Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Uses for Dish Soap


You might think there aren't a lot of uses for dish soap other than washing dishes, but you would be surprised. Check out this list of uses for dish soap:
  • Fruit wash. A mix of dish soap and water is a great way to wash fruits and veggies, and is much cheaper than a speciality fruit wash.
  • Pesticide. A surprising number of pests do not like dish soap.
  • Carpet Stains. Can be used instead of expensive cleaners for minor carpet stains.
  • All-purpose cleaner. It's not just for dishes. It can be used to clean counters, windows, bathrooms, etc. It even works on glass cooktops.
  • Stainless-steel cleaning. Instead of a specialty cleaner, often a little bit of soapy water used to wipe with the grain of the steel will do the job.
  • Flea wash. Supposedly washing a dog with dish soap (and washing their belongings in hot soapy water) will get rid of fleas. I haven't tried this myself. 
  • Cleaning your fingers before a manicure. Helps to clean off any oils, so your polish sticks better.
  • Laundry pre-treating. Especially on oil based stains. Be careful not to use to much, and for HE washers you may want to wipe the excess away so you don't cause too many bubbles.
  • Science experiments. There's lots of experiments you can do with kids that call for dish soap.
  • Bubble solution. Make your own bubble solution to blow bubbles with by mixing water and dish soap.
  • Ice packs. Put dish soap in a plastic bag and use it as an ice pack. (You may want to double or triple bag it). Works great, and it remains movable which makes it great for injuries. 
  • On driveways. Use the kitty litter method to clean up excess and then dish soap to help clean up the stain.
  • Clean walls. Soapy water is a great way to clean dirt, grime, etc. off of walls.
If you have any ideas for a new use for dish soap, share below, and I will get them added to the list!
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