In pursuit of clean dishes and kitchen surfaces, many people forget about the safety of the detergents they use.
But in fact, aggressive chemical components of household chemicals (surfactants, phosphates) can cause considerable harm to human health.
Forming a thin, indelible film on the surface, chemicals penetrate into the body along with food and, accumulating, slowly poison it.
Soap will help protect yourself from the negative effects of chemicals, while achieving the desired result of clean dishes in the kitchen.
We'll talk about soap that can and can't be used for washing dishes below.
Can it be washed?
More and more housewives prefer a safe means of caring for kitchen utensils - soap. Which of the large number of types of this detergent can be used in the kitchen, and which one is better to avoid?
Economic
Laundry soap is an excellent alternative to traditional household chemicals. Its main advantage is its exclusively natural composition .
Vegetable oils, animal fats, alkali sodium hydroxide react with water to form a large amount of foam, which effectively cleanses any, even very old, stubborn dirt.
Laundry soap is allowed not only for washing dishes, but also for treating accessories for small children and food (vegetables, fruits).
The more fatty acids in the soap (the indicator is indicated as a percentage on the bar), the faster it will be possible to clean dirty dishes. High-quality laundry soap is a brown bar, without cracks, sticky traces , with a characteristic specific odor (without extraneous “aromas” of rancid oil or fish).
Degtyarny
Tar soap, like laundry soap, contains a large amount of fatty acids and alkali. Birch tar gives it special bactericidal and antiseptic properties. Tar soap helps quickly restore shine and shine to dishes.
The completely natural composition gives confidence in the safety of using this detergent. Even if a small amount of soap solution remains on the dishes, it will not cause any harm to the body.
The only reason why many people refuse to use tar soap for washing dishes is the specific smell. But this problem can be successfully solved by repeated rinsing under running water.
For children
Baby soap consists of 80% saponified fatty acids, which explains its excellent cleaning properties . The natural composition, minimal amount of fragrances and dyes allow you to use baby soap for daily treatment of children's accessories and dishes.
The only negative is that in cold tap water, baby soap practically does not foam, does not dissolve fat well, and is not completely washed off (leaves whitish stains on the surface).
Liquid
Liquid hand soap contains a sufficient amount of antibacterial and antifungal components that can disinfect the surfaces of kitchen utensils.
In addition, the plant components in this product help keep the skin of your hands soft and velvety .
But even with such positive properties, liquid soap should not be used for washing dishes. The thing is that this product contains many chemical non-food components (fragrances, dyes), which, even with very thorough rinsing, remain on the surface of the dishes, and later enter the body along with food.
Toilet (for hands)
Bar hand soap can be a relatively safe dishwashing product, provided that it contains a minimum amount of fragrances and dyes.
The disadvantage is that it is not able to break down large amounts of fat (dirty frying pans, pots and baking trays will remain dirty).
Special
Special soap is a detergent that contains medicinal and disinfecting components. Special or medical soap, as it is also called (vaseline, lanolin, carbolic), cannot be used for washing dishes, since it is not completely washed off from surfaces and, if ingested, can cause poisoning and diarrhea.
How to replace dishwashing detergent
How to wash dishes without detergent? You can not only replace the gel with some improvised composition, but also make it yourself. There are simple and cheap recipes for “homemade” gels.
Recipe 1
To prepare this product you will need a number of ingredients, namely:
- ¼ bar of laundry soap;
- medical alcohol (50–60 ml);
- alcohol infusion of calendula (15–20 ml);
- glycerin (20–30 ml);
- essential oil (a few drops if desired to flavor the product);
- water (500 ml).
Grate the soap and melt in a water bath, stirring constantly. If foam appears on the surface, remove it with a spoon. Then remove the container from the heat, add the remaining ingredients and cool naturally. As the liquid solution cools, it will thicken.
In a similar way, prepare a cleanser based on laundry soap (1/4 bar), 20 ml of glycerin and the same amount of vodka.
Recipe 2
This remedy is prepared in a matter of minutes. Take 100 grams of baking soda and add hydrogen peroxide to form a paste. This product will not only help you easily wash away grease, but will also disinfect surfaces.
Recipe 3
To prepare the detergent, you need the following ingredients:
- alkaline soap (1 bar);
- soda (1 tablespoon);
- hot water.
Mix grated soap with baking soda and dilute with hot water until you obtain a gel-like mass. Let the product cool and pour into a container with a dispenser. If the smell of homemade gel does not seem too pleasant to you, add a couple of teaspoons of table vinegar.
How to use?
There is nothing easier than washing dishes with soap:
- Use a paper napkin to remove food debris and greasy deposits from the surface of dirty dishes (do not clog the sewer drains with grease).
- A deep basin is filled with hot water (alternatively, you can fill a kitchen sink with water, the drain of which is previously closed with a stopper).
- Dirty dishes are immersed in water. It is better to wash kitchen utensils in batches, starting with glasses and cups and ending with pots and pans covered in grease.
- Lather a soft sponge with soap (until foam forms).
- Wipe dirty dishes soaked in water with a soapy sponge, and then rinse them under running water.
Baking soda will help soften hard tap water, thereby increasing the cleaning properties of the soap solution (it is enough to dissolve 2-3 tablespoons of powder in ten liters of warm water).
Examination
To make sure the product is effective, let’s wash the dishes. Let's choose a more difficult task - a frying pan with congealed fat after cooking the cutlets. Let's see what the result will be.
Wet the sponge with the solution and process as usual. It lathers and foams wonderfully, and the smell of ammonia is almost inaudible. Wash off with water. What's the result? Everything has been washed, the surface of the pan is clean, there are no grease residues.
Ideal as a substitute for household chemicals. Cheap, safe for health and will last a long time.
Found a violation? Report content
How to do it yourself?
It’s possible to make dishwashing soap (in no way inferior in quality to store-bought products) with your own hands.
Algorithm of actions:
Rub 100 grams of soap (better than laundry soap), mix 6 tbsp. hot water. The shavings are stirred until completely dissolved (the process can be accelerated by slowly whisking the soap solution with a mixer).- The resulting gel is divided into three parts. Add 1 tbsp to one. dry mustard, in another - 2 tbsp. coffee grounds, in the third - 1 tbsp. castor oil.
- Each mass is poured into the prepared mold in layers. In the process of forming the bar, it is important to wait until one layer dries, and only after that pour out the next one (for better adhesion of the two masses, the dried surface is coated with alcohol).
The solidified block is removed and left to dry (about seven days) in a dark, dry place.
Subtle aromas
When everything in the kitchen is upside down, there is bustle and confusion everywhere, you need to manage to do a lot of things at the same time, the aromas of kitchen soap help create coziness and fill the room with calm. It could be explosive tropical fruits, the harmony of spring primroses, tart coffee beans, fresh green tea, juicy apple or soothing lavender.
You could even say that subtle scents can create an atmospheric mood, especially when you spent the whole day at the stove waiting for guests or loved ones.
@takprosto.cc
How to choose?
The main criterion by which you should choose dishwashing soap is its composition. Even repeated rinsing does not fully guarantee that no detergent particles will remain on clean dishes.
Therefore, it is very important that the composition includes only natural ingredients (a large number of flavors, dyes and fragrances is a reason to refuse the purchase).
The second criterion is smell . The soap should not have a strong smell. A strong chemical or strong perfumed aroma is also a reason to refuse a purchase.
The third criterion is color. Soaps with bright, saturated colors are not suitable for cleaning dishes (chemical dyes leave a colored film on surfaces). The exception is laundry and tar soap, whose rich brown tint is explained by the presence of a large number of natural ingredients.
How to wash children's dishes
Do not use chemicals to wash children's dishes. What to do if you don’t have a special gentle product at home designed for washing baby’s plates, bottles and mugs?
No matter how many products the modern market offers, the most effective way to clean and disinfect children's dishes is still boiling, soda and laundry soap.
TOP 3 best products
When choosing dish soap, you should pay attention to the following products:
Tavinka Mustard
Tavinka “Mustard” dishwashing soap is an environmentally friendly product, hand-brewed . Castor and olive oil, citric acid, mustard powder and sodium salts of fatty acids wash away any dirt in cold water without leaving any residue.
Soap has an antibacterial effect. After use it does not leave streaks on glassware. Allowed for processing children's dishes, washing vegetables and fruits. The average cost is 330 rubles. (set of two bars). Read reviews here.
Bereginya
Bereginya laundry and dishwashing soap consists exclusively of natural ingredients that ensure the safety of using the product. Salt, soda and mustard quickly dissolve fat and remove stubborn dirt.
Lemon essential oil disinfects surfaces and eliminates unpleasant odors. Castor and grape oils care for the delicate skin of your hands. Soap is an organic product, completely decomposes, and does not pollute the environment. The average cost is 175 rubles. (for 1 piece). Read reviews here.
Pure coconut Mi&Ko
Mi&Ko “Pure Coconut” laundry soap is one of the best natural dishwashing detergents. The soap foams well, removing grease, food debris and other contaminants from the surface of plates, spoons, cups and pots without leaving any residue.
The absence of dyes, fragrances and other synthetic components protects the delicate skin of the hands from irritation even during prolonged contact with a soap solution . The soap is washed off without residue and does not leave streaks on glass surfaces.
The average cost is 110 rubles. (for 1 piece). Read reviews here and here.
You need to smell the soap before purchasing. A sharp, unpleasant odor indicates low quality of the product.
Adviсe
The method of boiling with soap will help to wash off thick greasy layers from pots and pans . The shavings of half a bar of soap are dissolved in ten liters of water.
Dip very dirty dishes into the soap solution and boil them for thirty minutes. After this procedure, dense layers of fat and soot will easily come off the surface of pots and pans under the pressure of running water.
You should not buy white or light brown laundry soap for dishes. This product is enriched with a variety of chemical additives (for example, bleach) that are hazardous to human health.
Laundry soap dries out the skin very much. Rubber gloves will help protect your hands from irritation and peeling .
Disadvantages of laundry soap
Soap contains substances that do not dissolve in water. Since they are natural, they do not pose a danger to the body, but they leave unsightly whitish stains on the dishes. This side effect can be avoided if you use a large amount of warm running water to rinse off the foam.
Like many synthetic products, soap has an adverse effect on the skin of your hands. After washing dishes there is a feeling of dryness. The solution to the problem is simple - use rubber gloves or apply nourishing cream to your hands.
Use rubber gloves to protect your hands
The main disadvantage of laundry soap is that it does not foam well in hard water. This and other problems can be solved by preparing a gel from laundry soap.
