DIY Dishwasher Tablets

If you're on a mission to create a more eco-friendly kitchen, consider making your own dishwasher tablets. It's an inexpensive, sustainable DIY project that's easy to boot.

What's more, it doesn't call for hard-to-find ingredients. All you need are baking soda, washing soda, citric acid, dish soap and white vinegar. You can find these ingredients at the grocery store and on Amazon, but there's a good chance you already have a few of them at home.

As with many DIY cleaning products, these homemade dishwasher tabs will help you save money while protecting the environment. There are also plenty of ways to make them. Here's one recipe for homemade dishwasher tablets.

In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. This includes the baking soda, washing soda, and citric acid. Mix well.

Spray the ingredients with a bit of white vinegar. Pause and let the mixture fizz and then stir to combine. Repeat until the mixture resembles damp (but not wet) sand and starts to naturally clump together.

Add the dish soap and essential oils (if you are using them) and mix some more. Lemon essential oil is a popular choice, but any type of citrus essential oil works great.

Spoon the mixture into the silicone mold. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, firmly press the mixture into the mold.

Lightly spray the top of the dishwasher pods. Again, avoid adding too much white vinegar.

Let the dishwasher tablets sit for at least 24 hours in a sunny, warm spot, like near a window.

Once your dishwasher detergent tabs have hardened, remove them from the silicone mold. Store the DIY dishwasher tablets in an airtight container, like a jar.

When you're ready to use your homemade dishwasher detergent, simply place a tab in the dispenser drawer and run a cycle as usual.

If your dishwasher tablets are too big for the dispenser, you can crumble them up first. This option is ideal if you already have silicone molds and don't want to buy new ones.