So, I ran out of dish soap 3 days go. Instead of getting dressed and going to the store, like any other sane person, I decided to google Alternatives to Dish Soap. I actually found some pretty cool stuff and I figured, why not write a blog post about it!
I didn’t have a great and inspired need to find a new, greener, safer method to clean my dishes- I simply had no dish soap and the dishes weren’t going to magically vanish from my sink. That being said, some of these options might be a great idea for moving forward to a greener and less wasteful lifestyle.
Here are the 4 different alternatives to dish soap that I tried…
Baking Soda
This one I didn’t actually need to google, because I remember seeing someone use this when I was a kid. Turns out a bit of baking soda (and some vinegar if you like) poured into your sinkful of hot water works pretty well! It even got my caked on pots and pans clean, I just sprinkled some directly on it.
Vinegar
Mixed with the baking soda, it worked really well. I tried it on its own in the sink with less success, and frankly the smell was annoying. I don’t plan to continue using it alone.
Bar Soap
Yep, good old dove bar soap. It left some residue if not carefully rinsed (vinegar in the rinse helped), but it worked. Pure Castile soap would be better, says google. I might try that some day- but of course, if I’m gonna get dressed to go buy some Castile Soap… well then I might as well buy some palmolive.
Dishwasher Powder
This one doesn’t seem nearly as inspired. I had plenty of dishwasher powder, and washed the majority of my dishes in the dishwasher, but I typically prewash the dishes a bit before loading. I also hand wash my pots and pans because they take up too much space in the dishwasher. The powder was not that great in the sink, though. I decided to make a paste out of it first with I could rub on the dishes directly and that worked better. All in all, not terrible. And it rinsed clean.
Did this change me for life?
The best only good part of all this- I still don’t have to get dressed and go to the store. In fact, the next time I’m there I might not even buy some dish soap… maybe. OK, I probably will.
Fun! My giant bottle of liquid Dr. Broener’s mentions washing dishes as one use for castile soap….but it just seemed so weird (and I have plenty of Palmolive in the house). But if regular bar soap works I can’t see liquid castile not working too 🙂
We tried to make our own dish soap and it didn’t seem to work out to well. I’ll have to try some of these out if we ever run out thanks.
They definitley weren’t life-changing for me haha but worked in a pinch. What did you use to make it before?
Good tries. I love a good dish soap. Like dawn or sunlight. Nothing really compares. I also wash my pots and pans by hand for the same reason as you.
I use Kosher salt to clean my iron skillets. Great for greasy pans. I use vinegar to shampoo my hair. In the Army we used Fels Naptha. They hung a perforated tomato can under the faucet and ran hot water over it. Makes suds and works well.