homemade liquid dish detergent?

[Kingsfarm]

Hi, does this formula work well enough for your needs?

 

[Warwickian]

I've never made a soap specifically for dishwashing although I have just used my regular soap to wash dishes with before. I should look into trying something...it would need to have a lot of coconut oil in the recipe I'm guessing. And to make it liquid, it would have to be made with potassium hydroxide instead of sodium hydroxide.

Looks like most of the sites I googled use castile soap and washing soda blends but I'm not sure how good it will cut grease.

There are still bar soaps around that make nice suds, are cheap, and do very well on dishes. Fels Naptha is one. I bought it in Shoprite. I found one in the dollar store called Hispana, and there is a kosher one too made by Rokeach. These are what our mothers and grandmothers used before there was liquid dish soap in plastic. We had clean dishes in the 50's too, without liquid dish detergent.
As far as I am concerned, the plastic container that the liquid dish detergent comes in, which will stay in our environment for thousands of years is the main reason to switch to a bar soap wrapped in paper.
If you have to use liquid dish soap you should know that it will last maybe 4 times as long if you dilute it in water first. Just save an old dishwash bottle and fill it 1/4 full with your dish soap, then the rest with water. Shake well and use the same amount of liquid as you would if it is undiluted.

 

[Warwickian]

Does anyone have a recipe for homemade liquid dish detergent? I would like to get away from using Dawn (dang petroleum based products!) and move to something homemade. We do have the challenge that our city water is hard and so soap does not suds very much at all. I am constantly putting more dish soap on the rag when I was things, which is annoying, but otherwise, I don't feel like they get clean.
Thanks for the suggestions!!

I tried making my own dish soap but was disappointed with the results. Then I remembered that my mother used a bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap to wash dishes. I found it in Shoprite for $1.77, and it worked and lasted forever. Makes good suds when lathered onto a sponge or cloth. No need to order through a fancy catalog and pay postage. Probably any bar laundry soap would work as well.

 

[hqueen13]

Hmm, going to have to try that. I have several bars of Fels Naptha! I wonder how hard it would be on your hands though. Might have to start wearing gloves to wash dishes if that is the case.