**(Note: This article was first published as 25 Uses for Liquid Castile Soap. I am now adding 2 more uses for this natural, versatile liquid soap concentrate!!)**
Are you tired of the mess of cleaning products under your kitchen sink, the plethora of beauty products in your bathroom cabinets?
Do you spend a crazy amount of money each month on these manufactured potions that promise to clean every nook and cranny of your home and body, yet don’t mention the harmful effects they may have on the environment, and the drying effects on your skin?
What if there were a way to consolidate some of these multiple products, by using one simple natural product that can do it all: Hello, liquid castile soap!!
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The all-in-one soap for everything!
I was first introduced to liquid castile soap years ago, while working as a wilderness trip leader in Wisconsin. Our week long canoe trips down wild rivers, carrying our camping supplies in airtight containers, paddling through whitewater rapids and portaging across small islands, required us to pack lightly and efficiently. We didn’t have room for multiple products for washing hands, dishes, hair, teeth, and keeping the bugs at bay. This liquid castile soap was perfect! The all-in-one Soap for everything!!
What is liquid castile soap?
Castile soap is an olive oil based soap based on a soapmaking style from the Castile region of Spain. Today liquid castile soap may also be made with other vegetable oils, but it is always pure from the use of animal fats or synthetic ingredients.
This purity is what makes it so versatile, lending it to multiple uses for both household cleanliness and your personal bathing needs.
The key to its use, of course, is in its dilution. There are many recipes derived from this super hero soap, and they all involve using different amounts combined with water or other natural ingredients, most of which you probably already have sitting around!
27 Uses for Liquid Castile Soap
Here are 25, oops, now 27! Uses for Liquid Castile Soap:
- Facial cleanser
- Body wash
- Shampoo
- Bubble bath
- Shaving
- Teeth (yes, it tastes soapy, but you can mellow it out with a drop of peppermint essential oil!)
- Foot bath
- Decongestant
- Dishes
- Laundry
- Mopping
- All-purpose cleaning
- Windows
- Make-up brushes
- Fruit and veggie rinse
- Washing dogs
- Plant spray for bugs
- Ant spray
- Deodorant
- Camper’s soap
- Baby shampoo
- Eyeglass cleaner
- Car Wash
- Cloth diaper cleaner
- Denture cleaner
- Liquid Hand Soap
- Foaming Liquid Hand Soap
*Yes, I had to make that 27 uses…I just shared my recipe for liquid hand soap in a new article here!
Wow, what a list! You may be stopping at some of these and thinking, “but how…?” The answer is in the dilution ratios of soap to water. While there are many recipes that can be made by trial-and-error from this very safe, natural product, I am sharing one recipe further down in this post, and another can be found here:
https://www.jenniferstormnelson.com/make-your-own-liquid-hand-soap/
Why DIY?
These days there are countless options of cleaners out there for purchase, all stocked and ready to throw into your shopping cart, promising powerful cleaning power and some of them even boast natural ingredients. So why make your own?
One (1) big reason, save money! With one product, the liquid castile soap, you can make several different products, some of them in the same dilutions so no need for the extra bottles, either!
(2) Save on clutter! That same bottle of concentrated liquid castile soap you use in the shower as body wash can also be used as shampoo, facial cleanser, and yes, even toothpaste!
(3) Protect your skin! Avoid all the sulfates and harsh ingredients found in most commercial body care products. Keep it simple with the gentleness of soap made from pure olive and vegetable oils.
(4) Protect the environment! By making your own home and body care products, you’ll be helping to decrease the amount of chemicals dispersed into the environment from product manufacturing and use. There’s also fewer bottles and packaging involved when you make your own, especially if you re-use plastic bottles you already have around.
(5) Control the ingredients! Even products claiming to be “natural” could still contain ingredients you’re not certain are safe for your skin or the environment. By making your own, you have the peace of mind knowing exactly what goes into your products.
What I’d like to share with you now, is a recipe that has been a household staple of mine for years. I copied it onto an index card many years ago, and like all my favorite recipe cards, it’s now stained with various drops of coffee, cleaner, and other mystery kitchen fluids! This is my favorite use of liquid castile soap, my one and only… (drum roll please…)
All-Natural Disinfectant Surface Cleaner using Liquid Castile Soap
What you Need:
32 oz. plastic spray bottle
(I actually just used an old 16 oz. spray bottle from a previous natural cleaner I’d used. Instead of throwing that bottle into the recycling, rinse and reuse it! Just half the recipe below, if it holds less than 32 oz.)
2 C distilled water
1 C unscented liquid castile soap
(I used lavender scented liquid castile soap and skipped the lavender essential oil, but it’s nice to have the unscented version if you like trying out different scents with it.)
1 tsp. borax laundry booster
(You can find this in your grocery store laundry detergent aisle, though the brand found at the link above claims to be more “natural”.)
1 tsp. tea tree essential oil (a natural disinfectant)
1 tsp. lavender essential oil (Or choose your own essential oils. Not needed if the liquid castile soap already contains essential oils for scent.)
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in the plastic spray bottle, using a funnel if needed. (hint: it’s always best to pour the water in before the liquid castile soap to avoid too much foaming.
- Shake well before each use.
I love using this spray in the kitchen. Unlike some commercial sprays, it doesn’t have a chemical-y smell; therefore, I can use it throughout the day, even when my highly smell-sensitive family is around, without any complaints! I use it after every meal to keep the table and countertops clean and free from sticky, greasy messes. Smells clean and natural!
And another thing, it doesn’t foam up when you spray it on a surface, like a watered down dish soap would. (Yes, I’ve tried using watered down dish soap in a pinch, but it was way too sudsy and left a filmy residue.)
I’ve also found it very handy for other uses around the house:
- pet messes (we have cats; enough said, right?!) When it’s just a yucky mess on a hard floor, not on carpet, this spray is all we need to clean up the business and leave a fresh, natural scent.
- Ant control. You know those tiny ants that come out of nowhere? While it’s always best to treat the problem at its source with professional products, this simple spray is amazingly simple and effective at keeping them at bay until you have time to get out the “big guns”! And with kids and pets around, you don’t want to spray those nasty fumigators in the air until the coast is clear. So just keep this spray handy, and knock out those little critters when they interrupt what you’re doing in the kitchen!
- Fingerprints on walls, light switches, etc.
- Outdoor patio furniture
Oh, and…
Just Between Friends…
I want to share my money-saving secret with you: If you’re shopping for this liquid castile soap on Amazon, I highly recommend the Dr. Woods’ brand of liquid castile soap. Why? 3 Reasons:
- Dr. Woods’ is much cheaper than the more well-known brands.
- It’s made of the same natural ingredients you can feel good about.
- The texture is great; much thicker, more gel-like than the other one. I actually prefer its quality over the well-known expensive brand!
Dr. Woods’ liquid castile soap is made with different scents, all using natural essential oils. It can be purchased by one single bottle, or by different combinations of 2 or 3 bottles in a set. You can find it on Amazon, here.
I’ll bet you can add to this list as you discover the usefulness of liquid castile soap! What else have you used this for? Let me know in the comments below!
Joyfully Creating,
Jenner
