Adapted from Paul Lowe | Sweet Paul Eat & Make | Rux Martin/HMH, 2014
This homemade dish soap is a godsend for home cooks who get a little giddy about something that’s gentle on the hands, natural and free from chemicals and unpronounceable preservatives, and relatively inexpensive. Seriously, this liquid dish soap is going to change your life. Well, sorta. It’s only mildly sudsy compared to standard dish soap. But don’t let that fool you—it still does the trick. It’s particularly perfect for delicate china and glassware, although it’s effective at everyday dishwashing as well. (If you’re about to tackle a crusty lasagna pan or brownie baking dish with lots of baked-on chocolate goodness, you may find it necessary to reach for an extra squirt of this soap and a scrubber. And we swear our hands have gotten softer since we started using this natural alternative. –Renee Schettler Rossi
☞ Contents
Homemade Dish Soap
INGREDIENTS
Container to hold your soap (a Mason or other vintage glass jar with a screw-top lid works nicely)
6 tablespoons unscented liquid Castile soap (such as Dr. Bronner’s)
2 teaspoons vegetable glycerine (available online and in pharmacies)
5 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)
2 cups water
DIRECTIONS
1. In the container, combine the Castile soap, glycerin, and essential oil, if using.
2. Top with the water and gently mix. Keep at room temperature. You may need to stir to recombine prior to using and when scrubbing messy pots and pans you may need to use a touch more soap. Originally published July 15, 2014.
Ingredients
Directions
In the container, combine the Castile soap, glycerin, and essential oil, if using.
Top with the water and gently mix. Keep at room temperature. You may need to stir to recombine prior to using.
Recipe Testers' Reviews
What a nifty little recipe this homemade dish soap is! I'm certainly benefiting from this dish elixir since I'm an enthusiastic home chef without a dishwasher. The scent is very subtle, so I'd double the essential oil to 10 drops next time. While it works like a charm on wine glasses or dinner plates, working with this detergent requires some elbow grease on crusty pans. That's to be expected from a natural detergent, though.
Also, I found that I used more detergent than usual, and I suspect it's because this version doesn't lather up like the commercial brands. I prefer using this over store-bought stuff, though I'll keep the Ajax under the sink for eggy skillets. Also, I did the math, and this recipe only costs about $1.50—a nice little savings!
Last thing: It's so nice that I can go gloveless if I feel like it! This stuff doesn't dry out my hands.
This homemade dish soap recipe intrigued me since I love to sort out the puzzle of how so many things are made.
Assembly was a cinch, but it was so watery that I was really skeptical. I filled a squirt bottle, tackled some really dirty dishes with no real optimism, and found, to my great surprise, that it worked great. It was plenty sudsy, had great grease-cutting ability, and I used the same amount as I would have with a concentrated soap. Unfortunately, the only essential oil I had at home was lavender and that was not my favorite choice for detergent. I will definitely make this again with a different scent.
The ingredients were easy to find; glycerin was the only semi-tricky one, as no one at my two grocery stores had even heard of it. I eventually found it myself, much to their embarrassment since they'd told me they didn't carry it! (Look in the pharmacy area--near the Q-tips.)
Love seeing homemade products. I’ve been using diluted Lavender Castile 1:10 for my dishes and face/hands for years. Even on my hair now and then. I’ll start adding lemon juice for my dishes as your reader suggested, great idea.
May I suggest a homemade cleaning solution that I have been using for years: in a sprayer bottle, mix water and white vinegar in equal amounts, 2 tbs Rubbing Alcohol and 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil. (I use Lavender Essential Oil.) I use it in the kitchen and bathroom.
Happy Cleaning 🙂
Love this, Randi. Love it. Thank you so much! I, too, rely on rubbing alcohol for cleaning but I wasn’t sure how much to dilute it. Going to try your approach beginning immediately! Thank you!
YW! Forgot to mention when you use this mixture on mirrors, it may take a few seconds to dry it thoroughly (as it doesn’t have all the chemicals that create the instant dry). I use rubbing alcohol too: straight out of the container on faucets, door knobs, etc. Especially during flu season. Isn’t it nice that we’re going back to the cleaning basics of our grandparents? 🙂 All you need is vinegar, baking soda, and rubbing alcohol.
I’m so relieved to hear you say that you use rubbing alcohol straight up on faucets and door knobs and such, Randi, as I’ve been doing the same. I was wondering if I was being wasteful, but I feel like those places that get a lot of hand traffic sorta require a heftier dose! And yes, absolutely, am relieved that we’re returning to a simpler approach. My theory with a lot of things in life is if my grandma didn’t need it, I don’t.
Yes to all your thoughts 🙂 Rubbing Alcohol is the least expensive sterilizer. TY for sharing all these books you find, I picked it up at the library and enjoyed the concept of recipes and crafts. It’s beautifully designed too.
Happy Cleaning Again !
Many thanks, Randi K! And to you!
I don’t have a picture, but I have a suggestion. When I made the homemade dishsoap, I loved the smell, but I had learned adding lemon juice boosts the cleaning power. And it adds a wonderful scent behind.
Patty, what a terrific tip, thank you!
My new kitchen re-do included a farm sink made of soapstone………this lovely, natural soap just seems to be a natural fit. I made some using tangerine essential oil and another batch using a blend of rosemary and myrtle. Its lovely and fresh and makes my hands so soft! Last year I gave home made vanilla (using your recipe) to some of my friends….this year they are getting hand knit cotton dishcloths with a pretty bottle filled with all natural dish soap. Thanks for another great “recipe”!!!
Karen, I love your variations. And I really like the dishcloth idea. (I might have to steal it.)
I love the idea of this dish soap, especially as I don’t have a working dishwasher…well except for my own two hands! (My dishwasher serves as a giant dish rack right now.) Do you suppose that you could boil the water and add fresh sprigs of rosemary, mint or lemon peel or whatever suits your fancy, then let it cool and strain it to use instead of the drops of essential oil? I may just test this first to see if it works. I’ll let you know. Also, I’m not sure about what effect the vegetable glycerin my have but it seems this could be used as a gentle shampoo, as well.
What a fun idea! Thank you for sharing. May I also ask where you got the jar? That is really beautiful!!
You’re very welcome, Julie. We’d like, in turn, to thank the kind folks at Sweet Paul Magazine, as we merely shared their brilliance. As for the jar, we’re checking with the stylists over at Sweet Paul to see if they recall where they found it, and if they do, we’ll be back in touch with you. In the meantime, would love to hear what you think of the DIY dish soap!