Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Heather Dessinger

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Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Folks, There Is A Gladiator Of Homemade Dish Soaps, and this is it. Round-after-round it knocked it’s opponents out cold: The watery formula’s, the ones that kept separating, the ones dried out my hands and looked like cottage cheese.

Behold, the defeated.

homemade-liquid-dish-soap-2

Why Use Homemade Dish Soap At All?

Ahhh, good question! We all know that most commercial dish soaps are loaded with toxins, but many “green” also score a D or F for safety with the Environmental Working Group. There is one store-bought option that I recommend – Eco-Me Lemon Fresh Dish Soap – but you can save money by making your own.

An Important Note On Water Types

As you’ll see in the comments, some people love this recipe and some . . . well, not so much. My guess is that how well it works depends on the type of water you have – hardness, softness, pH, etc. Before you consider making a double  or triple batch, I suggest making  a small batch to see how it works in your area.

Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe
Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

How To Make Homemade Liquid Dish Soap

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups boiling water
  • 1/4 cup grated Dr. Bronner’s bar soap, tightly packed*
  • 1/4 cup liquid castile soap
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon (plus up to 1 teaspoon additional) super washing soda (adjust for desired thickness)**
  • 1/2 teaspoon non-GMO glycerin
  • 15-40 drops essential oil (lime, lemon and orange are great for cutting grease. Lavender and juniper are also good choices)

Equipment

Used dish soap squirt bottle or pump dispenser. I splurged and got this adorable mason jar pump on Amazon.

*Other soaps, such as my pure coconut oil soap for laundry, can be used. However, some need more washing soda to thicken and some need less. When I first made a batch of liquid soap with coconut oil soap it was very watery, so I reheated the mixture and incrementally increased the amount of washing soda until it reached the right consistency.

** Super washing soda creates a stronger gel reaction than homemade washing soda. Because the strength of homemade will vary depending on whether all the baking soda is truly converted to washing soda, I can’t recommend a specific amount to use. However, I use about 2 tablespoons in my homemade recipe.

Instructions

1. Place water on the stove over medium/high heat. Add grated bar soap and stir until dissolved.

2. Once the bar soap is dissolved, remove from heat and pour mixture into a container. I pour mine directly into my pump dispenser because it has a wide mouth that allows me to stir the ingredients.

3. Add liquid castile soap, 2 1/4 teaspoons of the super washing soda and glycerin. Stir thoroughly.

4. Let soap set for 24 hours, stirring occasionally, then check the consistency. Keep in mind that it will thicken over time, so a little runny is okay! If you want it thicker warm it up and dissolve in 3/4 teaspoon washing soda, then let it set again. If needed repeat the process – adding 1/2 teaspoon each time – until desired thickness is reached. Important Note: This soap tends to thicken over time. If that happens, no problem! Just add a little warm/hot water and stir to mix. Also, shake from time to time to make sure the liquid is thoroughly distributed.

5. If the soap is clumpy, give it a whir in the blender or mix with an immersion blender.

Once this soap has reached the consistency you desire stir in essential oils.
Place in container with pump or flip top squeeze lid and use!

Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Update: The Unpaper Towel Tutorial Is Live HERE

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About HEATHER

Heather is a holistic health educator, herbalist, DIYer, Lyme and mold warrior. Since founding Mommypotamus.com in 2009, Heather has been taking complicated health research and making it easy to understand. She shares tested natural recipes and herbal remedies with millions of naturally minded mamas around the world.