8 Ways To Clean With Castile Soap
Looking for a natural and healthy way to clean your home? Look no further than Castile soap! Made from a blend of plant-based oils such as olive, coconut, hemp, avocado, almond, and walnut, this biodegradable, nontoxic soap is tough on dirt and grime yet gentle on your skin. Castile soap comes in liquid and bar form, but liquid form is more practical and versatile in homemade cleaning recipes. And for the environmentally conscious, try finding it in a 1-gallon recyclable plastic bottle at your local natural foods or hardware store. If they don't carry it, simply ask them to order it for you! To get you started, I've included eight of my favorite cleaning recipes that you can easily prepare right at the kitchen sink.
1. Liquid Dish Soap
Washing dishes should be as simple as washing hands — all you need is soap and water. What you don’t need is a mixture of surfactants to clean dishes. With four simple ingredients, you can clean your dishes with a recipe that’s safe to go down the drain and into the waterways.
You Will Need:
1⁄2 cup liquid Castile soap
2 TB. distilled white vinegar
1⁄2 cup water
10 drops lavender essential oil
Glass bottle
To Make:
Combine the liquid Castile soap, white vinegar, water, and lavender essential oil, and pour into a glass pump bottle. Add several drops to a scrub brush or compostable sponge, or directly into your dish tub, and fi ll with warm water. Wash as usual.
2. Gentle Soap Cleaner
I like to clean most of my home with good old-fashioned soap and water. To do this, combine 1⁄4 cup of liquid Castile soap, 1 cup of water, 20 drops of tea tree essential oil, and 2 tablespoons of 90–99% isopropyl alcohol (optional) to clean walls and wipe down cabinets; porous surfaces like a cement, marble, or granite kitchen countertop; wood surfaces after dusting; buildup inside of the refrigerator, freezer, microwave, or garbage disposal; and painted windowsills. Tea tree essential oil adds a clean and refreshing scent, and reinforces the cleaning power of the soap. You can even spray this mixture on a pet stain. Add all the ingredients to a glass spray bottle, spray directly on the surface or onto a rag or compostable sponge, and wipe clean.
3. Soft Scrub
One of my favorite recipes to have at the ready is a homemade soft scrub. With a little elbow grease, it’s all I need to clean the shower, porcelain tub, and sink.
You Will Need:
1⁄3 cup baking soda
1⁄4 cup liquid Castile soap
1⁄3 cup washing soda
1 cup warm water
1 TB. lemon juice/3% hydrogen peroxide
10 drops lemon essential oil
10 drops tea tree essential oil
Squeeze bottle/Glass jar
To Make:
Combine the baking soda, liquid Castile soap, washing soda, warm water, and lemon juice or hydrogen peroxide. Top it off with the lemon and tea tree essential oils, and mix well. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or glass jar, and shake before use. Apply to the dirty surface with an eco-friendly brush, let it set in for 10–15 minutes, scrub, and rinse clean.
4. Toilet Bowl Cleaner
When it comes to cleaning the toilet, I prefer the strength of washing soda and the antibacterial properties of tea tree essential oil. When I add Castile soap, this cleaner has more power to remove stains and odors thoroughly.
You Will Need:
1 cup washing soda
1⁄3 cup liquid Castile soap
25 drops tea tree essential oil
2 cups hot water
Bottle/Jar
To Make:
Stir together the washing soda, liquid Castile soap, tea tree essential oil, and hot water in a bottle or jar, and stir well to combine. Pour into the toilet bowl, swirl around with a wood-handled toilet bowl brush, and scrub as usual. Flush clean.
5. Oven Cleaner
Cleaning the oven often slips my mind because the mess stays so well hidden. When it does catch my attention, it takes more time to psych myself up to get started than it does to make this recipe.
You Will Need:
Bowl: small
1⁄8 cup washing soda
1⁄8 cup baking soda
1 TB. liquid Castile soap
2 TB. distilled white vinegar
To Make:
In a small bowl, combine the washing soda, baking soda, liquid Castile soap, and distilled white vinegar, and mix well. Add small amounts of water at a time while stirring until it makes a spreadable, foamy paste. When ready, spread enough paste to cover all surfaces. Wait at least an hour, and then scrub away debris with a hard-bristle brush. For extra cleaning power, spray on the Gentle Soap Cleaner, and wipe clean. This paste can be used to clean racks, too.
6. Floor Cleaner
No synthetic preservatives, detergents, or foaming agents are needed for this recipe — only 5–10 drops of liquid Castile soap diluted in 4 cups of water. This floor cleaner can be left to dry after mopping without leaving a soapy residue. Add ingredients to a bucket, swirl, and mop as usual. With natural-rubber household gloves, ring out over a separate bucket between each application. Floors should be vacuumed first to remove all debris.
7. Laundry Soap
Laundry day can be a natural experience with the right homemade recipe. Colors can be brightened, whites whitened, and clothes rid of stains and grease without strong detergents and bleach that don’t biodegrade, contaminating and irritating you and our planet. Add 1⁄4 cup of liquid Castile soap to the liquid compartment of your washing machine and 1⁄4 cup of washing soda to the powder compartment; or add both together in the washing machine tub before throwing in your clothes. Wash as usual.
8. Drain Cleaner
A clogged sink is usually due to hardened fat, oil, grease, or debris — truly unavoidable in a well-used kitchen. Castile soap aids in dissolving greasy residue, and baking soda and white vinegar help loosen the clog. I like to think of it as a little bit of natural magic.
You Will Need:
10 drops liquid Castile soap
1 TB. lemon juice
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup baking soda
3 cups hot water
To Make:
Wait for your sink to drain of any liquid. Add the liquid Castile soap and lemon juice into the drain, slowly pour in 1 cup of distilled white vinegar, and wait five minutes for the degreasing to take effect. Add the baking soda followed by 1 cup of white vinegar. After the fizzing action stops, slowly pour in the hot water. Check to see if the clog passed by running hot tap water. If it hasn’t yet, repeat the previous steps until the drain is draining properly. Use a plunger or snake as necessary.
Note:
These eight excerpts are from comprehensive recipes found in my ebook, "Bringing Nature Back Home: How To Make an Herbal + Zero Waste Cleaning Routine". Inside, you'll find 20 easy-to-follow recipes that show you how to clean your home naturally, simply, and mindfully. And that's not all! My second ebook "Bringing Nature Back Home: How To Make an Herbal + Zero Waste Personal Care Routine" is also available, featuring 20 nature-based recipes for your everyday bath and body routine that will not only heal and nourish your skin, but also reduce waste and promote a healthier planet. Of course, you can also continue to visit the natural cleaning page for more free recipes and take the next steps towards a greener, healthier life.
