Comments on: Alternatives to Dishwashing Liquid: Bar Soap, Baking Soda, & Homemade Dish Soap Recipes

By: HOLLY

HOLLY — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:52:01 +0000

LOOKING FOR A DISH-SOAP IN A BAR RECIPE, I ONLY FIND LIQUIDS OR ALTERNATIVE. OR POINT THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THANKS!

By: Diana

Diana — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:19:10 +0000

http://www.chickensintheroad.com has WONDERFUL tutorials on soapmaking, cheesemaking etc…she’s a hoot too.

Just passing through but thought I’d let ya know

By: Serena

Serena — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:18:34 +0000

We use a combination of melted Dr.B’s citrus bar in a gallon of water and baking soda for our dishes and they turn out great. I melt the bars and make my own liquid for everything because it is soooo much cheaper than buying the liquid. One bar last us about 6-9 months.

By: Lawana

Lawana — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:32:54 +0000

How to actually make liquid soap.

There are lots of good recipes online. I would recommend making a cold process solid soap first. Then google making liquid soap in a crock pot or making liquid soap in the oven. Be sure to take safety SERIOUSLY and don’t do it with children under foot. Note- ALL soaps are made with icky chemicals! That said, I use natural home made soaps exclusively now because I know these chemicals and can find out where they come from. The Monsanto originated detergents are not for me or my family. (Having grown up in the shadow of a Monsanto plant in the 60′s when they were thinking up all these marvels). I have seen the devastation of an entire community due to Chemical production in their back yard.

Better the simple 4 or 5 ingredient home made soap in my book.

Additional Note: I am not a soap maker but I know an excellent one whose soap I use all the time. Read carefully and never use a liquid soap recipe where there isn’t ph adjustment at the end with borax or boric acid.
Lawana

By: kv5r

kv5r — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:44:57 +0000

The best dishwashing liquid is water. Soap is only for cutting fats and oils. Stop eating fats and oils, and you don’t need any soap for dishes. And you’ll live longer. I haven’t used any soap for dishwashing in years, and all my dishes are squeaky clean.
Also, when you eat almost no oil, you need less soap in the shower and laundry!
You can clean a really greasy skillet by boiling a little water in it, then pour that over your dog food, then wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. No soap needed!
Soaping dishes is just a tradition that started way back when people cooked everything in hog lard. Now people are just ad-brainwashed and think nothing can be “clean” without soap.

By: Pkay

Pkay — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:49:11 +0000

I am looking for…..THE liquid formula. How do they make the base, the liquid
SOAP, not the bars or flakes or Dr. whats his names soap? I want to make
my own. I am sorry if I sound ungrateful but all the recipes say to start
with soap. I want to MAKE my OWN soap. I would appreciate it if anyone
knows of a recipe they would like to share. Thank you very much. *-* K

By: Kay

Kay — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:30:32 +0000

I’ve been using bar soap to was dishes for a few years. It works fine, but I have a part-time housekeeper who wants commercial dish soap that comes in (ugh) plastic bottles, which is why I’m researching this. Thanks for your tips.

By: Siggy

Siggy — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:14:11 +0000

Don’t give up on Dr. Bronner’s yet!!!
I don’t recommend the bar or liquid, though.
The product that works very well for washing dishes AND laundry is Dr. B’s Sal Suds. Online you can purchase a gallon for under 30$. You can likely find it in your health food store or have your local vitamin shoppe order site-to-store for free.
Here’s the scoop.
I use 1 oz for laundry in my front loading washing machine and have fresh, clean clothes every load. I dilute 1/2 sal suds and 1/2 water for my hand dishwashing. It is fantastic. It is expensive inititally but extremely concentrated and goes a lot further than any other product I’ve used. The biggest perk is that it is completely biodegradable/no petrol and the ingredients are ALL listed on the package. It smells like pine, but not overwhelmingly and it goes away when dry. That’s all I have to say about that!!

By: Jeannine

Jeannine — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:15:14 +0000

Hello. I’ve been using baking soda and vinegar to wash my dishes for the last couple months. I fill the sink with water, pour in some baking soda (I don’t measure, but maybe 3 Tablespoons or so), and pour in some vinegar (about 1/4 cup?). The dishes come out sparkling clean!

I have a problem with the dishwasher though. No matter what I do, white powdery film builds up on my dishes. I’ve used Glass Magic, and it works wonderfully, but I worry about the environmental impact and the toxicity of it. But I absolutely can not find anything else that removes the film.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:17:09 +0000

I backpack, and when I’m out I use ashes, or fine silt/sand to clean my pot and utensil. (Ashes are preferable, because they are only mildly abrasive (I always step away from the stream to wash and rinse the dishes. Afterwards I discard the water and cleaning agent into the woods so the earth will filter it before it reenters the water system.) Sometimes if ashes, silt/ fine sand, isn’t available I use leaves. OK, maybe not an option for everyday household dish washing, but I’ve been wondering about utilizing diatomaceous earth for dish washing. I lived overseas for a couple years. The family I lived with used a sort of clay to clean their dishes…got me thinking…