Table of Contents
- 7 DIY Cleaning Recipes with Dish Soap
- One Important Tip Before You Start!
- Now You Can Clean Even If All You Have is Dish Soap!
- Want More Cleaning Tips and Ideas?
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Did you like Chemistry class? Not the memorizing of the Periodic Table, but the mixing up of stuff in beakers?
Me, too! I love that stuff. The adult equivalent of Chemistry lab is making DIY cleaning recipes.
Side note, I have had so many college Chemistry class related stress dreams that I’m no longer certain if I actually took Chemistry in college or I’ve only dreamed about never going to class and then showing up late for the Final.
Ok, on to the DIY Cleaning recipes with Dish Soap. That’s why you’re here, right? Not to hear about my failing memory.
7 DIY Cleaning Recipes with Dish Soap
Why do you even care about DIY cleaning recipes? Specifically with dish soap?
Because, I am willing to bet that there has been a random Saturday night where you got the urge to clean and then realized that you didn’t have the cleaning products you needed in order to get the job done.
So you never started. You missed a great opportunity to clean when you ACTUALLY felt like cleaning.
We can’t let that happen. We’re going to have a DIY Cleaning Recipe back up plan.
One Important Tip Before You Start!
Have a permanent marker handy when you are making these cleaners. You’ll want to note on the bottle what the ingredients are and what the cleaner is used for.
Or else the next time you fish the bottle out from under the sink, you’ll have no clue what you put in there or what to use it on.
You’re going to want a good plastic bottle, too because flimsy ones get difficult the more you use them and you’re going to use these a lot.
I like these from Amazon:
#1 Window Cleaner
Here’s what’s going to happen with window cleaner. You’re going to start cleaning the windows with whatever store bought product you already have and you’re going to run out of it about 2/3 of the way through your window cleaning project.
I can almost guarantee that will happen.
Instead of getting out of your cleaning flow, just mix up a quick batch of homemade window cleaner.
It’s 1/4 c of White Distilled Vinegar, 2.5 cups of water and a teaspoon of Dawn dish soap. Give it a shake and get back to your windows.
Pro tip: Microfiber cloths are best for cleaning windows. No streaks! And don’t be afraid to use your Microfiber cloths and window cleaning concoction on your walls. It’s the method I’ve used for wall cleaning.
#2 Soap Scum Remover
Soap scum is nasty. It is so incredibly difficult to remove. It takes some serious, serious scrubbing. And in the bathtub no less.
Here’s a homemade cleaning recipe that will make this tough job a little bit easier.
Mix together a tablespoon of cornstarch and a cup of distilled white vinegar. Let it thicken up a little then warm it in the microwave for a minute.
Grab a spray bottle and add 2 tablespoons of dish soap. Add the warm vinegar mixture, shake it up and spray it on the walls and floor of the tub.
Let it sit for 10 minutes or so. You can go make beds while you’r waiting.
Spray it down and wipe the surface with a clean cloth. You should have a MUCH cleaner tub with minimal effort.
You might have to do this a few times if you’ve let things go and the soap scum is particularly bad. Just be consistent.
Pro Tip: You don’t really want a clean tub. You want to take a luxurious bath so you NEED a clean tub. You’ll hate cleaning it less if you think about it like that.
#3 All Purpose Cleaner
If you want a cleaner you can spray on pretty much anything and get to cleaning, then a vinegar and dish soap mixture is going to be a great match for you.
You can do a 1/4 cup of Dawn to 1/2 cup of vinegar and spritz it on your counters, cabinets and hard floors.
You can add a little water and a couple of drops of your favorite essential oil if the vinegar smell bothers you. It should dissipate quickly though.
#4 Homemade Jewelry Cleaner
Do you have jewelry cleaner in your house? I don’t. I never have. My mom does. It’s a nice thing to have around if you’r a jewelry person, right?
If you don’t have any around, you can DIY some. It’s a great idea to polish up your jewelry before you’re heading out for something fun like a wedding or a special date night.
All you need is some warm water, a drop of dish soap and very soft toothbrush. A baby toothbrush would work great.
Jewelry is VERY precious, usually soft metal. Be careful with it. Don’t use abrasives like baking soda. You can easily damage your jewelry.
Now go have a great night on the town!
#5 DIY Grout Cleaner
Cleaning grout is a great activity if you have a completely separate problem that you need to work out and you need to give your brain a break from thinking about it.
What?
Yes, it’s true. When you’ve got a problem, sometimes hyper focusing on a menial task is the best way to free your subconscious to work on the other pressing problem.
But what if you don’t have any grout cleaner? Well, you can make some, of course.
Use a 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of dish soap.
A dollar store plastic condiment bottle is great for this. It will squeeze out in a nice thin line that’s practically perfect for grout.
Let it sit for a few minutes then get to scrubbing. And see how many of life’s problems you can solve.
#6 Stain Remover
Your dish soap is a degreaser. It is made to make grease easier to remove. Hence the washing of the oil soaked ducklings with Dawn.
Hydrogen Peroxide is a mild(ish) bleach and disinfectant.
The combination of these two things makes a perfect Stain Remover.
Combine 1 part dish soap (use Dawn, the blue old school one) and 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and apply it to your stain.
Let is sit and marinate for a few minutes, give a scrub and then toss it in the wash.
#7 Oven Cleaner
Being a not so great cook means that my oven is usually kind of a disaster.
Right now it is full of salt from putting out a fire. I think it was chicken I was cooking.
I’m a little afraid to even run the self cleaner because I know it will go on fire again. So I’m going to need to do a pre-cleaning.
A solution you can use in your oven for cleaning is 2 oz or Dawn, 4 oz of lemon juice, 8 oz or white vinegar and 10 oz of water.
Spray it and let it sit overnight. Don’t turn the oven on or anything. Just let it sit and wipe it down the next day.
Now You Can Clean Even If All You Have is Dish Soap!
You’re now armed with all of the recipes you need to be a DIY Cleaner making Chemist.
No more, “I couldn’t finish because I ran out of …” . No more excuses.
We finish what we start no matter what!
Except for really bad Netflix series. Those aren’t worth our time.