Lauren Mueller

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Homemade Dishwashing Soap

So. I never post on here. I know. As we all know, when you have little kids (even when you don't!), there are neverrr enough hours in the day to get it all done! I feel like the older my kids get, the easier THEY get, but the BIGGER the messes they make get... it's a never ending cycle :), but I love being a stay at home mom! And I decided within the past year that for my house, part of being a stay at home mom meant more researching the stuff we are putting on and in our bodies, and figuring out some alternatives. Hence this blog, and this post!
Now I have to say, I cannot claim all of this info as purely my own! I have some great blogs I love to get info from, such as http://www.passionatehomemaking.com and http://simplemom.net/ . As well as some great friends who are my sounding boards and information gurus :). So with that said, know that some of these recipes to follow are from or adapted from these blogs, but maybe from some other random places too!

First let's talk about dish detergent. Along with food we put into our mouths, we are also putting into our mouths the stuff that piggybacks onto your food from the dishes you just washed in that dishwasher with the dish detergent full of bleach. EW. I am guilty of this, obviously for my whole life up until now. I mean it's normal... you wash your dishes with dish detergent. Let's take a look at the two ingredients in my generic dishwashing gel...sodium silicate - proven to be a skin irritant, "Repeated exposure of sodium silicate to the lungs can lead to frequent bronchial infections and chronic respiratory issues", "Sodium silicate is corrosive and can cause serious damage to mucous membranes if ingested", and chlorine bleach - "Yet as useful as organochlorines are, it's also a fact that they are the single most hazardous classes of compounds ever created. Scientists have found that exposure to organochlorines can create a wide variety of health problems including cancer, hormonal disruption, reproductive and developmental disorders, neurological problems, immune system dysfunction, and other serious conditions. Complicating this problem is the fact that organochlorines can often cause these effects at levels hundreds of thousands of times lower than the levels required by most other poisons. Some organochlorines, like dioxins, are so hazardous that they affect human health at levels measured in parts per trillion, an amount equivalent to a single drop in a train of tank cars 10 miles long.". I mean come on! WE ARE EATING THAT CRAP OFF OF OUR DISHES!

SO :)! Now that I told you why I hate regular dish detergent, let's talk about three alternatives that I love and that I think are all almost evenly effective on cleansing my dishes!

1: Dr Bronner's Castile Soap Mix (an amaaazing, completely natural, non sudsing, "soap", made out of all natural oils).
Mix:

-1/2 cup liquid castile soap (for my Fort Wayne friends - you can find this at the Scott's on Dupont. Or Trader Joe's in Indy for WAY cheaper for a larger bottle!)
-1/2 cup water
-1 tsp fresh lemon juice (bottled if you do not have fresh)
-a few drops of tea tree extract (also a great Trader Joe's buy!)
-1/2 cup white vinegar

Super easy to store this in a clear squirt bottle, which are usually only a buck at Walmart. And, you only need 2 Tablespoons per load!!! We really don't need to fill those big soap compartments in our dishwasher, I promise!!

*Note: Dr Bronner's is non sudsing. Which is good! It doesn't have the sodium laureth sulfates and other chemicals that are only there to make our soaps look sudsy! Just start retraining your brain it doesn't have to be sudsy to be clean :)!! And do NOT use regular liquid soap in place of Dr Bronners or your dishwasher will overflow!

*Note #2 :): white vinegar is a GREAT all natural deodorizing, disinfecting, water softening, cleansing agent, and it truly leaves no smell when dried! the uses of vinegar needs a whole post all in its own!

I LOVE Dr Bronner's and use it EVERY.WHERE. for EVERY.THING. I knew that this would work great when I found the recipe and it did! Sparkly, clean dishes! This is my favorite!!

2: Dishwasher Soap With Borax. The safety of Borax is still up in the air for me... it's not "bad" for you neccessarily, but in large, ingested doses, it can be dangerous, because once it is INSIDE your body, it can react and change into a more dangerous substance. So, I use Borax for clothes, since it is safe for skin, more than I do for dish detergent. This recipe does have a small amount and is DEFINITELY safer than store bought though, so here it is!

Mix:
-3 Tbs Baking soda
-1 Tbs Borax
-2 drops of Lemon Essential Oil (for scent)

Use in dishwasher

3: Trader Joe's "Environmentally Sound Automatic Dishwashing Detergent", which is phosphate-free, chlorine-free, and fragrance and dye free! The main ingredient is sodium carbonate (baking soda!) But this is my last choice, as it does contain a TINY amount of sodium silicate, discussed above!

Well! At the beginning of my post I thought this would be full of all the different products I make and use in my home, but it turns out that is WAYYYY too much info for one post :). More soon, rather than later, I promise :).

But for today - go make yourself some healthy, dishwashing soap, and know that your kids aren't ingesting poison when they eat that yummy dinner you made 'em ;)!

1 comment:

  1. Does it matter what Dr Bonner's Soap mix? I have the mild baby and the peppermint one.

    ReplyDelete