Ideally, you’ll be able to go to the grocery store or log onto Amazon and buy dish soap like Dawn, but what if that was no longer an option and you needed to be able to make your own? If you’re looking for a DIY dishwashing soap that gets the job done, you are going to love this recipe.
How to make homemade dish soap
The first thing you are going to want to do is to gather your ingredients. The good news is, you’ll only need a few and they are easy to come by.
- 1/4 cup grated of Fels-Naptha soap *
- 2 cups of water
- 1-2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp vegetable glycerin
- 5 drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)
Fels Naptha is made up of palm oil, coconut oil, and tallow. But if you prefer you can use a Castile soap. I’ve used Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile liquid soap many times with this recipe. I used the peppermint-scented version so if that is the case, don’t add the essential oil like lemon. I couldn’t find a matching peppermint essential oil, but you might have better luck than me.
Chop up the bar of soap into small chunks. You can even do this in your blender.
Next, pour the grated soap into a saucepan along with two cups of water on low to medium heat. Be careful not to turn the heat up to high. Now stir the mixture until all the soap is melted. Do not let this come to a boil. If you find it’s starting to simmer, simply reduce the heat.
Once the soap is completely melted, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool down for a few minutes.
Now stir in the vinegar and glycerin into your soap mixture.
If you are using essential oils, now is the time to put in about 5 drops. Some essential oils like lemon, sweet orange, and lavender, have great antibacterial properties. So there is a benefit to using them, beyond the great smell.
Continue to stir and mix everything well.
Now allow the mixture to rest, and wait for it to completely cool, and then pour it into your preferred soap dispenser, and then enjoy your homemade dish soap.
You might notice that your homemade dish soap isn’t as thick as the store-bought version and it will lack the bubbles. There will be some bubbles, but it won’t be as sudsy as Dawn. That doesn’t mean it isn’t working. I promise your homemade dishwashing soap is just as good as the store-bought version, even without all the suds.