7 Other Things You Can Do with Castile Soap (Dr. Bronner’s)

At this point in the environmentally-friendly, animal-friendly world, castile soap—that’s soap made with vegetable fats rather than animal fats—has become as regular as a high-fiber diet. Dr. Bronner’s has done tons to make castile soap the “it” soap to use, but there are many, many options out there.

Castile soap originates from the Castile region in Spain where local soap makers used the most abundant local fat, olive oil, to make fine soaps. This happened centuries ago. It has since found new life in the hunt for soaps that are biodegradable and plant-based. Nowadays, castile soap is made with all sorts of vegetable oils.

But, its usefulness doesn’t just stop in the shower or kitchen sink. Castile soap is extremely versatile and can do good work all around the home and garden. So, it’s time to start making the most of that huge bottle of liquid castile soap or even inexpensive bars of it.

1. DIY Laundry Detergent

Laundry detergent, particularly the all-natural good-for-the-planet type, has gotten more and more expensive. It seems like a good time to consider making it for much cheaper at home. The basic recipe only calls for three natural ingredients: castile soap, borax, and washing soda.

To make roughly a quart of DIY laundry detergent, mix a ¼ cup of borax, washing soda, and liquid castile soap. Add about 12-15 drops of (optional) essential oil for fragrance and 3 cups of distilled water.

Heat half the water and dissolve the borax and washing soda in it. Add room-temperature water and soap and allow it to cool for 10 minutes. Once cool, stir in the essential oil. Doing the laundry can be green and cheap!

2. Organic Garden Spray

Lots of people use castile soap to make organic pest control and fungicide sprays for the garden. Warning: These sprays can kill soft-bodied insects, so if that isn’t your bag, it might not be the solution for you.

That said, the simple recipe for this garden spray is a tablespoon of soap per quart of water. To avoid harming pollinators, it’s best to use this spray in the late evening when they are no longer active. Reapply every week or so until pest issues cease.

3. Household Ant Repellent

If ants are a problem in the house or threatening to be, a good castile soap spray can be worth a shot. The trick here is to use tea tree with it, either in tea tree castile soap or adding essential oil to the castile soap spray.

The recipe for this repellent is a quarter-cup of tea tree castile soap mixed into a quart of warm water. Put this in an old spray bottle (repurposing!) and apply it to areas where ants have been visiting.

4. Keep-It-Simple Shaving Cream

While the world of commerce may have convinced us that razors with more blades and special shaving creams are the only way to do it well, the truth is a soapy lather is just fine for shaving. Use your castile soap and get a good shave, wherever the shorn area may be.

5. Pet Shampoo

Castile soap is known for being gentle, so it can be subbed in for a pet shampoo (or a baby soap for that matter). It’s no big feat. Wet the dog’s coat, rub in the soap until there is a decent lather, and rinse it away.

6. Natural Window Cleaner

Store-bought, chemical window cleaners can have some hazardous ingredients that aren’t good for users or the environment. It’s no big problem, natural window cleaners are easy to make and work just as well.

Try a mixture of a tablespoon of liquid castile soap and a quart of water. This can be sprayed on liberally for a sponge clean. Then, it can be rinsed away with an equal mixture of water and vinegar afterward.

7. Homemade Degreaser/Cleaner

Chemical degreasers can contain some very harsh stuff that it’s bad to breathe and probably not so great to touch. And, we tend to spray it in places where we prepare food! That’s crazy. Castile soap can help to make an equally effective natural degreaser.

A tablespoon of soap, a couple of tablespoons of baking soda, a dozen or two drops of lemon essential oil, and two cups of water will get the job done very well. Put it in a spray bottle and spritz it right on the greasy mess.

In other words, castile soap is worth having around the house. Between it, baking soda, vinegar, and a few choice essential oils, keeping things natural without dangerous chemicals is totally doable and, as we’ve read, the recipes are as easy as they come.

Related Content:

• 12 Reasons and Ways to Use More Vinegar in Your Life
• 8 Creative Ways to Use Toilet Paper Rolls
• 15 Ways to Use Bananas That Isn’t Banana Bread
• Fun Things to Do with Leftover Pieces of Soap
• How to Clean Your Carpet Without Chemicals

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