DIY Liquid Dish Soap Recipe

Okay, just like pretty much all cleaning, washing dishing is not something I get excited about.

But I AM excited about my homemade dish soap!

Here are some reasons why I love my homemade dish soap (and why I think you’ll love it, too):

• It’s a powerful cleaner, but it’s super mild and gentle on my sensitive skin
• No artificial dyes, fragrances, or preservatives
• Simple to make — only 3 ingredients
• Makes lots and lots of bubbles (and the bubbles last for an entire sink full of dishes)
• Cuts through grease
• Rinses well
• Works great in both soft and hard water
• Gets dishes, silverware, and even glasses squeaky clean and sparkling
• Smells great!
• Cheap to make – only pennies for a sink full of dishes

3 “secret” ingredients that make this homemade dish soap work

1. Sal Suds (find it here) – This is a concentrated cleaner made with plant-based surfactants that cut through grease and grime, yet is gentle and mild on skin.  I used to use liquid Castile soap, but made the switch to Sal Suds a couple years ago after discovering how much better it worked.  Unlike Castile soap, Sal Suds is a detergent.  There’s some complicated chemical explanations for the differences between soap and detergent, but the important thing to me is that the detergent works MUCH BETTER for washing dishes (and laundry).  Sal Suds makes more bubbles, does a better job of cutting through grease and stuck-on food, and rinses really well (even in hard water).  That means that dishes get squeaky clean.  Silverware is shiny.  Glasses sparkle.
2. baking soda – I know, adding baking soda to dish soap sounds odd, right?  But it works.  It adds a little scouring power to cut through stuck-on food, but is still super gentle on glasses and dishes.
3. lemon essential oil – If you’ve ever read any of my other recipes, this ingredient won’t be much of a surprise.  Lemon essential oil is a powerful cleaner (and, of course, it smells amazing!)  I use lemon essential oil in my anti-mold & mildew spray, homemade soft scrub, daily shower spray, wood floor cleaner, dusting spray, wood polish, all-purpose cleaner, and streak-free mirror & window cleaner. (get all the recipes for these 8 lemon essential oil homemade cleaners HERE)

How to make homemade dish soap?

step 1:  add 1 cup Sal Suds (get it here) to glass bowl

step 2: add 1 cup water

(I use distilled water or filtered water that’s been boiling and cooled)

step 3:  add 1 teaspoon baking soda

step 4: add 20 drops lemon essential oil

step 5:  use whisk to mix together ingredients until baking soda is dissolved

step 6:  pour into bottle – a cruet like this or a mason pump like this both work great

Here’s the Essential Oil Dish Soap Recipe One More Time

add 1 cup Sal Suds (get it here) to glass bowl

add 1 cup water  (I use distilled water or filtered water that’s been boiling and cooled)

add 1 teaspoon baking soda

add 20 drops lemon essential oil

use whisk to mix together ingredients until baking soda is dissolved

pour into bottle – a cruet like this or a mason pump like this both work great

How to use

• add 1-2 teaspoons of homemade dish soap to sink
• then fill sink about halfway full with hot water
• add dishes to bubbly dish water
• if dishes are especially greasy or have some stuck-on food, I let them soak in the hot soapy water for a few minutes before scrubbing them
• wash as normal
• rinse with water
• dry (either air drying or towel drying works great with this soap)

Where to get supplies?

Sal Suds– I get mine here

distilled water– sold in jugs in the water aisle at grocery stores, Target, and Walmart.  Or you can use boiled and cooled filtered water.

baking soda– you probably already have this in the pantry.  If not, you can get in the baking aisle at the grocery store.  I get my baking soda in giant bags at Costco because I use baking soda in so many DIY projects like my bath bombs, homemade soft scrub, stinky foot/shoe powder, dishwasher tabs, shower steamers, and more!

a cruet like this or a mason pump like this both look pretty and keep the dish soap handy by the kitchen sink

If you liked this post, here are a few other essential oil posts that I think you’ll like:

best streak-free window & mirror cleaner

homemade soft scrub

8 recipes for cleaning with lemon essential oil

stinky shoe spray

20 Favorite Roller Bottle Blend Recipes and Free Printable Labels

How to make essential oil inhalers + 24 favorite inhaler recipes

Clever & Creative Ways to Use Empty Essential Oil Bottles

Best deals for essential oil supplies– diffusers cases, spray bottles, carrier oils, essential oil tools

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