Bar Soap for Washing Dishes

[DollDoctor]

I would like to stop using dishwashing liquid and try bar soap for washing dishes instead, and eventually start making my own soap. What type of soap is best for washing dishes? Most of the ads I see for homemade soap assume you are going to use it on yourself. Any suggestions?

Z. in Maine

 

[Marianne]

I'm sure others will chime in with more advice here, but I'd suggest something like Ivory or Castile.

I tried making my own one time. It was okay-ish, as it got the job done, but it didn't suds very much at all. Not that the suds clean, it's just what I was used to seeing. When I added lemon juice for some grease cutting action, it didn't suds at all. Then I felt like I was washing dishes in dirty water. Again, the dishes were clean, but...

I finally went back to using Dawn. I'm a big fan of that stuff. I'll use subs for about everything, except in the dishwashing arena.

 

[moolie]

I've grated Castile soap and melted it into hot water, then kept it in an old dish detergent bottle in the past. It doesn't suds, it doesn't cut grease, and it leaves a film on your dishes. We gave up and poured it into a sudsing pump bottle in the bathroom for cleaning hands instead. I think a laundry bar like Sunlight might work better, but have never tried it. Detergent and soap are two different animals when it comes to cleaning dishes.

 

[me&thegals]

Ditto here. I was warned by more experienced soapmakers that my solid-turned-into-liquid soap would go bad. It did. It was rancid after a while. Dish soap is one area I don't even try to make my own, but it could be done.

 

[k15n1]

You're trying to save on dish soap, right? I use a hand-sanitizer bottle to dispense liquid dish soap. It's amazing how much farther it goes than the wand or just dumping it into the sink. I'm sure it won't work for everyone, but I found that soap lasts a lot longer with this type of dispenser.

 

[DollDoctor]

Thanks for your responses. No, I'm not trying to save money on dishwashing liquid.

A few weeks ago I read an article about how the stuff you put on your skin is absorbed into your bloodstream just like the stuff you put in your stomach. They were mainly talking about cosmetics, skin lotion, shampoo and that type of thing, but it got me thinking about other stuff I use around the house too. So basically I'm trying to keep from using all the toxic chemicals that are in dish soap, and go to a more natural product. Natural soaps tend to cost a lot, so if I end up making my own then hopefully I can break even versus using something like Dawn.

It also seems like I have to use an awful lot of liquid dish detergent to do the dishes, and wondered if a bar soap would be more long-lasting on the washcloth. Most soap ads tend to focus on how moisturizing it is - leading me to wonder if the dishes would end up greasy. Shea butter seems to be a popular ingredient, whatever that is. Even the name sounds greasy.

Yes, I know I could just wear rubber gloves when I wash the dishes! But I would rather just get away from the chemicals altogether, and live a more natural life.

Z. in Maine

 

[MorelCabin]

I've tried a few different ideas and recipes for more natural dishsoap, and didn't like any of them either. The problem with the non sudsing is that the dishwater seems soooo gross and dirty long before you are done the dishes, it is amazig how much those fluffy white suds hide underneath them LOL! And most of the recipes do leave a film of some kind on your dishes. I'll stick to my sunlight.

 

[DollDoctor]

Maybe the question I should be asking is, what did great-grandma use to wash the dishes?

 

[Leta]

I used to use Dr. Bronner's to wash the dishes.

We had 2 gallons Dr. B's bartered to us from people who owned a health food store. We brought the soap with us when we moved, and for about a year after we moved we were B-R-O-K-E. Too broke to even buy dish soap. But we got food stamps, so I could get vinegar.

I filled something likethis with straight Dr. Bronner's, washed in very hot water, and then rinsed in warm 50%-50% vinegar water.

It was okay if I towel dried everything. Air drying allowed a film to form. Once we didn't live in poverty anymore, we bought a dishwasher. I use an OxyClean/lemon Kool Aid blend in the dishwasher, and, as a consequence, use far less dishsoap, but I like keeping Dawn around for its grease cutting properties. However, if I ever get around to mothering my own vinegar, I'd be willing to let the Dawn go.

My neighbor, who isn't that old but grew up in a house without indoor plumbing (in the 40s-50s) told me that, in order to wash dishes, they used two basins and first gave everything a very complete scraping. It went dirty stack of dishes: wash basin : rinse basin: clean stack of dishes. They used a crocheted dish cloth that they rubbed right on a bar of something like Fels Naptha, use the cloth to scrub the dish, rinsed, and towel dried right away. Really greasy stuff they'd bleach.

Not terribly different from what I was doing.

 

[DollDoctor]

Yes, I use those old crocheted dishcloths. The liquid soap tends to go right through them!

I was talking to my Mom today and she remembered her grandmother using brown soap, she thought the name was Octagon. All it took was one Google and I found it at Vermont Country Store:

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/...ns/Laundry/Octagon_Soap_(Set_of_6_Bars)/H2099

I will tell hubby to put some in my stocking for Christmas!