Figuring out how to make a laundry detergent that actually worked was somewhat difficult to come up with, but found a solution. Since there is a way to develop your own laundry detergent then why not try creating another useful cleaner such as a dishwashing soap? You probably already know that in any home, dishwashing soaps never lasts long.
It’s not hard to find natural dishwashing soaps at a supermarket or grocery store, but finding ones that are effective and inexpensive can be difficult. Sometimes there are ingredients you can’t pronounce or ingredients not listed. This homemade dishwashing soap is cheap to make, works just as well as top-brands, and is free of unwanted chemicals.
There are many homemade dishwashing soap recipes on the internet that contain vinegar (a very pungent smell) or Borax, which is controversial to use around food. Many of these recipes also use Castile soap, which has many uses. but it can leave residue on glassware. This recipe below does not contain Borax, Castile soap, or vinegar.
The Dish-Washing Soap
This liquid dishwashing soap is made from a solution called Sal Suds. This product is certified organic and vegan. Washing soda is also apart of this recipe as a degreaser for those harder dishes to clean. Washing soda is used in many more DIY cleaning products as well. Just FYI- washing soda is not the same thing as baking soda.
Many store-bought brands contain synthetic thickeners to create their certain consistency they want to gain. The problem is being synthetic and for the purpose of this recipe, kosher salt is used. Try not to use pink Himalayan salt because the mineral consistency doesn’t mix well with the solution and will loose the power of cleaning. But, the pink Himalayan salt is great for your salads just not for this particular recipe.
Essential Oils
Adding essential oils to certain DIY recipes is great for many reasons. For this particular dishwashing soap, we will use lemon, lavender and grapefruit. Lemon essential oil contains antibacterial properties as well as being a degreaser. Through some research, a great disinfectant blend of essential oils are lemon, grapefruit and lavender. The aroma of this blend smells great too.
You have other options as well for your essential oil blends. You can use tea tree, orange, lemongrass, peppermint. But since we’re using Sal Suds as the main ingredient, it already contains spruce and fir scents. So, it’s probably best to find an essential oil to blend well with this piney scent.
DIY Natural Dishwashing Soap Recipe
What You Will Need:
- Glass soap dispenser
- Small pot for heating
- 2 medium sized bowls
- 1/3 cup Sal Suds biodegradable cleaner
- 1 ¼ cup filtered water
- 30 drops of essential oils of choice (Example: 10 drops lemon, 10 drops lavender and 10 drops grapefruit)
- 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- 1 tablespoon washing soda
Directions:
- Place 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt over Medium Low heat in pot.
- Frequently stir until salt has completely dissolved. Once dissolved, transfer into a bowl and set aside.
- Using the same pot, add in 1 tablespoon washing soda and 1 ¼ cup of filtered water. Place on Medium Low heat. Stir frequently until washing soda is dissolved. Turn off heat and set aside.
- Grab the other medium-sized bowl and add in the Sal Suds, the dissolved washing soda and 30 drops of essential oils. Mix contents together.
- Start adding in your salt water (step 1) into the soap mixture (step 4). Add in 1 tablespoon at a time. This mixture will start turning your soap cloudy and thick. If you want your soap to be thickened, add in another tablespoon of your salt water.
- Pour your soap mixture into you glass dispenser
Important Note: Your soap solution will thicken over time. If the solution becomes too thick, add a little more water until the consistency is back from where you want it.
Have you ever made your own dishwashing soap? Please share below!