I’ve figured out how to make my own laundry detergent at home, but creating a homemade liquid dish soap for handwashing dishes has been on my to-do list for ages. It’s a bit challenging to whip up a natural dishwashing soap that works well and has the right consistency. Luckily, I found a solution that’s natural, easy, and effective!
Sure, you can buy natural dishwashing soap at a supermarket or online, but many brands, even the so-called natural ones, have a long list of ingredients I’m not very happy about. Plus, they don’t always work as well as advertised and can be pricey, especially with a big family like mine—we go through dish soap quickly, especially when the kids are “helping.”
I enjoy making homemade cleaners, though they come with their challenges. I’ve documented my experiences with DIY green cleaners over the years. Many recipes use vinegar, which is too strong-smelling for me, or Borax, which is quite controversial. Lately, I haven’t had much spare time because of kids, work, and life in general. Still, I create natural cleaners when possible and discovered a few store-bought options like Sal Suds, which I cover in this recipe.
Despite my busy schedule, I wanted to give homemade dish soap another shot. Many past recipes, although not all, didn’t quite hit the mark. A lot of DIY recipes use castile soap, which is fantastic for many tasks but lacks the punch of store-bought dish soap. If you have hard water, castile soap might leave a film on your glassware.
Some recipes try mixing vinegar with castile soap for extra cleaning power, but that doesn’t pan out. Vinegar breaks down the soap, meaning it no longer cleans like soap should. Not ideal for dishwashing!
This dish soap recipe uses Sal Suds instead, a concentrated natural cleaner from the Bronner family—the same folks who make the castile soap I use. Both products are safe and effective, but Sal Suds seems to work best for this recipe.
Greasy dishes can be tough to clean, so this recipe also includes washing soda for an extra degreasing boost. Washing soda is a staple in my home and is part of several homemade cleaning mixes. (It’s different from baking soda, though you can make washing soda by baking baking soda in the oven.)
Natural dishwashing soaps are usually runnier than commercial brands because they don’t use synthetic thickeners. But there’s a simple, natural fix: table or kosher salt. While sea salt and Himalayan salt are great for eating because of their minerals, they actually affect cleaning performance in soap.
I’ve added citrus oils for a fresh, clean smell and their antimicrobial properties. Lemon essential oil is great for cutting grease and is antibacterial. Grapefruit oil is also antibacterial and antifungal and has mood-lifting qualities.
You can use almost any essential oil in this recipe, like lavender, sweet orange, peppermint, or eucalyptus. The Sal Suds cleaner already contains fir and spruce essential oils, so choose one that complements the pine scent or skip the extra essential oil entirely.
There are many homemade liquid dish soap recipes online, but I’ve found this one to be the most effective.
Note: If this liquid dish soap thickens too much over time, just add a bit more water to get it back to the right consistency.
Have you ever tried making your own liquid dish soap? How did it turn out? Feel free to share your experiences!
