Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Cost Comparison for the DIY Dishwashing Detergent

This is a follow-up to a previous post.
Thanks to my wonderful husband's number-crunching, the verdict is in. This DIY dishwashing detergent costs .3 – .4 cents a load!!!
We run the dishwasher about once a day, so a conservative estimate is that we’ll run it 300 times in a year. So using this recipe, we’ll spend $12 a year.
The gel paks are .35 - .40 each. ($105-$120 a year)
The powder runs about .28 per load. ($84 a year)
Obviously, getting the Cascade products on sale and using a coupon, or using another cheaper brand, would lower this cost marginally but still…good grief!
I did find all the ingredients for this detergent at Wal-Mart, in the laundry detergent aisle.  Any other questions? If you’re not making your own yet, why not?!

3 comments:

Mrs. Butler said...

Thank you so much for sharing this! I've been looking into making some home products myself lately, but didn't know anyone personally who had done it...definitely going to have to try this one (especially because we have a low-end dishwasher that still doesn't clean great even when I do buy the expensive detergent!) Can't wait to give it a try, and I'll look forward to hearing how any other products you make turn out.

TheTechnician said...

Sold!

Melissa said...

that's so great! thanks for sharing.

my mother in law gave me a book called "The Naturally Clean Home" (on amazon) a while ago, and while i still bust out my clorox wipes quite a bit, i find myself referencing it a lot. it might be something you'd be interested in checking out.

i owe you quite a few emails. i'm hoping to jot them down tonight.