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Homemade Liquid Dish Soap

Learn how to make all-natural dish soap with this simple 3-ingredient recipe. This homemade dish soap cuts grease, suds up, and cleans effectivity.

washing white plate with homemade dish soap

When I made my first dish soap, it wasn’t necessarily something I planned to do. It was more like, uh, I ran out of dish soap and need it right now to finish these dishes kind of thing.

I essentially mimicked my foaming hand soap but added in a little vinegar, citrus essential oils and made a spray out of it. I knew lemon could help cut grease, so I added it in too.

My little creation worked great and we ended up using it for years! Recently, I decided to go back to the drawing board and make an alternative dish soap.

Sharing one common ingredient; lemon essential oil, this is an excellent grease-cutting, gel homemade dish soap.

ALL-NATURAL DISH SOAP

Making all-natural dish soap is super easy and won’t take much time. I seldom plan ahead and always end up making this in the middle of dinner clean up. Thankfully, it won’t set you back too much.

To make your own dish soap at home, you will need a soap bar; I use fels naptha, but any will do. You will also need sal suds, vegetable glycerin, and water.

I add in essential oils for two reasons. One, to add scent and two, to help cut grease. However, essential oils are optional and this soap will still work without them.

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INGREDIENTS FOR HOMEMADE DISH SOAP

gel homemade dish soap in silver caddy with tan sponges

FELS-NAPTHA SOAP BAR

Fels Naptha is a natural soap bar made out of tallow, coconut oil, and palm oil. It is most commonly used to make laundry soap and to help with skin irritations such as poison ivy.

You can use a homemade soap bar or a castile soap bar instead of a fels naptha bar.

WATER

Like most soap recipes, water is the main ingredient. In this recipe, we are heating the water to melt the soap bar in it. I just use water from the sink.

If you have hard water, you may consider using filtered or distilled water.

You can actually use this soap to help lift hard water stains out of white marble.

SAL SUDS

Sal suds is similar to castile soap, but it is more effective at cleaning dishes as it cuts grease. It is also perfect to use for tough stains, hard water and to clean composite sinks.

Sal suds is very concentrated and bubbles a lot. You only need a small amount to make a lathering dish soap.

VEGETABLE GLYCERIN

Vegetable glycerin is a clear thick substance that is made out of coconut, soy, or palm oils. It has a gel-like consistency and will make your dish soap lather.

Vegetable glycerin is found in foods, skin care, cleaners, and cosmetics.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR DISH SOAP

As mentioned above, essential oils are optional in this recipe. However, I find them to be very helpful. Citrus essential oils have cleansing properties and can naturally cut grease.

My favorite essential oils to use in homemade dish soap as well as dishwasher detergent are lemon, wild orange, and lime. Other oils great in dish soap are lavender, tea tree, lemongrass, and rosemary.

You can use a single essential oil or make a blend by adding a few drops of each oil.

sudsing up dish soap in in a sponge

ESSENTIAL OIL BLENDS FOR DISH SOAP

CITRUS

  • 5 drops lemon
  • 3 drops wild orange
  • 2 drops lime

FLORAL

  • 5 drops lavender
  • 3 drops chamomile
  • 2 drops lemon

FRESH

  • 5 drops lemon
  • 5 drops rosemary

HOW DO YOU MAKE ALL-NATURAL DISH SOAP

  1. Add water to a small saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Using a cheese grater, shred the soap bar.
  3. Add soap shreds to the saucepan, stirring often until the soap is melted.
  4. Remove from heat and pour the soapy water into the dish soap container.
  5. Add in sal suds, vegetable glycerin, and essential oils.
  6. Secure the lid and shake well to combine the ingredients.

NOTES: If you have dry hands, you can add 1 teaspoon of a carrier oil to your dish soap. Jojoba oil, fractionated coconut oil, and sweet almond oil are all great options.

HOW TO USE HOMEMADE DISH SOAP

dish soap sponge with DIY dish soap sitting on stack of white plates

Fill the sink with warm water and add in 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap. Swish the dish soap around in the water and add in the dishes. For best results, allow the dishes to soak for a few minutes before washing.

Or you can put a small amount of dish soap on a clean washcloth and wash each dish. Rinse with warm water and place in the drying rack.

If needed, shake the bottle of dish soap before each use to make sure all of the ingredients are well combined. This is especially important if using essential oils.

HOW TO STORE AND SHELF-LIFE

You can store this soap in a mason jar, foaming soap dispenser, or in an old dish soap container. It is too thick to store in a glass spray bottle.

If you decide to add essential oils to your dish soap, it is best to store it in a glass or metal container. Essential oils can only be stored in high-quality plastic that is thick.

This dish soap will last up to one month. The amount I make in this recipe is the perfect amount for one month.

It is important to remember that this dish soap is concentrated and a little goes a long way. You should only need one tablespoon per washing.

WHY MAKE YOUR OWN DISH SOAP

Over the years, I have slowly transitioned out of using conventional products in my home. At first, before I was making everything, I bought products that “looked” more natural.

Later I learned about greenwashing. Basically, when a product label reads all-natural or plant-based or something green, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is healthier.

In fact, I learned that I was paying way more for something that wasn’t much better and wasn’t made with clean ingredients.

I quickly realized that making my own products was cheaper and healthier. I love knowing exactly what is in my cleaners, drain cleaners, and even dish soap!

Yield: 2 cups

Homemade Dish Soap

Homemade Dish Soap

Make an all-natural dish soap with this simple 3-ingredient recipe. This homemade dish soap cuts grease, suds up, and cleans effectivity.

Prep Time 2 minutes
Active Time 10 minutes
Total Time 12 minutes

Materials

  • 1/4 cup fels naptha soap bar shredded
  • 1 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sal suds
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
  • 10 drops lemon essential oil, optional

Tools

  • Saucepan
  • Cheese grator
  • Dish soap container

Instructions

  1. Pour water into a small saucepan and put it over medium heat.
  2. Shred the soap bar. I use a cheese grater to do this.
  3. Add the soap shreds to the saucepan, stirring often until the soap is melted.
  4. Remove from heat and pour the soapy water into the dish soap container.
  5. Add in sal suds, vegetable glycerin, and essential oils.
  6. Secure lid and shake well until all the ingredients are well combined.
© Laura

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Comments

  1. Jeanette says

    Hi, on you Citrus Blend Lemon appears twice, is that right, or should it be another oil? Thanks, can’t wait to try this!

    Reply

  2. Liz says

    hi
    i would love to make this – but
    fels naptha here in new zealand costs a lot
    from $14 for 1 bar – up to $120.00 for 5 bars
    can i use something else that is readily available and no so expensive – i am trying to cut costs as well as go with a more natural simple soap
    i would love to know if there is another alternative – such as lux soap flakes or sunlight soap which is no longer made but i have a wee stash of
    thanks

    Reply

  4. Praj says

    Hi Laura

    Great recipe ! Liked your Soap dispenser by the way!
    Also, Can I skip Sads altogether and will it effect the final recipe bcoz there is castile soap as is wonder if it will be enough to get the job done!

    Cheers

    Reply

  5. Samantha says

    Hi Laura
    This is a great recipe and I am eagerly awaiting the Sal Suds Amazon delivery so that I can get on an make it. I love your glass dish soap dispenser. Can you please tell me where you purchased it and perhaps add a link to this with the recipe?

    Reply

  6. Praj says

    I made this soap today when my bottles arrived substituting the sals for castile soap and adding sweet almond oil (for dry hands)as suggested by Laura and OMG! in so many years my hands did not feel so soft after washing and not dry or may be just 1 to 2% as compared to other times when I had to lather cream asap after the dishes

    Wow! Laura Your knowledge is really commendable and Thank you for answering my queries almost quick everytime and Please keep up the good work !

    Reply

  7. Praj says

    Hi Laura Thanks again for this lovely soap recipe I feel relieved that there are no chemicals on my dishes anymore.
    I just have a question – My sink gets oily after washing the dishes how do I avoid that from happening bcoz for cleaning my sink i have to turn to my store bought dish soap
    I am thinking of eliminating store bought completely-
    Thanks

    Reply

  9. Sarah says

    Hi Laura…….I made this soap and eealy do like it. However, I do have question about it. Is it supposed to be THICK?!?!? Mine turned out very thick and jelly. Is that normal? I used a Castile bar soap and followed your recipe. Again I like it, but yours looks like it’s very liquidity than jelly……just curious….thanks…..

    Reply

  12. Christa says

    Thank you for this recipe! Can the soap be stored in a pottery container as well? Or will that affect the shelf life?

    Reply

  13. Lisa says

    I made the dish soap recipe from the day 3 challenge to remove toxins from your home. I added the 1/4 cup Castile soap then 1/4 cup vinegar essential oil and then topped off with water. The contents started to thicken and now I have white chunks in my spray bottle. It happened on contact with the vinegar and soap. What did I do wrong?? Thank you.
    I’ve tried your other recipes and they all have been great!

    Reply

    • Laura says

      That recipe is on my blog too. Check out my blog post “Natural Cleaning with Essential OIls” the recipe is in there.

      Reply

  15. Jessica says

    Hi there! I followed the recipe exactly and it does not suds up.. is this a hard/soft water issue? I’ve had the same issue with the bubble bath recipe.

    Reply

  16. Jessica says

    Hi there! I followed the recipe exactly and it does not get soapy.. Does the soap still clean even if it doesn’t look sudsy?

    Reply

  17. Josh says

    Hi! All our bottles keep getting clogged. We’ve tried everything, cheap or expensive, and nothing seems to work well after a few weeks. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  18. Ellie Juckes says

    Hi

    Do you have any alternatives to the fels napther soap and also the sal suds as we don’t have either of those things in the UK. Is there anything I can use in their place that would be equally as effective and natural?

    Many thanks

    Reply

    • Laura says

      Dr. Bronners pure castile soap bar is an excellent alternative to fels naptha.
      I don’t really have a comparable sub for sal suds. You could try liquid castile soap, though I have not tried it that way.

      Reply

  19. Kelly says

    I tried this recipe and overnight it turned into almost a thick paste so I must’ve messed up somewhere. There’s no way it will come through the foaming dispenser. Any suggestions? I used the fels Napatha

    Reply

  21. Kate says

    My soap never thickened up-is been over 24 hours. The only thing I used differently was a Castile soap bar instead of the fels naphtha. Is this normal? Does it take longer than 24 hours?

    Reply

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