Dawn Dish Soap - It's Not Just For Dishes!

I'm sure you've heard people rave about Dawn dish soap. It has been recognized as one of the best at removing grease "takes a bite out of grease" and other stains or messes. Well, did you know that there are many other uses for this great dish soap? Here's a few:

1. Clean up your pet. As per their website, Dawn dish soap has helped clean up the wildlife after oil spills. They claim that since using Dawn to assist in the clean up, the success rate has soared from 3% to 90%. That's quite impressive! Along that line, I'm sure it wasn't too long ago that your dog rolled into some unknown mess. WHY do they do that? Put a few drops of Dawn onto the matted area of fur and bathe normally. If you want more info on how Dawn is helping marine life and what you can do too, visit http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/savingwildlife/home.do . Then head over to their main website and print out a few coupons so you can snatch up some of this stuff on the cheap!

2. Use Dawn to help kill fleas. Although this fact is not "proven", many vets have recommended Dawn to assist in keeping your pets flea-free. Wash pet's bedding, collars, etc in a solution of Dawn and water. You've already bathed him in it, might as well finish the package!

3. Treat oily hair. A couple of drops in your hair about once a month instead of shampoo helps clean out the buildup and oil.

4. Get conditioned cuticles. Soak your fingertips in a Dawn/water sudsy solution and watch your cuticles soften. Use your cuticle tool or your other fingernails to then gently push the cuticles downward to prevent splitting.

5. Laundry Pretreater. We all know Dawn removes grease, right? Well most of the stains we get on our clothing are grease or oil based. Remember the "spaghetti incident"? As soon as possible, put a few drops of Dawn on the stain and let sit for a few minutes. Use a small brush to help if needed. Drop into the laundry and wash as usual.

6. Degrease your tools. Soak your tools (kitchen, garage, any really) in some Dawn and water. This will help remove any ugly grease stains and keep them looking nice and new! Obviously, with all metal tools, you want to make sure you dry them thoroughly to prevent rusting.

7. Keep your windows clean. Wash your windows in diluted Dawn instead of buying separate window cleaner. Removes the grease (especially from outside) and doesn't streak like window cleaner.

8. Make your own foaming hand soap. Instead of buying more of that foamy hand soap, fill the empty container with just enough Dawn to coat the bottom about 1/4 of an inch. Fill the bottle SLOWLY with water. Test. You need just the right amount. Too much, no foam. Too little, runny. Experiment till you get it right. Way cheaper than buying foaming soaps!

9. Make your own jewelry cleaner. This is my favorite and I use it all the time! Here's the recipe:

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon Dawn dish soap

1 cup water

A. Heat water in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes.
B. Pour hot water into bowl. Place salt, soda, and dishwashing liquid into bowl. Place jewelry in bowl and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse jewelry in cool water and dry jewelry completely with soft cloth. Discard solution after use and make a new batch next time.

C. You can place a cut piece of tin foil on the bottom of the bowl to make removing the jewelry easier if you wish. You may want to wear rubber gloves, the solution is quite drying.

D. I threw out my store bought jewelry cleaner, but kept the basket and brush. I use those along with this solution now. Here's my results:

So, I highly suggest you go and check your kitchen cupboards to see if you have any Dawn dish soap around. If not, pop over to http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/home.do , print out some coupons and head out to which ever store is having a sale on Dawn :)