Citric acid kills bacteria, mould, and mildew. The vinegar does all of the above AND binds all of the ingredients together. A lot of DIYers out there suggest using lemon essential oil as it smells great and has anti-bacterial properties, but we didn’t have any on hand!

This recipe is a goodie, and has been tried and tested on a few dishwashers on a standard ±45min wash cycle with glasses, crockery, and pots. We’ve included recipe quantities in both cups and grams, as well as their costs…

ARE YOU READY FOR THE BEST PART!?

Hold on… We’re about to get a bit geeky…

Let’s say that the average price for a pack of 13 tablets costs R70.00. That makes each tablet a total of R5.38, right? What if you could half that, while being eco-friendly AND a domestic goddess? Compelling… we know! Well, this is the best part!

This recipes works out to a total cost of R111.01, making 40 large tablets at a total cost of R2.92 a tablet!

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:

Pop all the dry ingredients into a glass bowl, and mix them well. Pour in the 1/2 cup of vinegar, and mix it together with a spoon. The vinegar will cause a some fizzing, but not very much. The mixture will start clumping together. If it’s a bit dry and unable to combine it all and evenly, add some more vinegar in small stages until it all comes together. 

Firmly press the mixture, in equal parts, into a mould. A silicone mould would work well, but we made use of the ice-trays we had. We made 40 large tablets with this recipe.

Now comes the hard part! Put your trays/moulds in a sunny spot inside and leave them for a minimum 48 hours to ensure they’re completely dry! If you try to pop them out any sooner, they tend to crumble and not hold their shape. After they’ve dried, pop them out of the trays and store them in an airtight container or jar. 

USING YOUR TABLETS:

Use one tablet per load in your dishwasher. If your load is packed with extra grease and grime, add another half tablet or 3-4 drops of dishwashing liquid to your machine.

These dishwasher tablets also make a great gift for a DIY momma!

We can’t wait for you to try this out! Pop on over to our store for all the dry ingredients.  We’d be happy to help you weigh out the exact quantities needed! If you decide to try this DIY recipe out, please tag us Instagram or Facebook as we’d love to see how yours turned out! @therefillerysa