Homemade Dishwasher Gel Soap - Green, Frugal & EASY

I have been on a quest lately to find the "perfect" green substitute for my dishwasher soap. After researching, reading and experimenting with some different variations of the many recipes out there I have FINALLY perfected my perfect batch combination! I am so excited with this I could hardly wait to load my dishwasher and give it a try. When it cools it turns to a gel, which makes it SO much better for loading in your dispenser cups - it does not all get drained out during the first rinse cycle. The best part is it is 100% green, all natural products AND I tried it out on a few dishes I had left over in the sink and it worked as well with hand washing as in the machine ~ double bonus~ now for the triple play... I could not believe it....My hands felt so soft when I dried them... My dry chapped hands felt soft :) Yes ladies, it is true!!!
I would like to give credit to a couple of great websites that have awesome Idea's on living green and frugally. First there is onegoodthingbyjillee.com this woman is amazing at just about everything. She has a version that she uses, and I have used it with good success, but it requires mixing the ingredients each time you load the dishwasher and it is not a gel. I am more of a squirt and move on to the next task type of personality ;)  Then there is http://poppyjuice-poppy.blogspot.com/ and she has some great versions of homemade cleaning supplies as well. I just love that there are so many of us out there reverting back to the ways of our former generations :)
Let us get started on this great recipe, It is simple and you most likely have all the items you need in your kitchen, especially those of us who make our own "fill in the blank" :)

Homemade Dishwasher Gel Soap 56 oz.
What you will need:

3 TBS Washing Soda
3 TBS Borax
2 oz Dove - grated
3 TBS Dawn Dish liquid
3 TBS Kosher Salt or any non Iodized salt
8 drops of Tea Tree Oil
1 Cup White Vinegar (add last and VERY SLOWLY)
1 Cup Lemon Juice
5 Cups Water
1 Medium Sauce Pan
Re-purposed bottles for storage

First I grated my Dove and placed it in the pan with the water over medium heat to melt the soap.  You do not want it to boil, just get it hot ** I then added my Lemon Juice to get it warm with the soap mixture so it would not clump up the soap again.  ** THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT STEP!** (trust me if you put the other liquids in cold, you WILL have to heat up the mixture and remelt the soap) ummm not that I am speaking from experience or anything like that - ya right ;0)

Next you will add in the Borax, Washing Soda, Salt and Tea Tree oil. At this point you can turn off the heat and let it sit on the burner for a few minutes stirring it as the powdered soaps dissolve in the hot liquid. I heated up my vinegar in the microwave about 30 seconds.

Move to the counter and pour your hot soap mixture into a larger bowl - I used my 8 cup measuring cup that I heated the vinegar in.









Pour it into the warmed vinegar VERY slowly as it will have a bubbly reaction with the washing soda (kinda like it has with the baking soda) as you can see it became very foamy... Oh but it did smell wonderful and clean with the Tea tree oil!








Let it sit for about a 1/2 hour or so while it cools off.  Once it has cooled use a funnel and pour into your containers.   After a couple of hours it has turned into a awesome gel substance!

That is it! about 10 minutes to assemble and mix! Green, Frugal, turns to a gel for easy use in your dispenser cups, it can be used in the dishwasher or for hand washing and it makes your hands soft!! That LADIES and Gentlemen is a change we can all live with!! The hardest part was waiting for it to cool off and thicken up :)
I am so excited about this I can't wait to load the dishwasher again! I would love to hear how it turned our for you as well!