You can use dish soap, such as Dawn, to wash your laundry. Check out the tips for using dish soap to wash your clothing below.
Did you know you can use dish soap to wash your laundry? I learned this tip from my Dad who uses Dawn to wash his clothes. Even though he is a pretty darn smart, I waited to share it until I tried it for myself before I share this laundry hack with you. Honestly, I didn’t actually try it until I ran out of laundry soap, but when I did try using Dawn in place of laundry detergent, I was quite please with the results.
My Dad said he learned this laundry tip from AARP, which suggested using a teaspoon of Dawn per load of laundry. Dawn is great at getting grease stains out of clothing and I had used it for stain removal in the past, 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.
First, I tried Dawn. Then I tried a very cheap store brand, as well as, a phosphate-free, hypoallergenic dish soap. All of the dish soaps were effective in washing my clothes. The cheap store brand soap 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.
Does 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.
More Laundry Tips
Money and Time Saving Laundry Tips
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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!
CP says
I’ve been using dish soap for my diapers and it’s excellent. I spray the diapers with an enzyme spray (for pets) as they go into the wet bag. When the bag is full, I dump it into a small load, add 2 tsp dish soap & 2 Tbsp generic oxyclean. No ammonia stink like I had with commercial green detergents.
Dish soap & washing soda are used traditionally for scouring cotton before dyeing. I figured if that can strip all the oils out for dyeing, it can clean diapers. Most homemade detergent recipes either use real soap (which leaves behind soap scum) or don’t contain any surfactants at all.
Amy says
Useful tip! This is what i wanted to try it for!
Holly Mutchie says
I lost my job and money is really tight, I’m trying it out tonight and I hope it works well. My fingers are crossed lol
Karen says
Works great! Tried it today. My whites are really white. The washing machine is shiny!! I used Dawn..
Matthew Abrahamian says
I have been using the laundry detergant that the 99 cent store sells and it is great. It costs less than dish soap . If you are lucky enough to have 1 near you try it.
CP says
I can get a 25 Oz bottle of dish soap for 99 cents at the regular store. That’s 2 cents a Tbsp, 2 cents per large load. Does your 99 cent detergent give you more than 50 loads?
Katrina says
This is perfect because it’s 8° outside and I just ran out laundry detergent lol thanks for the tip!
Julia says
I have tried Dawn and I like the results but I would prefer if there was no scent or dye. Can anyone recommend a good natural brand fir sensitive skin instead of Dawn. Thanks
Marisa says
They make dawn dish soap for babies. It’s clear no dyes and hypoallergenic.
CP says
Seventh Generation or Planet are both good. Most brands also have a “free” or “pure” version.
Salli Wallace says
Hi.
You can get Ivory dish soap at Walmart.
Joyce says
I have very sensitive skin and the only soap I can use for laundry is Sunlight regular dish soap. It gets my clothes clean and doesn’t make me itch like other detergents I’ve tried. It doesn’t bubble much at all, but it works. I have a top loader and use about 1/4 cup +or- depending on the load.
rica says
Thanks for the tip! I was pretty sure I could use dish soap but wasn’t sure about the amounts. I ran out of laundry detergent earlier in the week and it was either use dish soap or go to the store on a Saturday morning. Needless to say, the dish soap won out. Thanks for saving me a trip!
Mary Anne says
Thanks for this info – i am on a sailboat for a few weeks and because if the cold, wet weather we are having i have some laundry to do but no laundry soap. Going to go give it a try!
Richard says
I’m going to do this method tonight since I ran out of laundry soap, but 3 teaspoons seems like a very small amount of soap to do a large load of laundry, but I’ll find out tonight, I guess!!!
NA says
I think you didn’t see suds because the vinegar and dish soap cancel each other out. Vinegar will make soap not be sudsy. You should probably be putting the vinegar in sometime before the last rinse.
Eileen says
I use vinegar in the final rinse and have been trying Dawn for various. 1 teaspoon in dishwasher with baking soda works like a charm.
Brandi says
I just use dish soap. No vinegar and I had know problems with soap suds or bubbles. I probably put a little more dish soap than I should. Still no bubbles. By the way I used Dawn (blue).
Heather says
are you able to use it in High Efficiency washers?
Alea Milham says
I do not have one, so I have not tried it.
Renee says
I am planning to try this in my front loading HE washer today. I love H2O @home soaps and cleaners, I am almost out of laundry soap. With 5 people in my family, I am ALWAYS doing laundry.
Alea Milham says
I’d love to hear how it turns out since I don’t have an HE washer.
Bob says
Dawn dish soap is made using petroleum (oil) byproducts. If you are trying to go natural cheaply, you should opt for a brand like Method that is plant based. I get Method dish soap from Target and some distilled white vinegar from the Dollar Tree. Seems to work great so far!
CP says
Vinegar and dish soap don’t cancel each other out. Vinegar, being an acid, cancels out bases, like baking soda or washing soda. Dish Soap is a detergent, an entirely different class of chemicals, and usually neutral in pH. However, if the dish soap is SLS based (as nearly all dish soaps are), vinegar can cause residue to be left behind. But it has nothing to do with foaming.
kay ~ lifstylevoices.com says
This is such a common sense way to stretch a dollar. Most sites show you how to make “economical” laundry detergents, but they are time consuming and laborious. I use Seventh Generation unscented dish detergent because of skin sensitivities. I’m going to try it in the washer. Even though it costs a bit more at $3.69 a bottle than some other dish detergents, it is way cheaper than their laundry detergent and probably even cheaper than my Arm & Hammer unscented laundry detergent. Thanks! 🙂
Sara says
How helpful!!!! I love this idea!! http://www.herbalparenting.blogspot.com
Sandee says
Thanks for the tip! I will give it a try! A big jug of dish soap would go a long way!
Natalie says
Thank you so much for this. My hubby is deployed and I don’t want to drag all 3 kids out to get laundry detergent but I have 3 loads that need to be washed.
Dana says
Hi there. When i was a young adult I always used dish soap for laundry dertergent to save money. I thought it was my not-so-dirty secret. Now, in my 40’s I’m back to using it in my front loader. I use essential oil for a fresh lemon or lavender scent and it works like a champ. I also a small squirt of soap In The dishwasher and vinegar as a rinse agent. Thanks for spreading the word and saving us all money!
oralia silva says
excellent , love the dishwashing soap for my
washing machine, no static and great for
for people that are allergic to regular soaps.
Mae says
I exactly why I was looking this up. Due to allergies that include coconut it’s very hard to find soap I had been adding just vinegar baking soda and an herbal house hold cleaner sometimes but it’s harsh on the clothing. Some dish soaps. Even have coconut just found a baby one that’s safe and no sent dawn was great for years in Apple but asthma lol. Coconut is a form of treenut laundry soap had me in the Er fighting for my life a few years ago that’s when I ditched most normal soaps. I still spend hours in hope looking at bath soaps so many things have forms of coconut or other nuts. Sorry for the long comment I’m just shocked to find someone else that knows people have soap issues sometimes. Thanks for letting others know! Also thanks to the person who posted that the dish soap is safe I was scared of breaking my mashine.