Today’s question is from Linden:
Do you have any recipes for a gel or liquid dishwashing soap to use for hand washing dishes in the sink? -Linden
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I was just wondering the other day if there was a recipe for homemade dishwasher soap – I’ll be looking into these recipes.
i have been using this for the dishwasher for about a year & no problems at all.every one that i know loves it.i buy cheapo sun at dollar tree then i “boost”it .use 1 cup sun,1/2 cup borax,and 1/2 cup baking soda.mix together & use 1 tablespoon split between your main wash & pre-wash compartments.if you need help with streaking you can add 1 package of lemon-aid koolaid to the mix.we do not need it here but i have heard a lot do. instead of buying jet dry i mix 1 drop of food coloring to vinegar.the food coloring is so i can tell when i need to add more.just pour in like you would jet dry.very cheap but works great.
I use white vinegar ,to fill bottle, 2 tablespoons of Dr. Bonner’s Tea Tree soap, and a about 6 drops of oregano oil in a recycled 30 oz dish washing liquid bottle.
There are no suds but it gets all my plastic and glass squeaky clean. My purpose is to remove as many chemicals from our cleaning products as possible. I feel much better about using this on our dishes than using something with chemicals, even if I got it for free.
Yes.
Yes, I have one here: http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/make-your-own-dishwashing-liquid/
It works very well to cut grease and clean dishes. The only caveat is it doesn’t suds at all. If that matters to you it may be a turnoff. The recipe uses Octagon soap so the liquid soap is an excellent all purpose cleaner.
I’ve never heard of Octagon soap, so I researched it. It appears to be rather hard-to-find and it isn’t “all natural”, as it contains sodium dodecylbenzene Sulfonate and pentasodium triphosphate. I don’t know how those chemicals compare to others in toxicity.
oh sorry to be confusing. I didn’t say that Octagon was “all natural”. I said that natural dish soaps are very expensive.
I realize Octagon isn’t all natural. However, the entire recipe uses only 1/4 the bar and makes a half gallon. It has no strong fragrance like other dishwashing liquids. And, Octagon is one of those classic old soaps my Grandmother used. It’s available in all the grocery stores here in the laundry products aisle. I got mine for less than .50 a bar.
Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate -is a surfactant or wetting agent; it’s added to cosmetics too. It’s rapidly biodegraded. Yes, certainly somewhat toxic to the water supply, but not so bad as other things.
Pentasodium triphosphate – sometimes called sodium tripolyphosphate is NOT the same as trisodium phospate. It is used in many detergents, food preservatives and multiple industrial uses. Because it is a phospate- it can have detrimental downstream ecological effects. But its use is so prevalent, I would have to say Octagon use is the least of it, because it’s used in teeth whitening toothpaste as well. So how’s that for toxicity and phosphate use double standards?
This isn’t for hand washing, but thought I’d share incase someone was looking for homemade dishwashing machine detergent:
1c washing soda
1/2 c borax
1/2 c baking soda
Mix and use one tablespoon per load.
I haven’t tried it myself yet, and I had just purchased some at the store before I saw this recipe online. I do plan to try it in the future though. The store bought ones can be expensive and all the chemicals sometimes bother me. I may have to try the dishsoap for handwashing as I like the idea of knowing what’s going into my septic and what’s all over my hands. Thanks 🙂
I tried this recipe and was very disappointed. It left terrible streaks on the dishes and left a film on my plasticware.
That’s good to know. Like I said, I haven’t tried it yet. Thanks 🙂
Homemade dishwasher detergent has never worked for me either, and I’ve tried several recipes. I have soft water too.
I use this recipe, but have found if you pour some vinegar into the bottom of your dishwasher (1/2 cup- 1 cup depending on the load), there are no streaks! Vinegar is so cheap, and works wonders in the dishwasher, too!
I have used the homemade dishwasher soap in the past and had the same problem that Carrie had. I found on another website to use vinegar in your dishwasher were you put jet dry. It really helped I didn’t have streaks anymore. I hope this helps:)
Carrie I have had the same problem, but the last batch I added a packet of lemonaide Kool-aid to the mix and haven’t had any problems this time.
I was looking into it since we use expensive, safe dishsoap, and it wasn’t any cheaper! Shaklee Basic-H works great, but more natural products don’t suds!
I didn’t know you could use the Shaklee Basic H2 as dish soap! I actually have some and LOVE it so far on what I’ve used it for (mostly for mopping the floors and to clean my counters). Do you know if I have to dilute it any when using it as dish soap? The bottle I have doesn’t say 🙁
It wouldn’t need to be diluted, but I’d be careful not to use too much as it could get expensive. I’d try 1/4 tsp for starters, then add a few drops if it isn’t cutting grease or cleaning well. It is great for cleaning the stove top. If something is burnt on, I’ll put a few full-strength drops on and let it soak for a bit. Love it!
Thanks!
i would not use it in the dishwasher – Shaklee has detergent for the dishwasher.
Yes, you’re right. Basic H2 is way too strong to use in the dishwasher. I LOVE the dish washing detergent that Shaklee has. It lasts a super long time (no I don’t sell the stuff, I just buy it, lol).
Here is one of the many recipes that I found online & looks like it should work great: http://frugallysustainable.com/2011/09/homemade-liquid-dish-soap-that-really/
If it’s helpful to anyone, here is a link with information from a fox news affiliate about the results when they used different types of homemade dish soap & what the results were: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2011/08/16/homemade-dish-soap-recipes-put-to-test/
Good info, thanks!
It definitely doesn’t look cheaper than storebought, though. Especially because I can get dish soap cheap or free with coupons!
The recipe I posted above is only pennies for a half gallon. My concern is the fragrances added to commercial dishwashing liquids. They all give me a headache, and the natural ones are expensive. So even if I get dishwashing soap for free, the health concern is my motivation.
Me too – fragrance is a real problem. We use Dr. Bronner’s for everything but laundry and dishwasher. I use a foaming bottle so it stretches and use it for dishes, hands, body wash, and dog wash. I tend to use the peppermint formula not because it’s my favorite but because I can get it cheaper than the other scents or even the unscented. My husband prefers lavender and he’s a hard working man that doesn’t ask for much so lavender it is for him!