11 items that are best washed with dishwashing liquid: advice from cleaners

Do you want to know which ones? Here’s What You Can Clean With Dish Gel, According to the Pros.

This product perfectly removes grease and food debris from pots and pans, which means that using dishwashing liquid is appropriate in the same situations, but with fabric. “I mix three tablespoons of the product with the same amount of baking soda to create a cleaning paste that can remove wine from a blouse and chocolate from a sofa. Just apply it to the stain, wait a bit, scrub and get a clean surface. In addition, this blend is very gentle on natural fibers, such as wool or silk,” explains Kelly.

Martha Stewart Morgan Brashear, a senior research scientist at a cleaning products company, thinks the solution of using dishwashing liquid to remove grease stains from clothes might be even simpler. “Apply the soap to the stain, rub it gently with your fingers into the fabric, wait a few minutes, then wash the item as usual,” he advises.

“Dishwashing liquid for cleaning the kitchen is essential if your worktops are made of natural stone: thanks to its neutral pH, it will not damage it, while vinegar, which contains acids, can irreversibly damage it. quartz, marble or granite. And of course, soap also works great on plastic, glass or metal,” says Caroline Solomon, space organizer and cleaning expert.

Of course, there is no need to pour dishwashing gel on the sponge and scrub the countertop with it. Here’s how to make Caroline’s All-Purpose Kitchen Utensil Cleaner: Mix two cups of cold water, a teaspoon of dish soap, and a few drops of your favorite water-soluble essential oil in a spray bottle if you’d like. a subtle and sophisticated fragrance.

If you have dishwashing liquid, there are also some non-obvious uses. Use the previous recipe, but use distilled water instead of plain water, and you’ll get a spray that will clean windows, mirrors, and shower walls without leaving streaks. “It’s a great way to make everything shine,” says Caroline.

Have you heard the saying “They hit a wedge with a wedge”? Another tip for using dishwashing liquid is based on this principle: Kelly says it’s ideal for cleaning your bathroom if soap scum is your main problem. “One of my customers said he used dish soap to remove deposits that neither a melamine sponge nor a special cleaning attachment on a screwdriver could remove,” says Jonkoff.

Yes, the dishwashing liquid tips also apply to the toilet. First of all, you can use the same universal spray to freshen it up. Need to eliminate bacteria? In this case, eco-cleaning expert Michaela Preston advises adding two tablespoons of three percent hydrogen peroxide and one tablespoon of liquid to the water, waiting a few minutes, straining a brush on the walls, then press the flush button.

And finally, the list of unexpected uses for dishwashing liquid includes unclogging: as Michaela explains, in some cases, the product can dissolve debris in pipes. Here’s how to do it: pour half a cup (or more) of soap down the toilet, wait five to ten minutes, then pour a pot of very hot (but not boiling, this is very important!) water into the toilet.

Here’s how to use dishwashing liquid when you need to clean rings, earrings, bracelets, or chains: Add a few drops to warm water, soak the jewelry in the solution, wait 15 to 30 minutes, then scrub all jewelry with a soft toothbrush. The advantage of this method is that it is suitable for all metals and stones, including soft pearls, malachite, coral, jet and amber.

Grill grates are items that can be restored to a very presentable appearance by cleaning them with dish soap. You need the same soap and soda paste that Kelly recommended for removing stains from clothes and upholstery: dilute soda with soap to the consistency of thick sour cream, apply the product obtained on the grills, wait half an hour, then clean, wash and dry them.

Stainless steel looks durable and seems unassuming, but in reality, it’s easier to list products that can be used to clean it than those that will damage it. Harsh abrasives, cleaning powders, bleach and other products containing chlorine, any compositions containing ammonia and even water if it contains a lot of minerals are dangerous for metal. But dishwashing liquid is quite suitable for various stainless steel objects: you can use a universal spray, or you can simply pour a few drops onto a sponge and wash the sink or pan.

Most of the dirt on glasses is sebum. Basically, it is a grease, which means dishwashing liquid can easily handle it. Expert advice in this case is simple: pour a drop on your fingers, rub the glass with it, then dry them with a lint-free microfiber cloth. There are rumors on the Internet that after this the glasses will stop fogging up, but this, Caroline explains, is a myth: the glass will simply become clean.

Sticky dust, consisting mainly of grease, constantly accumulates on kitchen cabinets. “The surfactants that make up dish soap are true champions in breaking down these contaminants. In this case, no tricks are needed to clean with dishwashing liquid: simply put a drop on a damp sponge, wipe the surfaces with it, then remove the rest of the product with a cloth soaked in detergent. clean water,” advises Brashear. .

Dishwashing liquid is also used for deep cleaning of gardening tools. Here you will find step-by-step instructions. However, according to Brashear, a simpler algorithm works: scrape off the dirt, remove the rust with a steel wool pad, soak the items in a bucket of hot water and dish soap for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse and dry thoroughly.

Let’s be clear right away: you don’t need to wash the ice pack, and we’re moving from a discussion of cleaning items with dishwashing liquid to other tips. This soap is an excellent refreshing agent: pour it into a sachet and put it in the freezer. It won’t become a cure: you’ll end up with a packet of thick gel that you can, say, wrap around a bruised wrist or a sprained ankle.

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