How to: Make Homemade Dish Soap and Dishwasher Detergent

Making homemade dish soap—this is something we've been meaning to do for a long time and, now that we've got an easy recipe to follow, we're out of excuses.

Making homemade dish soap guarantees that it is nontoxic and cheap, usually much cheaper than what you buy in the store.

We just found these recipes for homemade dish soap and, for those of you lucky enough to own a dishwasher, dishwasher detergent at Bonzai Aphrodite.

They look simple enough and require only a few ingredients. We're trying 'em this weekend.

Via Bonzai Aphrodite

Image: Bonzai Aphrodite

Comments (13)

This is going to sound like a snarky comment, but it isn't. Just pointing out that purchasing Dr. Bronners soap and slightly diluting it is hardly a recipe for making your own.
The mix for laundry detergent is more interesting, here's her direct link http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/04/natural-homemade-laundry-detergent/

Dr. Bronners soap is terrible, though his bottles are hilarious. I especially love his tip on how you never have to shower -- just take a sponge bath with Dr. B's soap and all will be well with the world.

I heart Dr. Bronners. Just wish they'd stop bottling it in PLASTIC.

Speaking of dilution, I have cut way down on my dish soap/hand soap consumption by using those foam dispensers and diluting bulk unscented hand soap or that mild almond dish soap. The water:soap ratio is about 2:1. Then, because I can't leave well enough alone, every time I shake up a refill I add a squirt of fragrance or essential oil for the fancy.

Only downside is you have to buy the foam pump dispensers the first time around. I haven't found any that aren't plastic. But you can find ones with removable labels at least (Dial).

I totally agree with maria2... how is the dish soap recipe a "recipe"?

I felt the same about the dish soap recipe. It doesn't seem different from just buying dish soap.

I'm for sure gonna try making the dishwasher detergent -- thanks for sharing the recipe.

not to sound like an advertisement, but i love dr.bronner's soap for washing dishes and for laundry especially. it leaves our clothes feeling soft w/out any fabric softener, and smelling good. we use it in our apt. size washer and don't need a lot of it. never had any problems with it; no need for extra rinsing, no sensitivities or horrible static like from other detergents.

Any time Dr. Bronner's comes up in a set of comments, the fans come out of the woodwork, and I feel like the odd man out: that stuff is horrible and harsh on dry skin. I think it might be the most overrated product to constantly come up on sites I read.

The lavender version is OK for fine washables, but for much less money you can get Seventh Generation lavender
dish soap.

(Yeah, yeah, everyone should use what they like. :)

@Miranda: I feel you. My boyfriend is obsessed with Dr. Bronner's , showers with it straight, no diluting! I told him that's why he's losing his hair but he won't listen. However, he is a VERY oily man and I think it's the only thing that makes him feel clean. Me, on the other hand, my skin is very, very dry and I hate the stuff. I won't even wash my hands with it.

Ew, I do not like Dr. Bronner's (though the label is jam packed with hilarity)... used as dish soap, it left a thick, oily, matte film all over my dishes and sink. Definitely NOT a clean feeling.

7th Generation Lavender is the best I have found. Tons of suds, too!

Trader Joe's has this French milled liquid hand soap- honey something. It smells SOOOO good, and makes your hands so silky.. I love it.

Miranda, I completely agree. Friends I've stayed with used Dr. Bronner's as their bath soap, and I found it incredibly harsh and drying. I can't stand the stuff.

I love the smell of Dr. Bronner's (and the bottle, as mentioned previously), but the lavender dries me out like crazy! (I love the almond kind, though.) It's a really good toilet bowl cleaner, BTW. Just let it sit in the water for a few minutes, and the bowl cleans up without scrubbing.