DIY Natural Dish Soap

This blog post was written by Bend Soap Company co-founder, Marilee Johnson.

Marilee here, sharing with you one of my newest uses for our goat milk soap. For a few months now, we’ve been using our fabulous soaps at the kitchen sink – not only for washing our hands all day long but for doing our dishes, too!

People spend a TON of time washing dishes, washing their hands, washing more dishes, more hand washing, etc. This excessive amount of time in water and soap can lead to extremely dry hands. Cracked, dry knuckles, followed by nails that break easily, split thumbs... I've had it all. No fun! Especially if you have eczema or other skin sensitivities on your hands, this normal chore can be an even more painful experience.

Fortunately, a solution arose before I resorted to the much-avoided use of rubber gloves (although they do come in other colors these days besides yellow!) The solution? Goat milk soap from Bend Soap Company, of course!

This soap is AWESOME for washing dishes! And it's not because I couldn't buy something else if I wanted to. The fact is, this soap easily takes off grease, lathers amazingly, and is natural (of course!). We love avoiding all the chemicals in other dish soaps. No need for degreasers, detergents, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc.

Here's How to Get Started

Simply wipe your sponge along the bar to create a great lather. Then scrub your dishes clean. The soap rinses off well and leaves no film or grime behind. I love this soap on my stainless steel dishes, as it leaves them sparkly shiny, too.

"I've even noticed that Vienna's bibs (which I hand wash) don't stink, either!"

I recently discovered something wonderful about this new transition! You know how yucky smelling the sponge can get? I mean – GROSS! I don't know what it is… Bacteria, left-over pieces of stuff from the dishes, or fungus… But it gets stinky after a while. I would change out my sponge every week or so when it got stinky.

But one day, I threw a couple-week-old sponge in front of my husband's nose and said, “Smell this!” He seriously couldn’t smell a thing! It was not a bit stinky after all that time and use! I've even noticed that Vienna's bibs (which I hand wash) don't stink, either. This odor-free life is really awesome and saving me time and money, too. YEAH for our soap! Who would've ever thought?

You’ve Gotta Try it for Yourself!

All of our bars of goat milk soap are made using just four main all-natural ingredients (plus essential oils added to some for added therapeutic benefits), so you really can't choose a "wrong" scent. However, I do have a few personal favorite scents I like to keep near the kitchen sink at all times. 

My favorite kitchen scents:

• Tea Tree (any of the minty soaps work really well)
• Tangerine Spice (our family loves the clove in this one!)
• All Shield (the blend of essential oils in this soap are great for an extra boost of germ-fighting power)
• Lemongrass
• Citrus Mint
• Mount Bachelor Pine

Impromptu Testimonial: While we were shooting this video, a friend of ours dropped by and I HAD to have him smell the sponge (beware of entering my kitchen unannounced!) He was so impressed!! Here's what he had to say:

“This is the best smelling sponge I’ve ever smelled!”

And there you have it, folks.

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