Dish Soap.
It comes in a variety of scents and colors.
Really when I walk down the liquid dish soap isle there is everything from
clear, pearl white, purple, blue, green, yellow, pink, and even orange.
Dish soap is pH neutral.
pH is the measure of acidity or basicity of solutions.
Any pH less than 7 is acidic and anything greater than 7 is basic or alkaline.
Pure water has a pH close to 7 where as white vinegar has a pH of about 2.4.
It's always best to clean with the simplest, safest, and most basic product you can first.
What better way to do it than with basic dish soap.
There are tons of ways to use dish soap.
Use on fabrics to fight stains.
I feel like I always manage to spill SOMETHING on my clothes and if I don't well then my kids help me out and make sure something usually greasy ends up on my clothes.
Dish soap is my go to whenever something oily gets on clothes. Butter, oil, you name it, my go to is always dish soap first. Apply it directly to grease stains and gently rub it in. Let it sit for a few minutes, rinse it out, and wash as directed. (Top Secret: It can even be done on older stains.)
Simple Floor Cleaner.
A few drops of dish soap added to a bucket of really very warm, almost hot, water is a simple yet effective solution to clean hardwood, laminate, tile, and even cement floors looking great.
Clean Natural Stones
Marble and Granite can be tricky to clean. Being very hard and usually requiring special cleaning solutions. Instead of worrying and over thinking cleaning these stones just use dish soap and warm water. It'll leave them clean, haze free, and you'll be able to enjoy less time cleaning the counter and more time doing things you really WANT to do.
Also works great for bathroom and kitchen counter tops and sinks.
Any woodwork just remember to dry as you go, wood and water for extended amounts of time aren't friends. And the tub and toilet.
Pre-Manicure Soak
Love doing your nails? Want them to last longer?
Soak your fingers in 1 part dish soap 20 parts water for 5-7 minutes.
It helps remove the oil and any dirt particles that are on your nails allowing the polish to better adhere to your nail.
Clean your Kitchen Cabinets.
I know this sounds too simple but really 1 part dish soap to 10 parts water with a non-scratching sponge works really really well. Just dunk your sponge in the mixture, do a wipe down of the area you're going to really clean to allow the soap and water to start doing the work for you. Go ahead and give it a little scrub and they'll look pretty.
Greasy oils and product build up in your hair.
Use a little dish soap when you shower about once a month to remove any build up from products or overly greasy hair. Or for those times when your 2 year old has peanut butter hands and rubs it in his hair...or yours. Mild enough to use on you and the kids but strong enough to break up the toughest grease.
Make the best homemade bubble solution
Giant bubble solution:
1/2 cup dish soap
1/2 gallon warm water
1 tablesppon glycerin OR white Karo syrup.
Stir gently then skim the foam off the top.
Clean windows
You can use just 3 drops of dish soap to 1 gallon of water. Fill a spray bottle, then spray and wipe your windows the same way you would with other window cleaner.
Houseplant insect repellent.
Safe and effective to protect your houseplants from insects is to put a drop of dish soap in a spray bottle then fill with water. Shake it up and mist your household plants. It'll repel aphids, spider mites, and mealy bugs. Ick. You can also use it around the house if you see ants.
Pets!
You can use dish soap on your furry friends too. It kills flees and its a cheap and easy way to clean your furry friends. Plus way less chemicals than whats in expensive dog shampoos.
Cloth diapers.
You can use blue dawn dish soap to strip cloth diapers. Add a squirt or two of original dawn to your washer and run a hot cycle. Rinse like crazy until the water runs clear. Dish soap is a degreasing agent remember? So it'll help my removing any oils and residues.
Unclog the toilet.
Instead of spending tons of time plunging the toilet next time just put a cup of dish soap into the clogged toilet. Let it sit for 15 minutes then pour a bucket of hot water into the toilet. Pour it in from waist high so the force of the water helps things move on down the drain.
Clean the driveway or garage floor.
Sometimes motor oil or gas ends up on the garage floor.
Remove the access oil with kitty litter and then use a hot soapy water mix to remove the rest of the oil from the pavement.
Clean the pool
This is pretty awesome. Just squirt some soap in the middle of the pool and it'll push the dirt and sun screen to the edge of the pool for easy clean up.
Keep glasses from fogging up.
Rub some dish soap on eyeglass lenses and simply wipe clean. Don't rinse them just wipe them. It'll leave a thin film that helps prevent them from fogging up. No more walking in the house from outside and not being able to see for 10 minutes.
It's just all around great for tons of things.
Simple and effective.
Today just tackle a little project.
And spend the rest of the day enjoying your people.
Especially the little ones in your life.
They're only little for so long.
I don't know about you but I don't want them to remember me just cleaning all of the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment