How to Make Dishwashing Soap

Saving money and helping the environment are popular motivators to making your own dishwashing soap. Add to that the benefit of avoiding skin irritants and the ease of mixing your own dish-cleaning blend, and it's a wonder why anyone buys prepared dish soap in the first place.

The base to this simple dishwashing soap recipe is Castile bar soap that can be found in the laundry aisle of most grocery and department stores. The lemon juice adds to the grease cutting powers of the homemade soap and gives it a fresh citrus scent.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Castile bar soap
• Grater
• 2 to 3 cups of hot water
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• Large mixing bowl
• Potato masher
• Plastic squeeze bottles

1. Grate 2 cups of Castile bar soap into a mixing bowl.

2. Add enough hot water to cover the soap.

3. Let the mixture stand overnight to soften the soap.

4. Mash the mixture together until smooth.

5. Add enough hot water to dilute the mixture to a consistency that can be poured into the squeeze bottle.

6. Blend the mixture completely.

7. Pour the mixture into squeeze bottles.

8. Shake before each use.

Tips & Warnings

• Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the bottle to turn dish washing into an aromatherapy session.

Resources

• What is Castile soap?