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Mix Your Own Foaming Hand Wash

April 3rd, 2012

I LOVE foaming hand wash. It’s quicker to use and it uses so much less soap than using a straight liquid. My foaming soap dispensers were Method Brand dispensers. I like theirs, so I purchase them with soap, used up the soap and refill them with plain castile soap from Mt Rose Herbs. Here’s how I do it.

HOMEMADE FOAMING SOAP
1/4 cup of plain castile soap (the ones with essential oils will clog your foaming dispenser)
1 cup water (I use filtered)

Pour soap into dispenser. Note the level on the bottle and make a mental note or draw a line with a permanent marker, then you won’t have to measure each time. Slowly add water, don’t add too fast or it will foam up. Replace cap and gently shake to mix soap and water.

It’s really that easy, I promise. I’ve tried a variety of soaps in my dispensers and most of them use the same general recipe. You could use dishwashing liquid in place of the castile soap. Personally, I like to find a product that I can use for all applications so I only have to keep one bottle around. Now I buy castile soap by the gallon from Mt Rose Herbs and I use it for everything. I no longer need to keep: dishwashing liquid, hand soap, bathroom cleaners, etc. Just one bottle instead of 4 or 5.

This is what I use for scrubbing up all of our dishes in the kitchen (and they all get washed by hand). In the bathrooms we now use a bar of soap which we get from a Lavemé Clean. Wendy traveled to Colombia in 2011 was moved by what she experienced. She knew she had to help and upon her return to the States she started making all natural soap (here’s her story). Wendy and her kids now make soap and send one bar of soap to Colombia for every bar she sells. The same soap you buy is the same soap that gets sent down to Colombia. My dad helps deliver these soaps to the slums of Colombia to help them maintain a clean standard of living and avoid disease.

Are you a bar soap, liquid soap, or foaming soap household?

NON-TOXIC CLEANING SERIES
Stocking Your Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit
Learning to Love Castile Soap
Make Your Own: Foaming Soap
Make Your Own: Infused Vinegar
Make Your Own: Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Make Your Own: Color Safe Oxygen Bleach
Friday Favorite: Charlie’s Soap
Friday Favorite: Twist Sponges
and more to come

12 Comments to “Mix Your Own Foaming Hand Wash”
  1. daisy on April 3, 2012 at 6:18 am

    Love this simple idea and that you use one soap for everything! I’m makin’ the switch! Thanks!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  2. Kathi Cook on April 3, 2012 at 6:34 am

    I like a good old fashioned bar soap for scrubbing up especially after gardening. In my half bath for guests, I leave a gel soap because I think most prefer that. Can’t wait for the rest of your posts on this topic. Thank you.

    Reply to Kathi Cook's comment

  3. Maybelline on April 3, 2012 at 10:36 am

    I prefer liquid.
    My other 1/2 uses Yardley’s English Lavender bar soap because that is what I store in my linen closet.

    Reply to Maybelline's comment

  4. Rocky Top Farm on April 3, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    Another great post! Thank you. I use Dr.Bronners but didn’t realize it was the oils clogging my soap dispenser! Love these tid bits you are sharing! Please keep them coming!

    Reply to Rocky Top Farm's comment

  5. Donna B. on April 3, 2012 at 2:08 pm

    I have been awaiting this series of general cleaning how to’s and products from you for SO LONG.
    Perfect, just perfect! I’m going to purchase some Twist sponges, and definitely the castille soap from Mt. Rose Herbs! Now that I’ve gotten my hubby to use Dr. Bronners soap for his sensitive skin [no more itchiness!] I’d love to change up the brand we use for dish cleaning too… normal dish detergents still sort of feel gummy to me. And now you’ve even given me a soap to purchase! I love their message too, what they do for those needy in Columbia is really beautiful.

    I love your ‘clean’ posts! These are going to be referenced a LOT in the next couple of months as I try to get rid of useless cleaning supplies… [the Swiffer being the next thing…]

    Reply to Donna B.'s comment

    • Angela on April 5, 2012 at 10:40 am

      I replaced my Swiffer with a durable mop with washable cloths. The one I got was from the FlyLady site, and I’m pretty happy with it (http://shop.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_mop.asp). I looked at the local hardware store – you can get one there too (our Ace has them), but the FlyLady version was much higher quality than the one I could find in the store. It’s durable and the cloths are good quality. I don’t like that it’s plastic, but at least it’s a heavy plastic that will take some really hard use and I don’t see it wearing out or breaking anytime soon – if ever. I know this sounds like an ad for FlyLady products, but I promise I’m just a random person in Minneapolis who replaced her Swiffer with a better product! :)

      Reply to Angela's comment

  6. KimH on April 4, 2012 at 5:17 am

    I prefer liquid, m’honey prefers bar soap. I had a foaming soap bottle on the sink for a long time but it finally bit the dust & I havent replaced it. I just made my soap concoction with dish washing soap. I too wash all my dishes by hand..

    Reply to KimH's comment

    • KimH on April 4, 2012 at 5:18 am

      I think Wendy’s story is awesome & I havent even read it yet.. ;) But Im looking forward to it this evening when I have the time..
      Beautiful people in the world still, all over the place. ♥

      Reply to KimH's comment

  7. elizabeth on April 4, 2012 at 9:55 am

    I do the same thing, but mix Dr. Bronners peppermint 1:2 with water. Thanks for the tip on the plain castile soap.

    Reply to elizabeth's comment

  8. AGinPA on April 4, 2012 at 10:39 am

    I agree, foaming soap is great! I use Dr Bronner’s peppermint (about 1:4) in my foaming dispensers and haven’t had any clogging. Maybe only certain essential oils cause clogging?

    So you find that the castille soap works well as a dish washing liquid? Does it cut grease as well as detergent? And it doesn’t leave any residue?

    Thanks for this series!

    Reply to AGinPA's comment

  9. Daria on February 13, 2013 at 7:50 pm

    That’s a great idea (have done it a few times myself). I also find foamed soap a lot more effective when washing hands or dishes. Thank you for another useful tip!! :)

    Reply to Daria's comment

  10. Terre on June 12, 2015 at 5:30 pm

    I wonder why noone is using reclaimed wood handles instead of plastic. Oh right, because every one just throws them away. Along with old tools…

    Reply to Terre's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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