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Living Well Mom

I help moms with simple, natural ways to look after their families. Find recipes, fun stuff for kids, and simple DIY ideas. Plus natural solutions made easy peasy!

Easy Grease-Cutting Homemade Dish Soap with 3 Ingredients

By in Natural Homemade Ideas

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Looking for a homemade dish soap that is all-natural, easy to make, and actually works? Well, look no further!

This DIY dish soap has been a go-to for my family for quite a while. With just 3 all-natural ingredients in this recipe, it’s very affordable and quick to whip up. Even better? It’s incredibly effective—this soap cuts through grease like an absolute champ!

easy diy dish soap with essential oils pin this idea now...

When I first started using essential oils, I was looking for projects to make that were super easy to put together. This dish soap was one of my first DIYs and I haven’t looked back since!

It works so well, and I love that it is all-natural. Plus, this DIY is incredibly versatile, as you can use this dish soap recipe in multiple ways: it can be made in a spray bottle, as a foaming dispenser, or a regular soap dispenser. How cool is that?

Sometimes, the thought of making products is daunting, but I promise this is way easier than you think. You can whip it up in less than a minute, and you probably have the ingredients on hand.

This is a guest post by Laura from Our Oily House

homemade dish soap with a sponge

Homemade Dish Soap Benefits

It’s easy to grab a bottle of dish soap at the grocery store, but I highly encourage you to make your own instead. Making your own dish soap can save you lots of money, cut down on toxic products in your home, and is much better for the environment.

Plus, the ingredients in this homemade dish soap recipe are clean and natural, making them safe for your family.

Even better? This DIY dish soap works! It suds up and cuts really well through grease.

After experimenting with several recipes, I settled on the one with the least amount of ingredients. I tried other recipes using washing soda and baking soda but found this one to work best.

Sometimes less really is more!

diy dish soap in a dispenser with a sponge

Ingredients

For this dish soap, you will need 3 simple items:

  • castile soap
  • essential oils – see the FAQs section below for a list of suggested oils to use
  • water – I prefer to use distilled when possible

It is that simple!

close up of hand squeezing a sponge with homemade dish soap

How to Make Homemade Dish Soap

Dish Soap Ingredients / Supplies:

Note: It is always best to use glass or stainless steel for any essential oil recipe. Over time, essential oils can break down plastic and cause it to corrode.

To make this dish soap, simply pour castile soap and essential oils into your soap dispenser.

Then, fill the rest of the dispenser with water.

It is best to use distilled water or boiled tap water to preserve your dish soap longer.

If you opt to use tap water, boil it for 15 minutes and then allow it to cool before pouring it into the spray bottle or soap dispenser.

Give it a good shake, and that’s it! You’ve just made your own DIY dish soap—congratulations! 😉

essential oil pdf download for moms on blue background
squirting homemade liquid dish soap onto a sponge

The beauty of this dish soap is that it works the same way as any store-bought kitchen soap. No change will be necessary to your washing routine.

Just remember that this dish soap is made from concentrated soap and potent essential oils, and a little can go a long way.

essential oil price per drop spreadsheet sample

FAQs

What essential oils can I put in homemade dish soap?

You can use a single oil or a blend of essential oils in your dish soap recipe. I list a few of my favorite blends below. Notice that lemon is in every single blend – this is because lemon essential oil is a natural degreaser and a natural antibacterial.

I tend to stick to citrus oils because of their fresh scent and cleansing properties.

Here are a few of my favorite blends:

What is castile soap?

Castile soap can come in liquid or bar form. For this recipe, we will be using the liquid form. It is a very concentrated soap made out of vegetable oils. It’s most commonly made with olive oil but can also be made with coconut oil, hemp oil, or avocado oil.

Castile soap is a natural disinfectant that can kill germs and bacteria, and cut grease. It works great for washing dishes, and it will leave your hands moisturized and smooth.

It comes in handy when making soaps, shampoos, and kids’ shampoo too!

Can I use this soap in the dishwasher?

No, this dish soap is just for handwashing! However, if you aren’t as old fashioned as me and use a dishwasher rather than handwash, I have a recipe for that too!

Here’s my recipe for dishwasher soap pods that are natural, cost-effective, and work great.

putting liquid homemade dish soap on a sponge

What is the best essential oil brand?

There are so many essential oil brands out there that it can be totally overwhelming. That’s why I wrote an entire post about how to choose the best essential oils! I think you’ll find it very helpful.

More Easy Homemade Cleaning Recipes:

A person smiling for the camera

About the author: My name is Laura. I am a stay at home mom of 4 and strive to live a simple and natural lifestyle. After using essential oils for several years, I decided to start my blog, Our Oily House, to share my tried and true recipes and oily testimonies. My blog has become my passion and creative outlet; you will find essential oil DIYs, natural remedies, and healthy recipes.

Pin the image below to save the dish soap recipe for later.

easy homemade dish soap recipe with natural ingredients pin

About Erika

Erika Bragdon is a flower essence practitioner and a second-generation homeschooling mom with 3 kids at home and 1 in college. She enjoys her chickens, goats, and gardening on a small farm in New Hampshire, and is passionate about sharing flower essences and more ways to renew body, mind, and soul with moms.

Comments

    • Leah Avital Cohen says

      The recipe is great but the pumps in glass containers are also plastic. Have you found one that has a stainless pump?

      Reply

        • Lynette says

          I found metal lid and pumps from Amazon for my Ball Jars. I have had one on my hand sanitizer jar for a couple years now and it has not rusted or had issues. I also use it for homemade hand soap in my kitchen and again, no issues.

          Reply

  4. Athena says

    I just made this soap. I really enjoyed it. It works really well. I also used it to clean my eggs. It did a really good. It seems to have done a better job than my store bought soap, IMO. I used EO patchouli, lemon, and lime, in the amount you indicated. It has a nice smell. Thank You so much for sharing this recipe.

    Reply

  5. Valerie says

    I was wondering if thieves essential oil would work in this in place of lemon or lime. I do have sweet orange too.
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

  8. Aveleen says

    I’ve tried this recipe a couple times and have found it leaves an oily residue behind. I’m not using much, but my dishes just don’t feel clean. Am I doing something wrong?

    Reply

    • Erika says

      Hi Aveleen, hmm I haven’t experienced that myself but you could try decreasing the castile soap as it is pretty concentrated. I would suggest trying 1/3 or 1/4 cup. You could also try decreasing the essential oil drops to 20 total down from 30. Good luck! Thanks for letting me know.

      Reply

  9. Pam Powell says

    I just made this soap, and mine does not sud/foam very well. It does foam some when I first start running the water, but then the bubbles disappear and I don’t have any bubbles. I am using it like I do my commercial DW liquid, pouring it under running hot water. What could have I done wrong? Could it be that I have the wrong type of castile soap?

    I really need this product because most commercial DW liquids cause an allergic reaction on my hands.

    Thanks!!

    Reply

    • Erika says

      Hi Pam, natural DIY recipes like this don’t tend to suds for as long or as much as commercial products. It doesn’t sound like you’ve done anything wrong or the castile soap is wrong. Did you use the regular castile soap?

      Reply

  12. Laura says

    I looked at other recipes and I saw they put salt in it to thicken it. With the soap that you use, does it thicken up the dish soap as well? Or if not then add some salt?

    Reply

  14. Jennifer S says

    I made this as directed and it left my dishes greasy and filmy. Why would it make even more greasy than they started? It was kind of disappointing. How do I fix this?

    Reply

    • Erika says

      Hi Jennifer, oh that’s frustrating!! I would try adding more water to the mixture to dilute the castile soap. Or use less essential oils.

      Reply

    • Isabella says

      Hi there, I was having the same issue with the greasy residue on my dishes and did some research of my own. Turns out if you have hard water and use castile soap the minerals from the hard water will stick to what you are washing. The solution to this is to use a vinegar and water rinse after washing your dishes. Works like a charm for me. 🙂

      Reply

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