The Best Dish Soap Hacks You Need to Know About
Everyone has a bottle of dish soap on hand in their homes. After all, how else do your get your kitchenware sparkling clean in time for the next use? But while dish soap is effective in washing all your dirty dishes, its uses extend far beyond the kitchen. Take a look at the best dish soap hacks you need to know about in the following slides by clicking the next button!
1 Fix Squeaky Hinges
When dealing with a squeaky hinge in your home, you could easily spray a chemical lubricant onto the offending joint to take care of the problem. However, those lubricants are also filled with toxic ingredients that aren’t necessarily safe for humans to breathe in.
Rather than reaching for a can of chemicals, reach for your dish soap. Rub a bit of soap on the squeaky hinge and listen to the annoying squeal disappear. The dish soap will clean the hinge and get rid of the squeak, all without the need for harsh chemicals. You can use it on doorknobs, door hinges, glass doors, window hinges, or anywhere else that might need a bit of help.
2 Make Your Own Ice Pack
You could certainly buy a set of ice packs from the supermarket and store them in your freezer for a rainy day. But you can also save yourself the money and the trip to the store by making your own ice pack at home.
Simply fill a plastic bag full of dish soap and seal it, doing your best to remove all the air. Then put the bag in the freezer and allow the dish soap to harden. Once it’s frozen, the baggy of dish soap acts as the perfect DIY ice pack. You can re-freeze it multiple times and even shape the pack to whatever form works best for you at any particular moment.
3 Remove Natural Oils From Your Nails
If you’re giving yourself an at-home manicure, the goal is that the final result is as close to salon-worthy as possible. To achieve those fantastic nails you’ve always dreamed about, first soak your fingers in dish soap before starting your manicure.
Put a bit of dish soap into a bowl with some warm water. Then soak your nails for just 5-10 minutes. The dish soap will not only make your cuticles more malleable, but it will also remove the natural oils from your nails. Without those oils, the nail polish will stick better, leading to a long-lasting manicure.
4 Ward Off Insects From Your Houseplants
Having plants indoors adds the perfect dose of greenery to your living space. Unfortunately, it also adds a few new items to your list of worries when it comes to taking care of your house. Beyond keeping your shrubs alive, you also have to think about various insects that may invade your home after sensing your plants.
To ward off any unwanted bugs, fill a spray bottle with water and a bit of dish soap. Then mist the mixture over your plants. The dish soap will keep aphids, mites, and other bugs away, but it’s perfectly safe for your greenery and won’t result in a room full of dead plants.
5 Kill Weeds
Dish soap may keep bugs away from your indoor plants, but it can also keep your outdoor garden looking beautiful and weed-free. To eliminate these annoying plants, put one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid into a spray bottle. Then, add a tablespoon of vinegar and a tablespoon of salt before spraying the concoction onto your weeds.
Within days, the weeds will die, leaving your garden totally nuisance-free. It’s an easy way to take care of pesky plants without turning to toxic chemicals that could damage the rest of your greenery.
6 Remove Ice From Sidewalks
The winter months pose a particular risk to pedestrians in certain parts of the country. As the temperature drops, ice collects on the sidewalk, waiting for an unsuspecting passerby to slip and take and tumble. While salt can help to de-ice the walkways around your home, it can also damage the underlying concrete and pavement.
Rather than reaching for your salt, use a little dish soap to de-ice your sidewalks in the winter. Simply combine a teaspoon of dish soap, a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol, and half a gallon of hot water. Then pour the mixture over your walkways. In seconds, the sidewalk should be free of slippery ice, without forcing you to ruin your walkway with salt.
7 Kill Fleas As a Pet Shampoo
Dish soap doesn’t only keep unwanted bugs away from your plants. It can also keep your pets insect-free.
If your dog or cat is dealing with a case of fleas, wash them with dish soap. The soap will kill the bugs on contact, leaving your pet itch-free. Plus, dish soap is much cheaper than other brands of flea-killing shampoos. If you want to make sure the bugs never come back, use dish soap as your regular pet shampoo.
8 De-Fog Your Windows
Trying to see through foggy glass is frustrating, particularly when the fog sits somewhere important, like your glasses or your car mirrors. If you want to rid yourself of that pesky fog for good, turn to dish soap.
Take a small dollop of dish soap and dilute it with a bit of water. Then rub the mixture onto any glass surface, including eyeglasses, car mirrors, windows, and more. The dish soap will keep the surface from fogging up, ensuring a permanent clear view for you. You could even apply the dish soap to your shower door if you want to free it of fog!
9 Save You A Trip To The Garage
Having a puncture is very unpleasant, whether it is on your car or your bicycle. Moreover, it is very difficult, sometimes even impossible, to find the hole! However, instead of heading to the nearest garage as soon as you notice the puncture, use this trick to make your search for the unwanted hole much easier.
All you have to do is mix a few drops of dish soap with a little water and brush the mixture on your tire. You’ll find the puncture where your mixture will form little bubbles! All you have to do is repair the puncture or change your tire.
10 Clean Grout
Dish soap is the perfect solution for removing all kinds of stains, even in the grout between your tiles. When it comes to cleaning your floor, cleaning the grout is perhaps the most frustrating part. If your grout is white, it sometimes feels like those stubborn stains will never come out. Thankfully, dish soap provides a solution.
Next time you plan to clean your grout, start by warming up a cup of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide in the microwave and pouring it into a spray bottle. Then add a cup of dish soap and shake the bottle to combine the mixture. Once that’s done, spray the solution onto your tile and allow it to sit for at least ten minutes. Scrub the grout with a brush and rinse with water to watch all the grime disappear.
11 Create Your Own Laundry Detergent
While it’s easy enough to pick up laundry detergent from the store, making your own mix is just as simple. In fact, all you need is a little dish soap.
In a large container, mix together a third of a cup washing soda, a quarter cup Borax washing booster, two tablespoons of dish soap, and a gallon of hot water. The resulting mixture is the perfect homemade laundry detergent. The added dish soap will effectively cut through grease and grime, leaving your clothes stain-free.
12 Make Your Own Carpet Cleaner
While dish soap removes stains from your clothes, it can also get nasty marks out of your carpet. Rather than forking over a wad of cash for expensive carpet cleaners, make your own carpet cleaner with a bit of dish soap.
In a spray bottle, put two ounces of hydrogen peroxide. Then add one ounce of dish soap to the mixture. Stir the concoction and spray it onto the problem area on your carpet. Scrub the stain with a rag. After using a little elbow grease, spray plain water on the stain. Then, scrub a little more to remove the dish soap and any remnants of the stain. In the end, your carpet will be perfect and stain-free.
13 Keep Fruit Trees Aphid-Free
Much like keeping your indoor plants healthy, dish soap can also help to keep your outdoor trees aphid-free. Although they’re tiny bugs, aphids have the ability to ruin your fruit trees, causing them to shrivel up and become sickly. Even worse, aphids are so small that it’s difficult to control them without poisoning your entire garden.
Thankfully, dish soap provides a simple solution. Find a fragrance-free dish soap and mix one tablespoon with one quart of water. After mixing the solution thoroughly in a spray bottle, spray it over your plants. The dish soap will get rid of the aphids without harming your precious fruit trees. Spray the plants again about once a week to ensure the aphids stay away for good.
14 Make a Simple DIY Grill Cleaner
Cleaning your grill is an essential element of an effective barbecue. Of course, that’s easier said than done. As you’re cooking, the grate tends to fill up with grease and food particles that don’t easily wipe off when your BBQ is done. However, a simple mix of dish soap and other household products provides an effective cleaning solution that will make cleaning your grill that much easier.
When it comes time to clean your grill, mix half a cup of dish soap with one and a half cups of baking soda and a quarter cup of vinegar. Mix the solution thoroughly until it forms a paste. Then, pour the paste over the grill, using an old paintbrush to ensure it covers all areas of the grate. Allow the mixture to sit for at least eight hours, then scrub it with a grill brush. The odd mixture will remove those stubborn pieces of grime from your grate, leaving it fresh and clean for the next barbecue.
15 Cleanse Oily Skin
If you’re cursed with oily skin, finding the right product to wash your face may be a challenge. But instead of searching for cleansers at the drugstore, simply use a little dish soap.
Combine a couple of drops of dish soap with a bit of warm water and rub it on your face. Then rinse until your skin feels soap-free. The dish soap will get rid of that extra oil sitting on your skin, making your face smooth and shine-free.
16 Take Care Of Your Garbage Disposal
When you have a garbage disposal in your sink, it is very common to call a plumber when it comes time to clean it. However, calling a plumber for such a task is expensive. It is much more economical to clean your garbage disposal and drain yourself, especially when you already have the key ingredients at home!
All it takes is dish soap and ice cubes. If you have a few cubes of frozen dish soap, that’s even better! First, remove the rubber seal and clean it by soaking it in hot water with dish soap. Then, place several ice cubes in your sink and pour dish soap over them. Next, put on your stopper, then turn on your garbage disposal. Not only will this process clean your garbage disposal, but it will also sharpen its blades! It is recommended to repeat this about 3 times a year.
17 Clean Your Hairbrushes
Just like oil accumulates in your hair, the same oils find their way to your hairbrushes. However, washing your hairbrushes is often not your first priority. If you leave them for too long, the oil grows thicker and thicker. Every time you brush your tresses, you’re just reinserting all that unwanted oil into your hair.
If you want to keep your locks looking oil-free, you need to wash your brushes with a bit of dish soap. Simply fill your sink with hot water and add a few squirts of dish soap. Allow your brushes to soak for a while before lifting them from the water and washing them off. The oil will be gone, ensuring that your hair stays clean next time you brush.
18 Clean and De-Fog Eyeglasses
Eyeglasses are an essential element of every outfit for those not naturally blessed with perfect eyesight. But as you go through your day, your eyeglasses tend to accumulate dirt and smudges that fog up your vision. While cleaning them with a soft cloth is the preferred method, sometimes a little piece of fabric isn’t enough to fully clear up your lenses.
If your glasses could use a deep cleaning, use a little dish soap. Simply put a drop of dish soap on the outside and inside of each lens and gently wash it with your fingers. When you’re done, dry the glasses with your trusty soft cloth. Your glasses will be smudge and fog-free, promising perfect vision.
19 Unclog Your Toilet
Clogged toilets are the worst! But with just a little dish soap, you can solve the problem of your backed-up lavatory. Rather than going at your porcelain throne with a plunger, simply pour half a cup of dish soap into the toilet.
Allow the dish soap to sit in the toilet for roughly 15-20 minutes. Then use a hot bucket of water to flush the refuse down the drain. Thanks to the dish soap, your pipes should be free from all the yucky debris that first caused the clog.
20 Clean Kiddie Pools
Sometimes the best way to enjoy a little fun in the sun is to grab a kiddie pool for your yard. However, these small plastic tubs tend to get pretty gross after just one use. No one wants to sit in a pool of dirty water, so cleaning your kiddie pool is essential to keeping it ready for every sunny day.
If you want to effectively clean your kiddie pool, just use a little dish soap. Unlike harsher cleaner, dish soap will remove the grime and gunk from your pool while still being gentle on the plastic. More potent cleaners filled will chemicals will dry out the plastic, causing cracks and rips.
21 Kill Fleas On Carpet and Furniture
If your pet recently had fleas, there’s a strong possibility that the little critters made their way into your carpet and furniture. Your dog won’t stay flea-free for long if the pests are still alive and well in your house! While dish soap can kill fleas on a dog’s body, they can also ensure the rest of your home is flea-free.
Fill a large spray bottle with a tablespoon of dish soap and water. Then, spray the mixture onto your carpet and furniture and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, vacuum the carpet and wipe down the upholstery with a damp cloth. All fleas should be dead and gone by the end of the process.
22 Rid Your Home of Ants
Ants always seem to find a way into our houses. While calling pest control is certainly an option, you could also take care of the problem yourself with a little dish soap.
Mix dish soap with water, and spray it along your countertops to keep ants away. If you spot a line of ants moving through your home, take the same concoction and spray it right onto the pesky bugs. The dish soap will quickly take care of the ants, and it’s much less toxic than other pest control options.
23 Create The Most Effective Home Cleaner
Whether it’s soap residue on your glass shower doors or hard water marks in your sinks, it’s extremely difficult to find a product that will allow you to remove them easily and efficiently. Fortunately, One Good Thing By Jillee has what you need!
All you need to make your cleaning easier is white vinegar and dish soap. To start, depending on the amount of cleaning product you want, heat one or two cups of vinegar in the microwave. Once it’s hot, pour it into a spray bottle and then add the same amount of dish soap. Mix well, then spray the product on the surfaces you want to clean. Let it sit for 30 to 60 minutes, then scrub and rinse. You’ll see, your surfaces have never been cleaner!
24 Remove Stains From Your Clothes
Stains happen, but they don’t have to be the end of the world. Rather than panicking over the stains that make their way onto your clothes, fix the problem with a little dish soap.
If you notice a stain on your clothing, such as food, oil, lipstick, ink marks, or anything else, dip a toothbrush in a bit of dish soap. Then rub the toothbrush over the stain until the mark fades. After that, put the clothing into the laundry as normal. When it emerges from the dryer, the stain should be completely gone.
25 Clean Your Jewelry
Your jewelry needs to be cleaned every now and then. As you wear it around town, it accumulates dust and grime that dulls its shine. But cleaning your jewelry is a nerve-wracking operation, as you don’t want to damage your favorite accessories in the process. For gentle jewelry cleaning, use dish soap.
Put a tablespoon of dish soap into a bowl of club soda. Then put your jewelry into the bowl. Allow the jewelry to soak for a while before removing it from the bowl and scrubbing it gently with a toothbrush. The dish soap combined with the bubbles from the club soda will clear your jewelry of dirt and grime without damaging any of your favorite pieces. Be careful not to clean jewelry containing opals, however. This stone is too porous and would absorb dish soap, which would ruin it.
26 Make Your Glass Stove Top Sparkle
Much like grills, stovetops always manage to get a little messy. Even if you’re a careful cook, bits of food always manage to slop over the side of your pan, adhering to your glass stovetop.
For a quick and effective clean of your stovetop, use a little dish soap. When you’re done cooking, allow your stovetop to cool completely before applying a few squirts of dish soap. Then, using your favorite brush or sponge, rub away the food particles and other grime. When you’re done, wipe up the dish soap with a wet rag and allow it to dry. Trust us, this method ensures that your stovetop will sparkle.
27 Remove Stray Paint
If you’re taking on the big task of painting your own home, you have to be prepared for a few mishaps. After all, you’re not a professional, which means paint may end up in places you don’t want it. Rather than panicking, just pull out your trusty dish soap.
A little dish soap can remove any stray paint splatters. Simply rub it on the offending area and the paint will disappear. The same trick also works if your kids can’t quite stick to their canvas. In fact, dish soap is so effective in removing paint that it even clears colors from hardwood floors.
28 Remove Oil Stains From Your Driveway
After you park your car in the same spot for a few years, you’re bound to have oil stains in your driveway. While you might think you just have to live with the mess, that’s not the truth. Rid yourself of those oil stains forever with a little dish soap.
Take a bottle of dish soap and squirt a large amount onto the oil stain. Then scrub the stain with a large bristle brush. If it doesn’t come out right away, you may have to apply more soap. After scrubbing for a while, you’ll see that the stain will start to pull out of the asphalt. When that happens, rinse your driveway with a hose to wash away the oil. Repeat the same process a few more times until the stain completely disappears.
29 Clean Your Pool
If you’re lucky enough to have a pool in your backyard, cleaning it may be the bane of your existence. It’s hard to remove all the dirt and grime from the water, but it’s necessary. Thankfully, the task is made much easier with dish soap.
When cleaning your pool, first squirt a bit of dish soap into the center of the water. The soap will force oils, lotions, dirt, and other grime to the sides of the pool, allowing you to quickly skim all that yucky stuff off the top. If you’re in need of a quick, easy cleanup, dish soap provides the perfect solution.
30 Wash Your Hair
In general, dish soap isn’t the best choice for a shampoo. But in certain situations, dish soap might be just what you need to keep your hair clean and fresh.
If you’re dealing with particularly messy locks, use dish soap as a shampoo. This is particularly effective for little ones, who always manage to get the grossest stuff in their hair. Vaseline, baby oil, Silly Putty—dish soap will remove them all. Plus, if your hair is ultra-greasy, it’s a good idea to wash your locks with dish soap every few weeks to rejuvenate your scalp and remove all that excess oil.
31 Clean Your Tub & Bathroom Tiles
Dish soap has more than one use in the bathroom. If you’re dealing with grubby tiles full of gunk, dish soap provides a solution.
When cleaning your tub and shower, fill a spray bottle to the halfway mark with white vinegar. Then, heat the vinegar up in the microwave. When it’s hot, fill the rest of the bottle with dish soap. Mix the concoction around and spray it onto your dirty tub or shower tiles. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes. By the time you rinse it off, your tiles should be good as new.
32 De-Grease Your Tools
Just like dish soap removes grease from your kitchenware, it can also be useful in the great outdoors. If you’re constantly outside working with your tools, then you know that keeping them clean is a top priority. Rather than complicating the process of washing your tools, simply use dish soap.
Dish soap works particularly well to remove grease from tools. If you’re dealing with a mess after working on your car engine or some other dirty project, simply soak your tools in dish soap after you’re done. The dish soap will remove grease, grime, dirt, oil, and pretty much anything else to get your tools looking good as new.
33 Clean Your Baking Tray
Cooking is great, but when it comes time to do the dishes, we often regret having to fight with our dirty baking trays that are impossible to wash. Fortunately, there is a foolproof and ultra-efficient way to get your baking trays clean again.
All it takes is dish soap. Yes, as banal as that. However, instead of using it mixed with water and scrubbing with a sponge, freeze your dish soap in an ice cube tray, then rub your baking tray directly with your soap cube. You’ll see, the result will leave you speechless!
34 Remove Gum From Hair
Everyone experiences a minor hair fiasco now and then. But the most frustrating thing that could possibly happen to your gorgeous locks might be getting a wad of gum stuck in them. The sticky gum adheres itself to your strands, becoming more and more entangled the more you mess with it. Best-case scenario, you’ll spend hours trying to pick the gum out of your hair. Worst case, you’ll have to head to the salon for a cut.
Thankfully, gum can be cleaned from your tresses with a little dish soap. If you find gum trapped in your hair, grab some dish soap and gently work it into the affected area. The dish soap will break down the sticky substance, forcing it off your strands. You won’t need an unplanned haircut if you have a little dish soap!
Household Fact
Did you know that, on average, a woman spends between 16 and 17 hours a week doing household chores? Whether she’s a woman at home or a businesswoman who has to balance work and family, the average remains about the same. While such a number of hours seems immense even for the woman at home, imagine how the businesswoman can seem to lack the time to have a life outside of her mandatory occupations? It’s several hours that could be used for many other purposes that are certainly more fun, but that will also have a very positive impact on her physical and mental health.
- Vacuuming or watching a TV show?
- Dusting all the furniture in the house or having a drink with friends?
- Washing dishes or spending time with family?
The choice is pretty obvious…
And, knowing that with the generation of millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996), women tend to be more educated than before, therefore work more, have a probably wider social network and have greater purchasing power, it is obvious that for them, household chores are far from being a priority in their lives.
Indeed, today, according to the Pew Research Center:
- 39% of women have a bachelor’s degree or higher, in contrast to 25% of boomers;
- 72% of women are in the labor market.
That’s why the shorter and sweeter the household chores are, the better!
On the other hand, still according to Pew Research Center, the millennials have been greatly affected by the Great Recession, so that many of them continue to live with their parents much longer than previous generations. In 2018, 15% of the 25-to-37-year-old generation was still living in the family home, nearly double the number of past generations combined. While this cohabitation may be viewed negatively for some reasons, it does have great financial benefits for both parties, but also benefits at the household level!
By sharing the space, everyone can share the household chores, and therefore have more free time for other things! If we add to that the countless ways to optimize our time and make cleaning easier, it is possible to greatly reduce this average of 16 to 17 hours of housework per week!
So whether it’s daily or weekly chores, or meal preparation, no one will say no to a few good tricks to make it quick and easy. Thanks to our tips and tricks articles, you’ll be able to save a lot of time on housework and enjoy more the good things in life!
