One day while we still lived in Montana I was at the sink washing up the pots and pans after the dishwasher had been loaded. And I noticed that I had seemed to develop a little dry cough every time I stood at the sink and washed dishes after dinner. At first, I thought it was simply a dry throat because I am horrible about drinking enough water throughout the day. But as time went on, and the dishwashing continued, so did the cough. And a glass of water did not do the trick to rid me of that cough.
When my daughter heard me say, "for some reason, I always cough when washing dishes after dinner" she replied, " I don't understand, this is an environmentally friendly dish soap". But when the bottle ran out and we could not buy any more, my cough went away. As it turns out, even the products labeled as safe for the environment can have harsh chemicals to be concerned about. And to clarify, I do not have respiratory health concerns nor am I compromised in my lungs or breathing.
So the search was on to find and make a suitable Homemade Dish Soap that in fact cleaned your dishes, but also the greasy pots and pans left to be washed after the dishwasher is loaded! I knew it could be done, even if I did not know how to do it! You see we have been making our own Powdered Laundry Soap for years and years. Using simple ingredients we get clean laundry! So by even a small stretch of the imagination, I knew it could be done, for dishes!
And it is. I must have read about 20 articles on making dish soap. And as luck would have it, right about the time I was going to throw in the towel, I found an article from the Kitchn! They had tried a few different formulas and this was the one that worked! Sold me, immediately. The ingredients are simple, the mixing is easy and it cleans the dishes, there was nothing more to ask for...come and take a look.
Oh and one last thing. Since the mixture is thin before mixing in the salt, I decided right away that we could have two Homemade Dish Soap products available for washing dishes! A spray-on cleaner for single wash items where you will not fill a sink with dishwater and a second bottle of thicker soap to squirt into the sink for the standard sudsy bath.
Some thoughts on this project:
Salt plays an important role, it thickens the mixture to make it more like commercially made dish soap.
You do want to use distilled water so that any chemicals that may be present in your own community water will not change the chemistry of the mix.
And just like using distilled water, you will need to use a kosher-style salt with no additives.
The recipe below calls for small amounts, making it easy to fill a small bottle by the sink, or double or even triple the recipe if desired.
UPDATE: I made a large batch, but found that it will separate upon standing. A quick stir will remedy the problem, but from now on due to how easy it is to stir together, I will make small batches as needed.
Ingredients needed for this project:
- distilled water
- white vinegar
- Sal Suds
- salt
You will also need the following:
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- storage container with a tight-fitting lid
- bamboo skewer
Now we are ready to begin!
Homemade Dish Soap
adapted from kitchn
1/2 c distilled water
1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 c Dr. Bonners Sal Suds
1-2 t salt, we used Himalayan pink salt
Warm the distilled water in a microwave or on the stove. The easiest way is to pour the distilled water into an oversized glass measuring cup and microwave it until warm, but not hot!
Pour the water into your storage container, we used a quart canning jar.
Add the vinegar.
Add the Sal Suds, and stir gently. A bamboo skewer works great for this.
NOTE: At this point, you have a liquid cleaner that is perfect for a spray bottle, or you can continue on with adding salt and have a more traditional dish soap to use.
Add the salt, a teaspoon at a time stirring well to dissolve.
NOTE: I found the two teaspoons of salt made a good consistency for squirting out of a leftover soap or catsup squeeze bottle. Feel free to play around with the amount of salt that works best for your needs.
Pour the soap into a leftover squeeze bottle and you are ready to wash up some dishes!
UPDATE:
For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Homemade Dish Soap has
been included below.
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Printable "copy and paste" version:
Homemade Dish Soap
adapted from kitchn
1/2 c distilled water
1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 c Dr. Bonners Sal Suds
1-2 t salt, we used Himalayan pink salt
Warm the distilled water in a microwave or on the stove. The easiest way is to pour the distilled water into an oversized glass measuring cup and microwave it until warm, but not hot!
Pour the water into your storage container, we used a quart canning jar.
Add the vinegar.
Add the Sal Suds, and stir gently. A bamboo skewer works great for this.
NOTE: At this point, you have a liquid cleaner that is perfect for a spray bottle, or you can continue on with adding salt and have a more traditional dish soap to use.
Add the salt, a teaspoon at a time stirring well to dissolve.
NOTE: I found the two teaspoons of salt made a good consistency for squirting out of a leftover soap or catsup squeeze bottle. Feel free to play around with the amount of salt that works best for your needs.
Pour the soap into a leftover squeeze bottle and you are ready to wash up some dishes!
~~~~
Very smart. I've never heard of Dr Bonners Sal Suds -- did you buy it online or at a hardware store?
ReplyDeleteI did buy it online. We have few stores here in our little town in Wyoming, but you may be able to find it in a larger store specializing in homestead and farm supplies.
DeleteI have a friend who uses sal suds to make dish soap. I never have, but using less chemicals is always a good idea. Good you got to the bottom of that caugh on your own and found such a good solution. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I love the spray bottle of dish soap! Now that I have a dishwasher I do less dishes by hand, but a good sink of dishwater is still used several times a week.
DeleteI'll have to give this a try! Visiting from Grammy's Grid party, 25 and Done.
ReplyDeleteI especially love the spray soap! So easy to wash one dish if need be. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteInteresting, so I'm assuming you no longer cough while doing dishes now that you're using this mixture? Anyway, thanks so much for linking up at the 25 and Done Link Party 25! 25 entries in 25 hours!! Pinned.
ReplyDeleteDee you are welcome, and yes, the cough has gone away.
DeleteI'm amazed at all the products that are relatively simple to make at home.
ReplyDeleteI have taken on the task of being self sufficient, this works especially well in our rural area. This one is a keeper!
DeleteLooks pretty simple and way more safe for the environment. Thanks for sharing at My Big Fat Menopausal Life's Share the Wealth Party. Hope you're having a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Helen, and thanks so for hosting, I appreciate sharing with all your readers!
DeleteThank you so much. And thanks for sharing. I have read that you can also use 2 tablespoons of Savon de Marseille. I don't know what dr. Bonners Sal Suds is :-) Could it be soap?
ReplyDeleteSal Suds is a liquid soap that is safe for the environment. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
DeleteGood to hear the cough is gone :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, me too!
Delete