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Dishwashing Soap


arliemaria
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As I was watching Instagram Stories and drinking coffee this morning a mom posted a screen shot of an article about how toxic our world has become even the bath soaps we bath in can cause cancer, etc.  Now we all know this, but it just made me want to change one thing. again.  I have done this over the years and then I slack.  My mom died from inflammatory breast cancer almost 8 years ago.  She was a hair stylist and I always thought it was caused by chemical exposure in the salon.  

So today I want to change my dish soap. I have been using Palmolive, the original green soap.  I don't know why but in my mind because the company is so old from the 1890s and this is the original variety I assumed that it was made with simple ingredients.  Not so.  Do you make your own soap or buy an A or B rated EWG soap?

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7 minutes ago, Pen said:

I use dr bronner’s     —usually the baby one which is without added oils such as mint

The liquid has worked well for me for doing dishes 

 

Do you mix this with water to dilute or add glycerin, etc. as other recipes include?

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I don’t premix with anything but it gets mixed with hot water in the dishwashing process. 

For hand and face wash use I do mix with water in a pump dispenser    

The baby one dries up easily around the cap if it is left open  so I am careful to close it  

 

 

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In actual use I put some of the soap on the cleaning sponge if using that. Or pour a little into a wash basin before adding hot water. If I have a greasy pan I may put some soap in the pan and then add hot water and let it sit awhile before scrubbing it. 

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I tried a couple eco soaps but found they didn't work very well.  I use original Dawn, with the reasoning that it's both strong and gentle enough to use on baby animals who were caught in oil spills.  I did just hear about an interesting study that said women have lung damage from being exposed to cleaning products that is cumulatively worse than smoking, so I have been trying more eco products recently. I'm willing to try something new if several users here that I've known from the boards for a few years recommend something.

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7 minutes ago, JIN MOUSA said:

I use Puracy, which EWG gives a score of A. I find that it works well. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HAPEXLK/

 

That might work great, but I feel that is too much money for a single bottle of dish soap in my house.  Maybe I need to change my prospective, but I can't imagine paying that much.  That's part of the reason I was looking at a DIY natural dish soap recipe.  Grate a bar of a highly rated EWG soap, etc.

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4 hours ago, Katy said:

I use original Dawn, with the reasoning that it's both strong and gentle enough to use on baby animals who were caught in oil spills.  I did just hear about an interesting study that said women have lung damage from being exposed to cleaning products that is cumulatively worse than smoking

I use Dawn, too, for dishes and for laundry stain removal.  It's the one cleaning product that gets used consistently here.   

Did you hear what kinds of cleaning products they were concerned about in relation to the lung cancer?

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1 minute ago, klmama said:

I use Dawn, too, for dishes and for laundry stain removal.  It's the one cleaning product that gets used consistently here.   

Did you hear what kinds of cleaning products they were concerned about in relation to the lung cancer?

 

I didn't even read the study myself,  I heard Jennifer Scott (the 10 item wardrobe YouTuber / Lessons from Madame Chic author) discuss it on YouTube.  Full disclosure: at the same time she IS selling a Grove Collaborative promo.  Grove is an eco friendly cleaning subscription box company that's trending on YouTube - the products are good but Target has lowered their prices on the same products so much since Grove started trending it's no longer worth going through Grove to me. Color me suspicious but when someone suddenly starts hawking something that's no longer a good deal - I have to wonder if prices really are better at Grove than they are at her local Target or if she's just pushing their affiliate program for the money. She also started a series of eco friendly cleaning product reviews, so I'm not sure what to think.

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Costco has a more "natural" dish soap they sell, it's by their house brand, Kirkland Signature. It's very good. I use it for hand soap refill too, it's gentler on skin than Soft-soap or Dial brand and it cuts grease very well...not as great as Dawn, but good enough!

I've tried Mrs Meyers, Puracy, 7th gen...ALL of them. Some work, some don't but in the end, I use a combo of the Costco brand and Dawn. I feel like these are good enough and I go through so much soap (I cook from scratch and have teens so lots of dishes) the fancy stuff is not worth the $$ to me. 

I use Ecover for my dishwasher. 

I also use Dawn to clean my bathroom sinks and showers/tubs. I think the most important thing I can do is just not use bleach or conventional cleaners. 

I've never understood the Grove company stuff. They offer nothing special, you can buy all of it off Amazon or at Target. And wit amazon, you can do auto delivery too!

That's why when all those Youtube and bloggers say that they only sponsor companies and things they love, I feel like it's so deceptive cause I'm thinking, you always talk about how much you love Target... do you not check their prices??!!! 

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8 hours ago, Pen said:

I use dr bronner’s     —usually the baby one which is without added oils such as mint

The liquid has worked well for me for doing dishes 

I use Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds for dishes and laundry and cleaning (liquid castille soap for showering). It has an A rating, but some of the ingredients still might not be what you want: https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/496-DrBronnersSalSudsLiquidCleaner?formulation=6779#.W0Q5JX4nbOT

It's expensive, but 1/2 teaspoon is enough for a full kitchen sink of washing water.

Castille soap works great on dishes too, as Pen mentioned. Here is a link that explains when Sal Sud's might be better (primarily if you have hard water): http://www.lisabronner.com/sal-suds-or-castile-soap-which-one-should-you-use/

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If you try Dr Bronners, start with the smallest bottle you can find, even if it costs 8 times more per ounce. That stuff has a strange formulation - it leaves my hands feeling both greasy and dry, and hair even worse. Greasy but tangled.  I think it's awful and I don't understand why it's popular at all.  YMMV - I tend to have dry skin, but fine hair that looks oily quickly, so I have to shampoo daily.

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I have used and liked: Ecover (gets an A from EWG), Seventh Generation (gets a C), and Biokleen (gets an A).

My grocery store now sells a brand called Better Life. I LOVE it. It's not that expensive, and it lasts a long time. Highly recommend that one! Also gets an A from EWG.

 

 

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18 hours ago, arliemaria said:

As I was watching Instagram Stories and drinking coffee this morning a mom posted a screen shot of an article about how toxic our world has become even the bath soaps we bath in can cause cancer, etc.  Now we all know this, but it just made me want to change one thing. again.  I have done this over the years and then I slack.  My mom died from inflammatory breast cancer almost 8 years ago.  She was a hair stylist and I always thought it was caused by chemical exposure in the salon.  

So today I want to change my dish soap. I have been using Palmolive, the original green soap.  I don't know why but in my mind because the company is so old from the 1890s and this is the original variety I assumed that it was made with simple ingredients.  Not so.  Do you make your own soap or buy an A or B rated EWG soap?



Definitely not dissuading you switching soaps, but I will say that, as a previous soapmaker, my biggest concerns are really along the line of things I absorb rather than rinse off agents.  So, make sure you're thinking make-up, lotions, etc., before soap.  

Liquid soap is made with potassium hydroxide and solid is made with sodium hydroxide.  Simple ingredients is kind of a misnomer - if it is a non-detergent, then it requires a fat and lye.  It is the combination of these two that results in soap which is a salt. Lye is a "simple" ingredient but is not entirely harmless.  (Get burnt with lye and you absolutely know it - it's an alkali.)  But the combination of lye and a fat results in soap. :)  

Just because something has complex ingredient list does not, in and of itself, mean it is harmful.

For example: Sodium Cocoa Butterate sounds fairly complex.  It just means saponified (made into soap) cocoa butter. ?

http://www.saffireblue.ca/blog/inci-terms-for-saponified-oils/


ETA: Also, it's a difficult switch for people when they go from detergents that utilizes sodium lauryl sulfate. It is easy to assume bubbles means good soap and that it works.  It isn't true.  Judge the soap on it's ability to separate oil/dirt from the item and not how it feels or the bubbles it produces. 

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1 hour ago, Katy said:

If you try Dr Bronners, start with the smallest bottle you can find, even if it costs 8 times more per ounce. That stuff has a strange formulation - it leaves my hands feeling both greasy and dry, and hair even worse. Greasy but tangled.  I think it's awful and I don't understand why it's popular at all.  YMMV - I tend to have dry skin, but fine hair that looks oily quickly, so I have to shampoo daily.

I could hug you for saying this.  I feel the same way and IMO, it does not clean well.

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7 hours ago, BlsdMama said:



Definitely not dissuading you switching soaps, but I will say that, as a previous soapmaker, my biggest concerns are really along the line of things I absorb rather than rinse off agents.  So, make sure you're thinking make-up, lotions, etc., before soap.  

Liquid soap is made with potassium hydroxide and solid is made with sodium hydroxide.  Simple ingredients is kind of a misnomer - if it is a non-detergent, then it requires a fat and lye.  It is the combination of these two that results in soap which is a salt. Lye is a "simple" ingredient but is not entirely harmless.  (Get burnt with lye and you absolutely know it - it's an alkali.)  But the combination of lye and a fat results in soap. ?

Just because something has complex ingredient list does not, in and of itself, mean it is harmful.

For example: Sodium Cocoa Butterate sounds fairly complex.  It just means saponified (made into soap) cocoa butter. ?

http://www.saffireblue.ca/blog/inci-terms-for-saponified-oils/


ETA: Also, it's a difficult switch for people when they go from detergents that utilizes sodium lauryl sulfate. It is easy to assume bubbles means good soap and that it works.  It isn't true.  Judge the soap on it's ability to separate oil/dirt from the item and not how it feels or the bubbles it produces. 

I don’t wear makeup. The only makeup I currently own is an eyebrow pencil, but rarely have used it. Lotion-I have only used one shea butter or coconut oil, but it isn’t something I buy either.  I think my Whole Foods solid shea butter I bought during my eldest daughter’s pregnancy. She will be six on the 21st. I do buy shampoo/conditioner. I currently have some Herbal Essences we bought on vacation in May. I usually use Aveda products. That’s what I grew up using. I rarely even use deodorant. Maybe that sounds disgusting, but I honestly don’t feel like I need it and my husband has never complained. I usually buy some Yardley soap bars at the Dollar Tree where I’d also buy Palmolive.

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15 hours ago, klmama said:

Do you mix with vinegar, or just straight?  

For my sink, I just use it straight and clean it like I wash my plates. I use a non-scratch dish sponge to scrub and a microfiber cloth to wipe off. I have never had a problem. If the drain is particularly yucky, I will pour a little rubbing alcohol on it and scrub with an old toothbrush that i throw away.

for the tub, i mix dawn with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. If I'm feeling lazy, I just use straight Dawn. It's clean...not bleaching level white, but I don't care. My health is too precious to subject it to toxic fumes. I haven't used anything with bleach or ammonia in over 15 years. 

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9 hours ago, Katy said:

If you try Dr Bronners, start with the smallest bottle you can find, even if it costs 8 times more per ounce. That stuff has a strange formulation - it leaves my hands feeling both greasy and dry, and hair even worse. Greasy but tangled.  I think it's awful and I don't understand why it's popular at all.  YMMV - I tend to have dry skin, but fine hair that looks oily quickly, so I have to shampoo daily.

I agree that castile soap didn't work at all well for my hair. I tried it once, and that was enough! I have sensitive skin, and it does work well for me as a shower gel. Also, OP, don't confuse the Bronner's products and use Sal Suds for hand washing or bathing. The manufacturer says Sal Suds is too drying for skin care.

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9 hours ago, Katy said:

If you try Dr Bronners, start with the smallest bottle you can find, even if it costs 8 times more per ounce. That stuff has a strange formulation - it leaves my hands feeling both greasy and dry, and hair even worse. Greasy but tangled.  I think it's awful and I don't understand why it's popular at all.  YMMV - I tend to have dry skin, but fine hair that looks oily quickly, so I have to shampoo daily.

 

I don’t like it for my hair unless I use a special rinse 

But it works well for me for dishes and hasn’t bothered my hands

It is soap not detergent or shampoo so has to be used in soap ways. I have not used the Sal Suds. 

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