What you need:
1 - 54-55 oz box of washing soda / detergent booster (3.89)
1 - 76 oz box of borax (4.49)
1 - 2 lb carton of epsom salts (.99)
1- bottle reconstituted lemon juice (32 oz for .99)
$10.36 for over 300 pellets
(Note, you do NOT need baking soda. I'm not sure why I included in the picture....maybe it was lonely.)
How to make it:
In a 5-gallon bucket, mix all of the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.
Scoop out 2 1/2 cups of the mixture and put into a large mixing bowl. (Keep the rest in the bucket with the lid on tight so kids and pets don't get into it.
Add lemon juice 1 TB at a time into the dry mixture until it clumps and is sticky.
Scoop the mixture into the ice cub trays loosely to about the top. I got my trays from Wal-Mart.
(Note: you might want to fill them even less full so that when they are tamped down they are small enough to fit into your dishwasher compartment. Some of mine were a bit big and had to be chopped in two.)
With gloves, tamp each down pretty tightly.
Let them drive overnight. In Budet101's tute, she said it takes days for hers to dry out. Mine took less than 24-hours, and it was winter. You know when they are ready when you flip them over and gently tap them and the tablets fall out.
You can now use them as you would Cascade or Finish's dishwasher tabs. I also use vinegar as a rinsing agent. Place extras in a storage container.
