A List Of Dish Soap For Laundry

Last Updated on April 20, 2021 By Emma W. Thomas

Dish soap has on many occasions, been used as an alternative for laundry detergent. When choosing a dish soap for laundry, always avoid one that contains bleach as it will discolor your clothes. Some of the dish soaps used for laundry include seventh Generation Dish Soap, Dawn Ultra Dishwashing Liquid, Puracy Dish Soap Natural Liquid, Biokleen Natural Dish Soap, and Method Dish Soap.

What Properties Do Those Dishwashing Soaps Have That Qualify Them For Laundry?

Not all dish soaps can be used for laundry as they all have different chemical compositions and ingredients. Their reactions also differ. The following are some properties in some dish soaps that are used as alternatives for laundry soap.

Dawn Ultra Concentrated Dish Detergent 

  It has an ultra-concentrated formula which is triple that of the other dish soaps, enabling it to clean clothes like normal laundry soaps. Additionally, it lacks phosphates making it a gentle cleaner and also non-irritable. Another very significant property is the fragrance and colorant in this detergent, which makes it a perfect alternative for laundry soaps.

Seventh Generation Dish Soap

Seventh Generation Dish Soap is widely known for using no fragrances, dyes, or any other unnecessary chemicals during its manufacture. It is dermatologically tested and was proven to be hypoallergenic as it is also free from phosphates, triclosan, and other dyes. This dish soap has glycerin in its formulation to help users soothe their skin and stabilize the foam produced by the soap.

 For this reason, it can be used when hand washing clothes or when using a washing machine without causing excessive foam, which may lead to an overflow. The soap is gentle and also very powerful in removing sticky stains in both dishes and clothes.

Puracy Natural Dish Soap

Puracy Natural Dish Soap is one of the most natural dish soaps on the market. It is free from any forms of sulfates, parabens, petrochemicals, triclosan, toxins, perfumes, and other products that may be harsh to the skin. The natural elements used in the Puracy soap enable it to break down dirt from the clothes with the water softener working on the laundry water, making it easier to create suds on the clothes. 

It is also highly concentrated, hence only small portions of the soap are used. The biggest advantage of this dish soap is that it is hypoallergenic, biodegradable, gluten-free, vegan, and most importantly, is certified to be cruelty-free. 

Method Dish Soap Refill

Method company is committed to producing environmentally friendly cleaning products, from the tiniest bits of their ingredients to their packaging. Their biggest achievement of this is through the refill pouch of their cleaning dish soaps. This dish soap is suitable for laundry as it is lightly scented with delightful scents such as sea minerals, lime, sea salt, and clementine. It also has an ultra-grease fighting formula that is biodegradable, making it kind to both your hands and the environment. 

Additionally, it is free from parabens and phthalates, making it cruelty-free. Despite being free from bleach, it is also highly concentrated, enhancing its dirt-removing power without discoloring your clothes.

Biokleen Natural Dish Soap

It is a dish soap free of ammonia, chlorine, alcohol, artificial colors, phosphates, and artificial fragrances. Although it contains some sulfates, they are carefully chosen to provide high levels of effectiveness and avoid affecting the waterways, plants, or animals. It contains aloe extracts to protect your hands. Its natural citrus scent is uplifting, not forgetting the perfect formulation that provides a thorough cleaning and gentleness for your hands, dishes, and clothes. 

How Do You Wash Clothes Using Dish Soap?

Some people opt for dish soap for laundry as it is cheaper than the laundry soaps available in the market. For large families that do their laundry more often, using dish soap is the perfect alternative. Less dish soap is used than laundry soap as they are foamier and may cause the washing machine to overflow with foam bubbles. Other than that, there is no significant difference when you use dish soap for laundry. The following are the simple steps to follow when using dish soap for laundry;

Getting The Dish Soap

Before washing your clothes with dish soap, you should buy the most suitable. The soap brand is not as important as the ingredients used in the detergent, and those are the topmost considerations, especially if the dish soap is for laundry. When getting the best dish soap for laundry, you have to always go for one that is bleach-free. Also, get one with a scent that you like or one with no fragrance, and you can add your scents later. 

Load The Dirty Clothes To The Washing Machine

 Doing this is no different from using normal laundry. However, you should avoid mixing light clothes with dark ones. Also, heavy clothes such as towels and jeans should not be put together. You need to avoid washing brightly colored clothes with white dish soap. 

Select The Right Temperatures

 Choosing the right temperature settings for your laundry is very important. High temperatures tend to clean clothes faster but also they may also damage your clothes easily. On the other hand, cool temperatures are slow to clean but are likely to have little or no damaging effect on your clothes. 

Add The Dish Soap

 Dish soap is not the same as laundry detergents. Do not add the same amount as you would for the laundry soap. Large amounts of dish soaps could result in a messy situation from overflowing bubbles.

Wash And Dry The Clothes

 After adding the dish soap, let the washing machine do the cleaning depending on the number of cycles you have selected and set. When the washing is done, you can decide whether to dry your clothes automatically or air dry them by hanging them in an open space. Drying them can be done the same way you do when using the laundry soap.

What Is The Difference Between Dish Soap And Laundry Soap?

All cleaning soaps and detergents, whether for hair, hands, clothes, or dishes, work on a similar principle. They all break up dirt and clean them away from the surfaces. Their main difference is in their Ph composition, bleach presence or absence, and type of surfactants used. Surfactants are used in cleaning products to bridge the gap between water and dirt to aid in their cleaning abilities. 

Dish soaps and detergents use brute forces, which is effective for dishwashing by breaking down foods and stains with high Ph. However, the presence of chlorine bleach in most of them makes them rather too strong for your hand. Some dishwashing soaps, especially those meant for handwashing, are not as strong and do not contain too much bleach. Also, the surfactant blends used in them are mild to the skin as they work close to the neutral Ph, making them friendly and safe for use and to your hands.

On the other hand, laundry soaps and detergents are in between. They are tough than the hand dishwashing soaps but gentle for the clothes. Traditional powders laundry soaps use a higher Ph to clean, just like the automatic dish soaps. However, the new liquid laundry detergents and soaps are almost neutral in Ph and are more reliable on the surfactants, which tend to be less susceptible to how hard the water is. They also contain enzymes that break down proteins, starch, and fats with water-soluble polymers, helping them disperse dirt and grease.

Why Should You Avoid Using Dish Soap In A Washing Machine?

 Other than the most common reason known to everyone that using dish soap in washing machine results in a mess from overflowing bubbles, there are more reasons to avoid it. Some people may think that using a smaller amount is fine, but more problems follow in the long run. Some of the reasons to avoid using dish soap in the washing machine include;

First, the sudsing action of most dish soaps can cause problems to the washing machine. The sudsing nature of dish soap is harmful even to the dishwasher itself. However, most people do not find it a problem as they associate the foaminess of dish soap with cleanliness. These foams and suds become harmful to the machine when left behind, causing damages to the pumps and drainage systems.

Additionally, using dish soaps in a washing machine does not guarantee perfect cleaning like laundry soaps. They tend to leave a film of soap scum that makes clothes clingy. In most cases, dish soaps are meant for handwashing, whereby they act perfectly by sloughing away all germs and dirt from the clothes.

Conclusion

When laundry soap is unavailable, you can opt to use dish soap whose formula is almost similar. However, the amount of dish soap you use should be smaller than that of the normal laundry detergent used due to the dish soap’s sudsing property. Re,ember to always check the ingredients used in the dish soap you intend to use for laundry as some may contain bleaching agents that could damage your clothes. Others contain harsh chemicals that may cause irritation to your skin and should be avoided, especially if your skin is highly sensitive.