Did you know you can use dish soap to wash your laundry? I learned this tip from my Dad. And although he is a pretty darn smart, I waited to share it until I tried it for myself to share it with you. I didn’t actually try it until I ran out of laundry soap, but when I did try it, I was quite please with the results.
My Dad said he learned the tip from AARP, which suggested a teaspoon of Dawn. Dawn is great at getting grease stains out of clothing so I could understand using it in place of laundry detergent. I decided to try using several different dish soaps and several different quantities of dish soap to compare the results. I also wanted to see if my machine would produce tons of bubbles if I doubled or tripled the recommended amount.
I tried Dawn, a very cheap store brand, and a phosphate-free, hypoallergenic dish soap. They were all effective, the cheap store brand smelled the best, but I decided to continue using the hypo-allergenic dish soap because my youngest son has sensitive skin.
How to Use Dish Soap to Wash Your Laundry
It is actually quite easy to use dish soap to wash your clothes.
1. Place the dirty clothing in the washing machine like you normally would.
2. Add 1 – 3 teaspoons of dish soap. I used 1 teaspoon in small loads, 2 teaspoons in medium loads, and 3 teaspoons (which equals 1 tablespoon) in large loads.
3. If you wish, add 1 cup of vinegar which is a frugal fabric softener (and also removes the smell from mildewed clothing, but does not leave a vinegar smell).
4. Choose your settings and wash as usual.
Your clothes will be clean and smell fresh. Dry as you usually would.
But won’t dish soap bubble over and out of my washing machine? Even when I added a tablespoon (3 teaspoons) to a load of laundry I did not experience significant bubbling. And when I used the phosphate-free dish soap there were almost no visible bubbles:
Important things to consider when using dish soap to wash clothing:
- Measure the dish soap. It is easy to accidentally add too much. Use 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon, depending on the size of your load.
- Make sure you choose a dish soap that does not contain bleach! (There are a few brads out there that do have bleach).
- I have a regular top-loading washing machine and so does my Dad, so I am not sure how this would work in a high energy washing machine.
Janice says
May I ask you what kind of hypo-allergenetic dish soap you use, and where you get it ?
Jackie Sunderland says
Can you use this in a traditional washing machine that’s not a front loader?
Alea Milham says
Yes, you can.
Dakota says
Does using this method fade the color in clothing more than regular detergent would?
Alea Milham says
I have not noticed it causing my clothes to fade more than detergent. You should make sure that your dish soap does not have any bleaching agents, but most do not.
San says
I actually started using Dawn dish soap (the original blue kind) as my laundry detergent, and i prefer it over actual laundry detergent. I have an HE washer front load. I put it in the tray. A little goes a long way and being a minimalist i love that I have one product for laundry and dishes 🙂 ! I honestly probably use 1 to 2 teaspoons only, even for large loads.
I find the Dawn gets the stink out of workout clothes and stains way better than laundry detergent. I will forever use it!
anyways, hope my comment helps those that were asking about HE washers!
Tippy says
Do you add anything to it or just the soap alone? I ran out of detergent but I have a bunch of dawn ultra
Alea Milham says
Just the soap on its own – nothing else added.
Heidi says
I do use vinegar in my wash 1/2 to 1 Cup. Works great for the dryer and does help certain smells, like grease and armpit stink. Vinegar smell dissipates by the time clothes are dry and no need for dryer sheets. My husband uses regular Dawn for his laundry and works great on grease !!!!
Nicola says
If you have an HE washer do you pour the dish soap into the detergent tray or just pour straight into the washer? Thanks!
Alea Milham says
I have never tried this in an HE washer.
Derek says
I recently began using a store-brand liquid dish detergent in my washing machine with good results.
Give it a try. It’s cheap and works just fine.
Ginger says
I felt a little silly even Googling this, so I’m glad I’m not the only one. I like the fact that I’m using less soap which mis be better on the environment.
Thanks!
occam24 says
Great tip. Works fine in a front-loader. Used one tablespoon of Palmolive “clear”. No big suds, just clothes as clean as usual. Maybe even a little bit cleaner than usual. A washcloth that was persistently dark from using it to clean up coffee is now white.
Tracy says
Thank you! Gonna try tonight!