Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Dr. Bronner's Soap in the Automatic Dishwasher?


Has anyone tried Dr. Bronner's Castile soap in their dishwasher? I was thinking of trying just a smidgen with some baking soda.

Wait! I finally found a recipe after searching Google forever:

*Ingredients:

2 cups liquid Castile soap(Dr. Bronner's)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
1/2 cup white vinegar

Method:

Stir all ingredients together until blended. Store in a squirt top bottle. Use 2 tablespoons per load of dishes, shake well before use.

*A similar recipe from Flylady(see link below) lists 1/2 cup of castile, not 2 cups. I'm not sure which is appropriate, so I'd experiment with less rather than more.

Also, there are some great Dr. Bronner's recipes for shampoo in the comments section.

Although I've read some criticisms of Dr. Bronner's All-Purpose Castile soap as a shampoo, mainly that it left the hair with a greasy film, one very interesting comment mentioned that Dr. Bronner's may work best as a shampoo on curly haired folks. Hmmm, maybe that's why it's been working well on my curly top daughter. I just began using it on my curly hair as well - no greasy film. I liked the tip about adding tea tree oil(blemishes, oil control) and/or glycerine(moisturizer). I've got both on hand, so I'll try this.

Here's another Bronner's Natural Dishwasher Soap Recipe , and check out her Natural Carpet Cleaner Recipe using Bronner's!

I also saw the recipe over at FlyLady.

We've been phasing in Dr. Bronner's All-Purpose Castile soap for our household and personal cleaning needs some time now. The children use it for their hair and body, and my son cleans his bathroom with it. I'll be adding it to the liquid soap dispensers after I've used up my soft soap.

I'm going to try this recipe for the dishwasher just as soon as I get a chance. See update.

See more tips at Work-for-me Wednesdays.

13 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Hi, Alexandra!

Okay, this is probably ignorant, but where does one get Castile soap? I don't think I've seen it at the grocer's...I'm interested in trying these recipes.

Have you tried to dishwasher detergent recipe yet? Does it work well?

When you have time, stop by and click on the link for the "Fall Nesting Week" at The Inspired Room. It is full of great decorating ideas and lots of fun!

God bless,
Elizabeth

Charlotte said...

Hi Alexandra,

Be CAREFUL with that recipe, even if you got it off the internet, because the amount of soap in that recipe sounds like alot.

You know how those Cascade dishwasher packets are supposed to be dishwasher soap mixed with some plain old Cascade dishwashing detergent? Well, one time when I was out of those Cascade packets, I thought, hey, I'll mix my own with some leftover powder dishwasher soap I had in the bottom of my cupboard and a couple of squirts of dishwshing detergent.

Oops! BIG oops! Have you ever seen those funny parts of TV shows and cartoons where the washing machine got too much soap and the bubbles and foam started coming out all over the floor? Well, that's EXACTLY what happened to me. It looked like I put in the same amounts as in those little packets, but boy, there must be some different ingredients in there, because I had 2 feet of soap bubbles and foam all over my kitchen.

Anyway, good luck. Also, I recently discovered your blog and have added it on my blog roll, because I like all your helpful hints, and also because I am a Catholic some-day-to-be homeschooler.

Charlotte
cheekypinkgirl

Alexandra said...

Elizabeth,

I heard you can find Dr. Bronner's Castile soap at target now, otherwise it will be at health store only. Trader Joe's might have it, and they also have their own version of castile soap which is less expensive.

I haven't tried it yet...we'll be getting a new dishwasher next week. Mine just died yesterday. It was very old and came with the house, so I had been anticipating a break down.

I'll check out that link, thanks!

Charlotte,

Hi, nice to meet you. :) I thought the same thing when I read that recipe, bubbles! I'll try just a tsp. Castile soap doesn't lather up as much as commercial soap, so it shouldn't explode with bubbles. I'll report back just as soon as I try this. If I'm drowning in bubbles I'll be sure to post pictures. ;)

Thanks for adding me...I should warn you that I don't use all Catholic resources. We mix and match curriculum, but I make sure that history and reading are Catholic friendly.

Sara said...

Just want to mention, I found this exact recipe, EXCEPT it calls for 1/2 cup dr. bronner's instead of 2 cups. I think it may be a typing error.

Alexandra said...

Yeah, I noticed this! My Flylady link mentioned 1/2 cup Bronner's. I'll try this before I try two cups. Either way you are just using 2 TBS. at a time, so it may not cause bubble problems.

Anonymous said...

If you want to get the best deal (i have found ) on dr bronners go to vitanet and buy it by the gallon, free shipping and no tax if you order $50 plus.
I have a septic system and well and care about what I am putting down the drain (and ultimately putting in groundwater). I can only say good things about dr bronners soaps, best soaps I have used and you can use them for anything (try there bar soaps and hand soaps too). I recommend
the book "clean house clean planet"
for cleaning recipes made out of natural stuff that really work and are not toxic (baking soda, vinegar, etc.), many recipes use dr bronners soaps.

dr bronners cheaper
http://www.myvitanet.com/bronmagsoapp.html?rfr=ggl&kid=88302&gclid=CM_DjPTm5JcCFRIcawodSm3nDA

book
http://www.amazon.com/Clean-House-Planet-Karen-Logan/dp/0671535951/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230518975&sr=8-3

http://www.drbronner.com/faqs_main.html

Miss Ash said...

So... what was the verdict? 1/2 cup Bronners was good?

Unknown said...

Dr Bronner.com ships their great soap with no shipping charge. AND they say NOT to mix it with vinegar. It doesn't make poison or anything it just cancels out the soap action. I use about a teaspoon in my dishwasher and sometimes throw a little baking soda in too and I'm amazed at how shiny clean it all gets!! Really- I'm quitting with so called dish detergent and I think I'm going to use it in the clothes washer, too! Anyway check drbronner.com since they now have citrus and rose flavors- yum!!

Alexandra said...

Thanks. :)

Tamara said...

Hi! This was a very informative strand! I found a recipe earlier today for just o1 teaspoon of Bronner"s + 1 teaspoon of baking soda mixed into the dishwasher cup, I was going to add vinegar to it also, but after reading the comments here, I think that keeping it simple with the Bronner"s and the baking soda will probably be sufficient and I am very excited to see what else I can use my Bronner's on!!! I love the scent of Lavender, so the more I can use this around the house, the happier I will be!! :) Thank you so much!!

Michelle~Sugar House Creations said...

I just found your blog and the blog of Dr Bronner's granddaughter who mentions not mixing vinegar with the soap for the same reason someone else commented. Also, I've been putting vinegar in my dishwasher's rinse aid compartment and it works very well!

Hannah Collier said...

WARNING: http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=292
don't mix vinegar and dr bronners. i just learned this tonight!!

Hannah Collier said...

WARNING: http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=292
i just learned tonight why you don't mix dr bronner's with vinegar or lemon juice