# Amount of liquid Dish-washing soap to be used per Load of Dishes



## CookbookChef (Oct 1, 2014)

Hello, I noticed that when a container of commercial liquid dish-washing soap is bought and used, I only need one simple squirt to do a whole load of dishes. Nice Bubbles, and pretty clear looking dishwater overall.

I noticed that when I make my Homemade from Scratch Liquid Dish-washing Soap, I get alot of bubbles at first, and then the quickly dissipate, and I am left with a sink full of very milky water and a thin layer of soap scum floating around on the top.

The reason I described the two above differences in liquid dish-washing soap, is because one, I do understand that it is the detergents and chemicals in the store bought soap that give those beautiful bubbles and almost clear bucket of washing water. and two, I do understand that Homemade Liquid Dish-washing Soap is Pure and Natural, and the cleaning power does not depend on the amount of Bubbles, nor does it depend on the fact my dishwater has turned into Milk Water, nor does it depend that I have soap scum floating around.

So, saying that, my question is more on the amount of liquid dish-washing soap I should be using as apposed to how it looks in the water itself. 
If we are supposed to not judge the bucket of dishwater based on bubbles and clarity of soap water, then fine,but then how do I know how much liquid dish-washing Soap is enough to add to my bucket of water to do a load of dishes, the right way??

Meaning, one squirt is sufficient for Store Bought Soap, is that all I need for Homemade Soap as well. one squirt?? I have made now 2 batches of Liquid Soap, and to date, still struggle with how much I should be using in a batch of Dishes. I tend to want o use 1/8th of a cup to a 1/4 of a cup just because my history with soap is to base it on bubbles, but now, I understand that I should NOT base my bucket of dish washing on bubbles, so, what DO I base it on...it does seem that no matter the amount of soap I use, my dishes always seem like a small layer of film or lotion is left on the dishes....it was recommended to me from a neighbor to find out the amount I should be using, she thinks I am using way to much soap in my bucket, she Thinks that one squirt should be the same one squirt as commercial soap, that is, is we are not going by how many bubbles we have or do not have. 

Please Help as I don't want to squirt in allot of my soap that took hours to make, if I don't need to, and, is their anything I can do about that layer of film on my dishes? thanks so much!!


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## IrishLass (Oct 1, 2014)

What oils are in your formula and what is your superfat %?


 IrishLass


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## lsg (Oct 4, 2014)

If you are using your homemade liquid soap for dish washing, that will happen, especially if you have hard water.  I stopped trying to use homemade liquid soap for dish washing and started making my own dish washing product using eco friendly surfactants.  PM me if you want a couple of recipes.


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## CookbookChef (Oct 4, 2014)

IrishLass said:


> What oils are in your formula and what is your superfat %?
> 
> 
> IrishLass



Soybean Oil and Coconut Oil
Superfat at 3%

Here is the recipe I used

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLvbOasa2qw[/ame]

Recipe:
20 oz Organic Liquid Soybean Oil
10 oz Organic Coconut 76 Degree
10oz Distilled Water
7 oz Potassium Hydroxide
30 oz Hot Distilled Water for Diluting
2 Tablespoons Citric Acid
1 - 2 oz Essential Oil
0.5oz shredded sodium soap (optional)


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## Dorymae (Oct 4, 2014)

Well honestly I would judge by if my dishes were getting clean.  Does one squirt do it or are you having to scrub too much?  How about 2 squirts?

Really if your objective is to wash the dishes then how much you use should be dictated by when they get clean.


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## Seawolfe (Oct 4, 2014)

I think  or dish or cleaning soap that your superfat is too high, you want some castor for bubbles and maybe bump the coconut up a bit

The soap I made with 3% SF, 70% Olive oil, 25% coconut and 5% castor was not cleansing enough for my dishes - but its a lovely hand/body/dog soap.

The next batch I made was 0.5% SF, 70% coconut oil, 25% olive oil, 5% castor is very nice for dishes and hand washables. I definately found myself using less than the recipe above - typically 1 or 2 squirts per sink full, plus a squirt on my sponge. And it does not dry my hands out either.

Of course I've only made 2 batches of liquid soap, but thems my experiences so far


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## Susie (Oct 4, 2014)

OK, I think Bonnie at Good Earth Spa absolutely rocks!  And I will never, ever achieve her ability to figure out recipes without cheating through a lye calculator.  And using that bit of grated NaOH soap is inspired!  It has saved me many, many hours of stick blending.  She and Soaping 101 are the very reason I make soap to begin with, they are so good at explaining everything, that even I could wrap my mind around what they were teaching.  So I don't want anyone thinking I am bashing her, OK?

I tried making this recipe from that video.  I got...less than spectacular...results.  I now know a few more things than I did then.  

First off, I like more water with my KOH.  I like how much easier it is to mix, and how much faster I can get it to trace.  I would have used somewhere in the neighborhood of 19.75-20 oz water with 7 oz KOH, if not the full 21 oz to get the 1:3 ratio. 

Second, I would now not use 3% superfat for anything but hand washing soap or shampoo.  Dishes and laundry get 0% superfat.  You just don't want oil remaining on those after washing.

Third, I would probably swap the amounts of coconut oil and soybean oil.  Or just use more coconut than soybean.  My favorite ratio is 75/25 for household stuff.

Finally, I truly never, ever trust any recipe I have not run through a calculator for myself any more.  Typos happen, and not every edit is perfect.  This is the one I prefer to use for liquid soaps, I just like the outcome better than the others.

http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/advanced-calculator-solid-cream-or-liquid-soaps


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## CookbookChef (Oct 30, 2014)

SUSIE YOU HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE HELP TO ME THUS FAR ON THIS ENTIRE FORUM WITH ALL MY QUESTIONS COMBINED!!!!! Yes, I know I did all capitals, but your Answer was Friendly and super EASY for me to understand. YOU MADE ME FEEL HUMAN, AND THAT YOU ARE HUMAN TOO!!! Trust me, some ppl here have made me feel "LESS THAN" for even asking a question on this Forum. To the point it has chased me away and made me FEEL BAD about myself. But then their are REAL PPL like you, that come across and TRULY HUMAN, and make me feel GOOD about asking questions again here. Thank you VERY much Susie!!!!!!! Oh, for anybody else reading this, please dont put yourself in the category of the ones that made me FEEL BAD, cause, for the majority, MOST of you are kind hearted and helpful, and I APPRECIATE YOU GREATLY!!!


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## Susie (Nov 3, 2014)

I need to add that I don't have hard water.  I have extremely soft water.  If you are having trouble with soap scum staying on your dishes, how about trying one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YLV3PY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Then you are only using as much soap as your dishes need.  I would probably have the dishes soaking while I clean each one just to save time.


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