by Leslie Bright
I have 26 Dawn dish soap hacks that will make your life easier today. You will wonder why you haven’t been doing them all along.
Dawn dish soap has been around since 1973. Did you know that besides being used for dish washing purposes, Dawn is also used to remove grease spilled onto roadways, and oil on animals during the Exxon Valdez and Horizon Deepwater oil spills.
Dawn is so versatile and is an inexpensive tool you can use to improve things around your home.
All of these tips and hacks are done with the blue original Dawn dishwashing detergent. Keep reading to learn many different ways that can make your life so much easier.
Note: You are going to want to order these big bottles of Dawn dish soap after you read the following tips!
1. How to kill ants with Dawn.
Add a squirt or two of Dawn dish soap to a spray bottle of water. Shake well. Spray the ants with the mixture. The solution will stick to the ants and suffocate them.
2. Clean garden tools with Dawn.
Soak your tools in a bucket of warm water. Add ½ cup of dish detergent.
Let it sit for at least 20 minutes. The dirt will wipe right off using an old rag or a sponge. Let the tools soak a little longer if there are any stubborn dirt on them.
Use a scrub brush on the hard to clean places.
3. Use Dawn as a glass cleaner.
Mix 1 cup of hot water and 1/4 cup of vinegar to a clean spray bottle. Add 2-3 drops of Dawn. Shake well.
Prepare a second spray bottle filled with plain water. Lay old towels beneath the windows you are cleaning to catch any drips or spills.
Spray a small area of a window at a time with the mixture. Wipe the area down with a microfiber cloth or sponge. Repeat the process until all of the windows have been cleaned from top to bottom.
Rinse the windows by spraying them with the plain water. Get a new microfiber cloth or sponge. Wipe the windows as you go.
4. Remove stains from clothes with Dawn.
I stopped buying stain remover for my husbands work clothes after using Dawn as a stain remover. It has worked better than what we were buying. It’s cheaper too.
Fill a spray bottle with water and squirt some Dawn into it. Give it a quick shake. Spray it directly onto the stained areas. Let it sit for ten minutes. Wash as usual.
I haven’t had to use the mixture as often as I was the store bought stuff. For stubborn stains like grease and grass stain, apply straight Dawn. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Wash as usual.
5. How to use Dawn to make hard water remover.
Fill a spray bottle halfway with vinegar, add ¼ cup of lemon juice and a little bit of dish soap.
To make the vinegar work even harder heat it in the microwave.
Don’t fill the bottle all the way to the top. Leave room for mixing. Shake to mix.
Spray the solution on hard water stains. Let it sit for ten minutes, then wipe it clean.
If you are sensitive to the smell of vinegar be sure to ventilate your bathroom by turning on the fan or opening a window.
6. Unclog toilet with Dawn dish soap.
Pour one cup of dish soap into the toilet bowl. Allow it to sit for 20 for minutes.
Pour a small bucket of hot water from waist high into the bowl. Your toilet will unclog!
7. Remove old hair dye from your hair with Dawn.
We all know hair color fades over time. Use this recipe to remove the old color before you have new color added.
Replace Dawn with your usual shampoo. Massage it into wet hair and rinse. It’s good to use once a week to remove hair products too.
8. How to use Dawn dish soap to clean carpet.
This is one of my favorite tips. I clean all the carpet in my house with this recipe. It really works and smells AMAZING! Check it out here.
9. Get out armpit stains using Dawn.
This process works like magic! Check it out below:
2oz Peroxide
1 oz Dawn dish soap
Mix both ingredients together. Add the mixture directly to the stain. Let
it sit for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how bad the stain is. If the stain is unrelenting, add some baking soda and scrub with an old
toothbrush. Wash as usual.
10. Treat oily hair with Dawn.
If you or someone in your family have oily hair, Dawn can help. Massage it into your hair like you would shampoo, rinse, that’s it! Your hair will be super clean and shiny!
11. Dawn dish soap to clean upholstery.
I love making a batch of this cleaner to clean my couch regularly.
Pour 1 cup of warm water with 1/2 cup of vinegar and 2 teaspoons of Dawn dish soap in a spray bottle. Shake to mix. Mist small sections at a time. Scrub with clean cloth or sponge. Do not over wet the upholstery. Let air dry.
12. How to use Dawn as a grill cleaner.
You can clean your grill grates by soaking them in hot water and Dawn dish soap. Start by adding hot water to a container large enough for the grates to fit. Add a tablespoon of Dawn dish soap per gallon of water.
You can add the grates when they are hot or cold. Be careful with the hot ones. Stir in 1/4 cup of baking soda or Borax. Put the grates in and let them soak for an hour.
If there is anything left on the grates after they soak use a steel pad to scrub it away. Rinse thoroughly.
13. Use Dawn to make insecticidal soap for your plants.
Use Dawn liquid to kill insects such as aphids, mites and scale on plants and keep them away. Dawn is not made specifically for plants. You should test a small spot on your plant before you spray the whole thing to make sure the plant isn’t sensitive to it.
Mix 2 tablespoons of Dawn detergent with 1 cup of cooking oil in 1 pint of water into spray bottle. Shake well. Spray the top and bottom of leaves every four to seven days until the insects are gone. Do not apply to plants when temperatures are above 85 degrees F.
14. Clean your jewelry with Dawn and salt.
I love how simple this process is. It cleans my jewelry perfectly and easily. In a bowl, pour 1 cup of hot water, 1 tablespoon of salt and stir. Pour 1 tablespoon of Dawn dish soap in and stir again.
Put your jewelry in the bowl. Let soak for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes are up check to see if the jewelry needs more time. If there is anything that isn’t coming off, use a toothbrush to scrub it.
15. Wash makeup sponges and brushes with Dawn detergent.
Choose a bowl big enough to submerge your brushes and sponges. Add warm water to the bowl. Mix a teaspoon of Dawn detergent into the water, swish it around, then add your brushes and sponges.
Let them soak for at least ten minutes. When the time is up squeeze the each brush and sponge individually as you rinse it under the faucet. Rub a little conditioner on each item and rinse thoroughly. Lay them on a few paper towels until they are dry.
16. Oily skin cleanser using Dawn dish soap.
Dawn is great for oily skin. It is easy to use. Just use a drop or two with a little water to wash your face.
17. Clean and defog eyeglasses with Dawn.
Rub a drop of Dawn dish soap on the lenses of your eyeglasses. It will leave behind a thin layer of film that’ll prevent your glasses from fogging up when wiped clean.
18. Degrease driveway with Dawn detergent.
Do you have stains on your driveway? Squirt Dawn dishwashing detergent directly onto the stain. Scrub with a brush or old broom until the stain comes up. Rinse with clean water.
19. How to use Dawn dish soap to clean kitchen cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets get pretty gross if you don’t stay on top of scrubbing them down ever so often. Think of all the hands that touch them on a daily basis.
Add hot water to a bucket. Squirt a little Dawn dish soap and mix it around. Dip a cloth or sponge into the bucket, wring it out and wipe down the cabinets. My cabinets have little grooves in the doors. So I prefer to use a cloth instead of a sponge.
Make sure to rinse the cloth (or sponge) after every other cabinet door or so. Empty the water if it gets very dirty and make more. Wipe your cabinets down again if they feel sticky when they dry.
I have noticed the cabinets closets to the stove tend to need wiped down more than once.
20. Flea killer for dogs.
Use Dawn dish soap in place of the more expensive dog shampoo to bathe your dogs. It’s a lot cheaper and kills fleas on contact.
21. Soften cuticles before a manicure with Dawn dish soap.
Put a little Dawn dish detergent in a bowl. Soak your fingers to soften your cuticles to get them ready for a manicure. It will remove the natural oils and help the nail polish to adhere better.
22. DIY bubbles with Dawn dish soap.
Dawn dish soap makes great lasting bubbles!
Mix together 1/2 gallon of warm water, 1 tablespoon of glycerin and 1/2 cup of Dawn Ultra. Stir gently. Skim the foam off the top. Too much foam on top will break down the bubbles. Pour the solution in a plate with a rim for large wands, dip the wand. Bring the wand out slowly and wave it in the air. Let the fun begin! You can also pour the solution in a bowl or bottle and use small recycled wands. Dip and blow 🙂
23. Clean stainless steel appliances.
Do you ever get the feeling that your stainless steel appliances aren’t…well, stainLESS. Yep, me too.
My stainless steel cooktop has a tendency to get water/food spots if water or food stay on it for very long. It’s annoying! Don’t forget the fingerprints that get all over your fridge that seem to never go away.
Here’s how to clean your stainless steel appliances. Dampen a sponge or cloth with water. Add a little Dawn dish soap. Rub it to create bubbles. Wipe in the direction of the stainless steel.
Put water in a spray bottle. Spray the cleansed area to rinse the soap off. Wipe with a clean cloth.
24. Clean hair brushes and combs with Dawn detergent.
How long has it been since you cleaned your hair brushes and combs? I mean really clean them. I can remember to pull all of the hair out of my brush.
I like to use these steps to clean all of our brushes and combs at once:
Begin by filling the sink or a large bowl a quarter of the way full of warm water. Add 1/4 of Borax and swish it around to dissolve. Squirt some dish soap in the sink or bowl.
Finish filling the sink with warm water until it is 3/4 full. Don’t fill it so full that it will overflow when you add your combs and brushes.
Remove as much of the hair in the brushes as possible before adding them to the water.
Place the combs and hairbrushes in the sink or bowl. Let them soak for 30 to 45 minute.
When the time is up your combs and brushes are clean.
Rinse the combs and brushes with clean warm water. Lay them on a towel to let them dry.
25. How to hand wash baby bottles with Dawn detergent.
Follow these easy steps to hand wash your baby’s bottles and nipples.
You will need a sponge and a bottle brush with a nipple cleaner to get to the hard to reach spots. To make cleaning the bottles and nipples even easier, always rinse them as soon as they are empty if it’s going to be a bit before they are cleaned.
Run some warm water into the sink. Add a squirt of Dawn. Soak the bottles and nipples if they have any dried milk in them. Scrub the bottles with the sponge part of the bottle brush. Use the nipple accessories to clean the nipples.
Put everything on a drying rack and let it air dry.
25. Give it as a gift!
This is a fantastic idea! Print this post on pretty paper and put it in a basket with a big bottle of Dawn dish soap, sponges, cleaning cloths, brushes, etc.
Put a big pretty bow on it. Give it to a newly married couple, to new homeowners as a housewarming gift or to a college student that will be living away from home for the first time.
