Gaye Levy
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One of the really fun things I get to do is mess around with DIY cleaners. The inner chemist in me comes out and I play around with different formulas until I get something just right. My bloopers not withstanding, I can usually muddle my way through a recipe and make it work with minor adjustments here and there.
Today I would like to show you how to make your own liquid castile soap for pennies. Well not really pennies but two full quarts of liquid castile soap for less than $1.50. Compare that to Dr. Bronner’s at $14 or $15 dollars per quart and you will see why I am excited.
What is Castile Soap?
Castile soap is wonderful stuff. It is made from 100% plant oils – typically olive oil or coconut oil – and it includes no animal fat and no mysterious chemicals. It’s a true soap, not a chemical detergent, making castile soap completely biodegradable and very earth-friendly. This means it is also skin friendly unlike traditional soaps which can be extremely drying.
fThe big kahuna in castile soaps is Dr. Bronner’s which makes a great product that simply grows on you. It comes in many wonderful fragrances (I like the Rose and the Peppermint) and the liquid version is concentrated so that a little goes a long way. The downside is that at $14 or $15 for 32 ounces, it is expensive. Dr. Bronner’s also makes a bar soap that sells for about $4 to $5 per bar. I will tell you why all of this is important in a moment.
There is another brand of of castile soap that is widely available. Kirk’s Castile Soap has been around since 1839. Here are the ingredients: Coconut Soap, Water, Vegetable Glycerin, Coconut Oil, Natural Fragrance. There is also an unscented version.
Being a relatively new fan of Dr. Bronner’s, and of course wanting a bottle in every single one of the luscious scents, I realized there had to be a better way. Enter Liquid Castile Soap “Wonderful”.
The Master Recipe
This is so easy it is a wee bit embarrassing but stay with me.
Ingredients:
1 bar of castile soap
2 quarts (8 cups) of boiling water (I used filtered water)Equipment:
A large kitchen or vegetable grater
A bowl or pot large enough to hold 2 quartsDirections:
1. Using your kitchen knife, slice and dice the bar of soap into small chunks. Or, if you are so inclined, grate it up with a vegetable grater instead. Castile soap in inherently soft so there is no reason to drag our the food processor or blender to do this.
2. Measure out your boiling water and place it your bowl, pot or do as I did and use a large Pyrex measuring cup.
3. Add the chunks or flakes and walk away. Go do something else. Walk the dog. Catch up on Backdoor Survival. Just do something. When you come back in an hour or so, most if not all of the soap will be dissolved into a nice concentrated liquid. At this point, transfer your liquid castile soap to some mason jars, a squirt bottle or other container and you are ready to go.
Notes:
Within 24 hours, my batches of liquid soap turned gel-like and semi-solid. A quick run under hot water brought them back to liquid form. In a way, this makes sense because coconut oil does not liquefy until it reaches 76 degrees. Given the tremendous cost savings, this was something I could deal with.
I tried both cutting the bar soap into chunks with a knife and grating it with my vegetable grater. I felt that the vegetable grater resulted in a better end product. I believe the soap dissolved more quickly and for some reason the resulting liquid was smoother. I don’t know – hard to describe.
As will all castile soaps, there will not be an abundant amount of sudsing. The suds in most soaps comes from sodium lauryl sulfates, a known irritant that does nothing but make suds. Be aware that you may get a few bubbles with this, but not many. Odd as it seems, it still clean very well and does not feel at all oily even though it is an oil based soap.
Those of you familiar with my Dirt Cheap Soft Soap will notice some similarities although there is no added glycerin in liquid Castile Soap Wonderful. Castile Soap Wonderful has a completely different texture plus it is highly concentrated.
Castile Soap Wonderful
This is the fun part. With a simple dilution and the addition of essential oils, I was able to make up multi-purpose household cleaners just like I do with Dr. Bronner’s. The addition of 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of essential oils results in such a useful cleaner that I started calling them “You Name It” Wonderful. I now have Tea Tree Wonderful, Lavender Wonderful, Orange Wonderful and Peppermint Wonderful. This is so fun.
After much trial and error, I came up with the following dilution:
3 TBL Liquid Castile Soap
1 quart (4 cups) filtered water
1/8 to 1/4 TSP Essential Oils
Shake everything together in a repurposed bottle or juice jug and use your premade brew to fill individual spray bottles (These spray bottles I purchased at Amazon work great.)
How to Use your Liquid Castile Soap
For the past three weeks I have been keeping a list of how I use my various castile soap wonderfuls. Amazingly, I have I found that a single dilution, poured into a spray bottle, does it all. So far I have not found any reason to use the soap undiluted or in a stronger or weaker dilution.
Household Cleaner: Depending on your mood, pick your favorite version and spray away. I use in on my black granite counters, wood floors, stainless appliances, everything. The Orange Wonderful seems to work best on really greasy things which makes sense because orange essential oil is made from orange peels and we all know what a good solvent orange can be. (By the way, a drop or two of orange essential oil neat – right out of the bottle – works just as good as petroleum based goo gone.)
Window and Mirror Cleaner: For some reason, my castile soap wonderful cleans windows and glass just fine and without leaving a residue while Dr. Bonner’s tended to streak on me.
Washing Hands: Instead of using soap in the pump bottle, spray your hands with a generous amount of Tea Tree Wonderful, rub your hands together and rinse. The tea tree serves as an effective anti-bacterial and sanitizer.
Body wash: Spray your favorite scented wonderful on a washcloth and give yourself a “sponge” type bath. (Does anyone even use that term anymore?) Anyway, for extra moisture, you could add a bit of vitamin E oil or even olive oil to your spray bottle – just make sure you mark the bottle “body wash”. While you are at it, add a few extra drops of essential oil so you smell heavenly.
Facial cleaner/facial wipes: Spray your Lavender Wonderful on to a microfiber cloth or plain old washcloth and use it to clean off every bit of makeup, even mascara. Your face will feel nice and soft afterward.
Toothpaste: I kid you not. Spray some Peppermint (or other) Wonderful onto a toothbrush and brush away. I do prefer regular toothpaste but if there were non available, this would work just fine.
Eyeglass Cleaner: Castile wonderful will make your eyeglasses sparkle. Because you are cleaning with soap, you do not have to worry about ruining your Transitions lenses (never use a vinegar solution on them).
Clean fruits and veggies: Spay and wipe to remove gems and pesticides from non-organic produce.
Doggie Shampoo: I used a combination of Peppermint and Lavender Wonderful for Tucker’s bath this weekend. After wetting him down, I got out the spray bottle and sprayed away. Are you detecting a common theme here?
Clean Your Shoes: Spray and scrub. My 5 year old Clarks sandals came out looking nice and fresh and ready for another summer.
Clean Makeup Brushes: For those of you that wear makeup, spray your brushes every few days then wipe them clean with a microfiber cloth. The bristles stay nice and soft and smell great. No more built up makeup goo.
Dusting Spray: I have been using this spray for three weeks on my wood furniture and most notably my desk which get very grimy. I have also used it on my iPad and laptop screens and almost anything else you can think of.
One thing I did not try (but want to) is making a homemade soft scrub by combining 1 tablespoon liquid Castile soap and 1/3 cup baking soda in to a scrubbing paste. Just thinking about it, it seems to me I could sprinkle some baking soda on my crusty pan or gunky sink and just spray and scrub without making the paste. Even though it only costs pennies, using an undiluted tablespoon seems wasteful. Again, I have not tested this.
I am sure there are lots and lots of other uses – these are just the ones I have tried.
Magic versus Wonderful
In the past I have referred to “Rose Magic” and “Peppermint Magic”. The only difference between Peppermint (or other) Magic and Peppermint (or other) Wonderful is that “Magic” uses Dr. Bronner’s and “Wonderful” uses the DIY liquid soap make with Kirk’s. Same dilution, no difference.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
There are lots of websites that have similar instructions but as you will find, everyone has their own dilution and their own way of doing things. This is my way and it works for me so I have a high degree of confidence that it will work for you too.
The Final Word
Shop around and you might find a deal on Kirk’s bar soap. I initially picked some up at Safeway when I was in the Seattle area but by far, the cheapest place I found online was at drugstore.com. I paid $3.79 for 3 bars and since I also purchased some other products, shipping was free. I am told that some Wal-marts carry Kirk’s at a similar price so it is worth checking locally.
I have now stocked up on Kirk’s and will put some in deep storage. At this price, having the ability to make my own scented liquid castile soap any time I want to sounds like a good proposition. Not only that, I am convinced that being armed with vinegar, castile soap, spray bottles and microfiber cloths, I can clean anything!
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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Bargain Bin: Below you will find many of the items mentioned in today’s article. As always, check your prices and for heaven’s sake, don’t get tricked into buying a single bar of of Kirk’s castile soap for $5.
Kirk’s Original Coco Castile Bar Soap
: This is a great price at $3.79 for 3 bars from drugstore.com. Amazon also sells Kirk’s here – Kirk’s Castile Soap Original (3pk) .
Amazon Basics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth, (Pack of 36): I just noticed that Amazon is selling their own brand of Microfiber cloths. They are not as “fuzzy” as the Z-wipes. I have both types. Whatever you choose, they will last for years and will allow you to replace paper towels forever. I color code using green for glass and windows and the other colors for everything else.
NOW Foods Peppermint Oil: I favor peppermint essential oil (okay, I like Lavender essential oil too) so this is what I get. There are many types of essential oils to choose from. Take your pick. One thing you will find is that a little goes a long way.
Soft ‘N Style Clear Spray Bottles I happen to like these smaller bottles and you can not beat the price for a set of 6. Likewise for these Pump Dispensers.
Box-style Hand Grater: As easy as it was to use a kitchen knife, it just felt “better” to grate the bar soap by hand using an old fashioned grater.
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127 Responses to “DIY Liquid Castile Soap “Wonderful””
I desperately need to clean the inside of my oven but dread using store bought oven cleaner. After reading this, I am hoping to find a natural solution. Has anyone used this wonderful concoction to clean the oven? Please share! I’d like to clean it this weekend if possible; however I need to purchase the ingredients. Thanks in advance!
I have a self-cleaning oven and your comment reminded me that I needed to run it last night. I did find this article and it looks reasonable to me.
//www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Natural-Oven-Cleaner-30913702
Be sure to check back and let us know how it goes.
Thanks Gayle. I went out on a limb yesterday and found a natural cleaner using vinegar, baking soda, lemon essential oil, and oregano essential oil. It worked pretty good. I added more baking soda for those problem areas to create more of a paste and let it sit longer before wiping it down. Today I’m using the self-cleaning to hopefully remove the remaining tough stains. If that doesn’t work I’ll try the link you provided! Thank you – now I need to find a solution for those pesky stove ring – thingies!
Here’s my experience AND solution! The first batch did not set up as made by the recipe. I reheated it, added another bar of soap and put it in the refrigerator immediately after pouring into the jugs. It set up, SOLID. I let it warm to room temperature, added 8 more cups of hot water (so now I basically have a double batch of the original recipe), poured it into two jugs and put both jugs uncovered into the refrigerator. 24 hours later, perfect liquid Castile soap! They are now covered sitting at room temperature (74 degrees) and working great! I’m thinking they need to cool rather quickly so they don’t separate initially. Worked perfect for me after I thought to put it in the refrigerator!
My last batch is still very thick. I might take advantage of your tip and see if I can return it back into a fluid liquid. As it is, I dilute it with each use so being thick is not a huge problem. Still, it would be nice to have it pourable.
Thanks for your tip, Martha.
I prefer to use bar soap for showering. Is it possible to liquid the Kirks, add some essential oils, and get it to solidify again to make bars?
Interesting you should ask because I am testing out a recipe to do just that this week. The basic process is to grate the Kirks then melt it with a bit of water plus the oils. I am doing a bit of trial and error and should have some results in a week or two.
Hi, sorry I’m feeling a bit slow today!
Let me just get this straight … so first off you mix 1 bar (is it 4oz?) in with 8 cups of water. Then when making hand wash/shower gel etc. you further dilute it again? So the first part of the dilution (diluting it was 8 cups) it will end up still being quite solid, then you re-melt it to further dilute it again? Does that make sense?
Sorry, just getting a bit confused!
🙂
Kate – If you have used Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap, you know that it is highly concentrated and must often be diluted before being used. A little goes a long way.
The DIY version is much the same although in my case, I found it was more gel-like than liquid. The dilutions I use, however, are similar to Dr. Bronner’s. Note that as with Dr. Bronner’s, there is some trial and error involved due the hardness of the local water supply and also in accordance with personal preference.
I hope this helps and makes sense but if not, holler.
So I can substitute your soap in my homemade skin care products at the same quantity that I’m currently using dr brothers liquid soap??
That is what I do although sometimes I need to use less because my DIY product is more gel-like. The consistency of DIY castile sopa seems to be dependent upon the water you are using (and the mineral content therein).
So when you decide to use less, it’s only for the sake of consistency, correct? My concern is only regarding potency.
Would you mind explaining why you chose not to add a little glycerin? I have been looking at several recipes and noticed one said the added glycerin helped the soap pour into the container. Not sure if that was the only reason though. Apparently without it, this soap maker had to push the soap in to the container. Thanks so much.
Glycerin is a moisturizing agent. Since the resulting “liquid” castile soap is used in a myriad of ways, including household cleaning sprays, the glycerin would be superfluous and even undesirable.
You will always see glycerin used when creating “soft soap” used for hand washing. This is due to it’s aforementioned moisturizing properties.
Kirk’s Castile bar soap contains glycerin so there is no need to add it.
thanks for answering. What I was wondering about was grease. If I use a cloth to wipe up grease, then put in washing machine, will the pipes get stuck with grease permanently? Gosh, I am so micromanaging. My Wilton cake teacher told us to wipe out greasy bowl with whatever, but throw away, don’t rinse in sink. thank you. I really like all your columns.
No problem at all, Diana. The microfiber cloths handle greasy messes just fine and they can be used again and again after being laundered. Remember, though, no bleach.
I want to learn how you use micro cloths to replace paper towels. thanks
I am not sure I understand the question since I just use them. When dirty, I toss them in the washer. We go through about 3 rolls of paper towels a YEAR. That’s it. I use the microfiber cloths (aka magic rags) for everything!!
First: LOVE this!! Been wanting to try all these recipes using liquid castile soap but just can’t afford it :/. I use Kirk’s Castile Bars for laundry and dish soap though!
Quick Question Though:
You mentioned that it got gelled and running it under hot water re-liquified it. Do you have to do that prior to each time you use it?
Thanks-
Julia
I very rarely use it full strength so I only have to un-jell when I have making up a dilution (i.e. for all-purpose cleaner).
I have had reports that others do not have the problem with jelling so I suspect it might have something to do with both the water (I used filtered water) and climate.
Gaye,
I have been anxiously waiting to use your “wonderful” recipe since I saw it last year. (I had a huge store bought bottle which I needed to use up first.) Well, I finally got to try your’s yesterday. WooHoo!
As one of your other readers posted, mine did not jell up either. 🙁
I just reread your post for about the 6th time and it suddenly dawned on me. It is summer in the SE USA. We keep our AC at 78 degrees. My giant jar of coconut oil is currently liquid. If it is the coconut oil which makes it gel well that might answer that question.
Even if it stays liquid, I’m ok with that. It will be easier to use.
Thanks for letting you inner chemist shine. I am always too afraid of mistakes to experiment too much.
Heather
One thing I have not tried is using my DIY Liquid Castile Soap in the washing machine. Today is the day – really.
One note: I suspect that the mineral content in local water may play a role in whether it gels or stays liquid. I made gallons of the stuff and it lasts forever but next time I want to use distilled water just to see what will happen.
Try adding a bit of boiling water and see if you can break it up. I ended up storing mine in mason jars so I could scoop it out easily.
How much did you use in the dishwasher? I still have not tried that.