Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap and vinegar can clean an entire house. They are effective, versatile, biodegradable and non-toxic. But the sole point of this post is to emphasize that these two should not be mixed directly. This is true for the Castile Soap and any acid – any vinegar or lemon juice.
Since there have been several recommendations in online recipes and on TV to mix these two together, I want to address this topic. It’s not a dangerous combination, but it’s definitely moving in the wrong direction as far as getting things clean.
Here’s why.
In great part it’s due to the fact that vinegar is an acid and the Castile Soap is a base. They will directly react with each other and cancel each other out. So, instead of getting the best of both (the scum cutting ability of the vinegar and the dirt transporting ability of the soap), you’ll be getting the worst of something entirely new. The vinegar “unsaponifies” the soap, by which I mean that the vinegar takes the soap and reduces it back out to its original oils. So you end up with an oily, curdled, whitish mess. And this would be all over whatever it was you were trying to clean – your laundry or counters or dishes or whatever.
Check out this zoomed in picture of Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Castile Soap mixed directly with distilled white vinegar:
It doesn’t matter what else is in the solution, or in what order you combine them. If you end up with the soap and the vinegar in the same container, this reaction will occur. The only exception to this is if you buffer the soap with baking soda, which is another alkali. You’ll see this in my recipe for GIY Soft Scrub. In this case, vinegar reacts more readily with baking soda, and that reaction will take place first. For the Soft Scrub, it serves the purpose of creating that lovely, vertical clinging foam. If there is still unreacted vinegar, it will then react with the soap, which is why the ratios are important to maintain.
The mom in me has to point out that if you have kids who wonder about the purpose of science class in “the real world,” you can show them this little reaction. Of course, drinking milk and orange juice at the same time will also point out why you should know your acids from your bases.
So, for cleaning, there is a better way. Use the soap to clean and the vinegar as a rinse agent.
One common complaint with using the Castile Soap, especially on hard or shiny surfaces is that it leaves a film behind. This film is caused by the soap reacting with minerals in the water. It is not actually soap itself left behind, but rather certain salts. When this builds up on sinks and tubs, we call this soap scum. Vinegar is a great way to cut this. So after you’ve handwashed your dishes with Castile Soap and rinsed them, dip them in a sink of vinegar water. Or after you’ve wiped down the sinks and tubs with soapy water, rinse, and then spray with a vinegar solution (about 1 cup vinegar/quart water).
I’ll give more time to windows later (one of the things I actually really enjoy cleaning), but briefly, for dirty exterior windows, spray them with my Castile Soap solution, wipe them with a chamois, then spray them with vinegar and squeegee. Works great! Better than Windex.
Also, on the hair, if you do not have our Citrus Hair Rinse, but just want to use vinegar or lemon juice, rinse the soap out of your hair first. Then apply the vinegar or lemon juice.
So Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap and vinegar are a fabulous one, two punch. One after the other. Not at the same time.
Help! I did what I wasn’t supposed to do and mixed Castile Soap and vinegar. How do I clean it up?
The best way to remedy this is to re-wash the surface with the recommended dilution of Sal Suds or Castile Soap (If handy, Sal Suds is slightly better at grabbing the oils). In the case of laundry, wash the load with the recommended amount of Sal Suds or Castile, and with an added 1/2 (120 mL) cup baking soda (¼ cup [60 mL] in HE) and a pre-soak or pre-wash cycle.
As a sidenote: As a synthetic detergent, Sal Suds has a completely different chemical makeup than a true soap such as Castile Soap. While vinegar doesn’t cause it to unsaponify, adding even a small amount of vinegar to Sal Suds significantly reduces its cleaning and degreasing power.
Further reading
- What Can You Mix with Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds?
- What Can You Mix with Castile Soap?
- Sal Suds Dilution Cheat Sheet
- Dilutions Cheat Sheet for Dr. Bronner’s Liquid Castile Soap
This use and many more are in my book, Soap & Soul: A Practical Guide to Minding Your Home, Your Body, and Your Spirit with Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, available now in hardback on DrBronner.com or at your favorite bookseller, and as an eBook and audiobook (read by me!) from wherever you download or listen.
Hello! Can I mix together Castile soap and Aloe Vera juice instead of water? Is aloe vera juice acid?
Hi Lisa,
I found a Aloe Vera Shampoo recipe online that calls for liquid castile soap http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Aloe-Vera-Shampoo, so I bought a bottle of Dr. bronner’s unscented baby mild soap for the recipe. I’m glad that I found this website before I make it because someone here said it has pH 10 and will damage my hair unless I use vinegar as conditioner after I shampoo my hair. My question is, since I’ll mix liquid castile soap with aloe vera, do I still need to use vinegar afterward? Originally, I was planning to use my regular conditioner (being lazy and feeling weird about vinegar) but now it seems like I can’t use castile soap without it…If I must use vinegar, do all vinegar at grocery store work the same? Thank you! 🙂
. You can clean everything except your hair (it will damage your hair, because the hair requires acid conditions). Washing it with vinegar is good however. Do all shampoos with it. You will have to mix the vinegar with a synthetic an
This is a very interesting, but perplexing topic, but I must say I have learned a lot. Being of a scientific mind, I am now wondering since vinegar, which is an acidic product curled the castile soap, how is it that the citric acid mentioned on the ingredient list of the Castile soap can be put into the soap without doing the same thing? This is an amazing topic!
Hi Lisa – First of all, I know this is a very old post, so THANK YOU for taking the time to answer so many questions! Your article and the questions/answers have been very informative.
Now to my question – for years I’ve been using this recipe as my all-purpose cleaner:
2 c. distilled water
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 tsp. castile soap
3/4 c. hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
30 drops lavender essential oil
It seems to work very well, and it doesn’t leave streaks/film.
BUT after reading your article and comments, I’m wondering if I could improve this recipe. Should I cut out the vinegar or the castile soap? If I cut out the vinegar, would I need to rinse the surfaces I’ve cleaned? I prefer to have a cleaner that I can just spray on, wipe off, and be done (no rinsing). Help?
Thanks in advance. 🙂
HI Lisa!
I read about recipes using honey, castile soap and glycerine as a face cleanser. It sounds like a good idea, but I was wondering, wouldn’t the honey react with the castile soap since it has an acidic ph(although not as much as lemon juice or vinegar)?
I was also wondering about adding oil to the mix, would that make the soap react and “unsaponify” it?
Thank you!
Hi Krissy – This is exactly how I do it. The soap is predominantly rinsed out by this point, and the vinegar helps with any mineral deposits left by hard water.
Hi Blanca – I’m sorry, but nope. We are still working on a dishwasher formulation. I’ll definitely post about it when we have one.
All the best,
Lisa
I scanned thru all post so no way to use in your dishwasher ? I have sal suds and Hand wash
Hi, what if I use castile soap as a main ingredient in my clothes washer and vinegar in the softner spot?
Hi Stephanie _ yes, the vinegar is not helping you here at all. It is reacting with some of that 1/4 c. of soap. While there would still be leftover soap with which to clean, you are definitely decreasing the cleaning power of your solution. Replacing with water is a good idea.
Hi Lorna – With stubborn build-up, especially if it has been there a while, you may need to scrub with a little bit of baking soda as a scouring agent. I’d sprinkle it on your scrub brush and scrub away. If you towel dry your dishes and your sink in the future, you will greatly decrease the amount of build-up.
Hi P Smith – Short answer, you throw up. I still remember doing this, shortly after my mom told me not to, of course. I don’t think we have plans for a berry scented soap, but every new soap starts with someone’s suggestion, so I will be sure to pass yours along to my brothers.
All the best,
Lisa
What Does happen if you drink milk and orange juice at the same time? [i didn’t learn about acids and bases in school]Also, any plans for a berry scented soap? Thanks!
Hello, I have been using the castile soap for washing dishes. I noticed the film on my sink and dishes and wasn’t sure what was going on. Finally I stumbled upon your blog, but now since time has passed I seem to have a build up of the “soap scum” and the vinegar does not seem to take it off. Any advice?
What a great thread, so informative. I recently used a recipe for cleaning the bathroom with 3/4 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup Dr. Bronner’s castile soap, 1TBS vinegar, 1TBS water and 8-10 drops essential oil. Will this 1TBS vinegar counteract the cleaning with the above solution? Would it be best to just use 2TBS water?
Thanks
Please only use foaming pump dispensers. Even diluted in a regular dispenser, the soap will eventually dry inside the pump and cause the rest of the soap to shoot out in unexpected directions.
Lisa
Oh my! Clearly I have not been paying attention to this comment string. I very much apologize for my delayed responses here. I’m glad this post is helpful to so many. Now for the questions:
Aaraena – If you put vinegar in the rinse compartment, it will not mix with the soap. However, in general, the soaps don’t seem to do well in dishwashers. How is it working out for you?
Amanda – You can check the effectiveness of your recipe by handwashing a greasy dish with it and seeing how it does. I don’t think that heating the recipe would change this reaction, but perhaps there is something I don’t know about it here.
Lisa – I would love to hear how this turned out.
Samantha – Distilled water does not have minerals in it, so there would be nothing to react with the soap and would produce no residue. You would not have soap scum with it. Use it at the same ratios, with 1/4 c. castile soap in a quart of water, in a spray bottle.
Gina – No, Sal Suds is a detergent and does not react in the same way as the castile soap with vinegar. You can mix those two. In general, Sal Suds is more clean rinsing than the castile soap, so if you have a shiny surface, you’ll want to go for the Sal Suds. The Suds are also slightly more effective at tackling tough stains. And because Sal Suds does not react with hard water, it is better for outdoor applications. You also need less Sal Suds per use, so it is a better cost ratio. The advantages of the castile soap are that it is made with organic oils, leaves a great scent, and kills and deters bugs (good for ant-prone areas).
Monique – I tested the alcohol/castile combination and these two did not react. The soap on its own is a disinfectant, though.
Carolina – Thank you for the link! You have a great article there.
Casey – The castile soap alone is a disinfectant (technically, that means it kills 99% of germs, as opposed to “antibacterial” which kills 99.9% of germs). If you’d like to up the 99%, though, you can make a solution adding pure essential tea tree oil, which is a natural antibacterial. Be careful with this oil, though, since undiluted it can burn. For dishes, perhaps a quart bottle with 1 c. of castile soap and 1 tsp. of tea tree oil.
John – Nope, not dangerous. Just slimy.
Sandy & Toby – Borax is toxic to the skin and if inhaled (check the warning label on the box). It is often used in natural recipes because it is not a petroleum byproduct, it is sustainably sourced, and it is biodegradable. however, you still have to wear gloves in using it and be careful not to breathe it. Little ones should not be near it. In your recipe, both washing soda and borax are really strong agents. Washing soda is a good occasional use thing to whiten a really dirty “white” load, but in using it every time, you’re probably going to wear down your clothes.
Storm – There are definitely a ton of recipes. I know I’ve come down against most of them. When I use the castile soap, I add 1/3 c. to a large load in a top-loading washer, along with 1/2 c. of baking soda. Then I add 1/2 c. vinegar to the rinse compartment of the machine. This works very well.
Gysselle – Lemon juice will react with the castile soap just like vinegar does, whether it’s on your hair or around the house. Also, castile soap, or any alkaline product, will remove the color from your hair. You’ll need an acidic shampoo for that.
Katie – Sal Suds and vinegar does not have the same reaction as castile soap and vinegar. Babysit your dishwasher, though, to make sure suds aren’t seeping out the sides.
Corrie – The soap can definitely react with the minerals in hard water to create the scum you are seeing in your drain. However, it is unlikely that it would be building in volume so much as to clog a drain. I have the long hair/castile soap combo thing going on in my house as well and occasionally we’ve had to unclog the drain, but the culprit is always hair without any visible build up of soap scum on it. It’s possible that the coconut oil, though, is catching with the hair and causing a build up. The best option is to unscrew the drain and pull out whatever is in there. I know that’s super icky, but it will definitely work.
Denise- Thank you for the clarification!
JoAnn – I realize your question was a long time ago, but in case others are wondering – Nope. There’s nothing useful that can be done with that curdled mess. It wouldn’t kill bugs as the castile soap is gone.
Lindsey – They don’t work in pumps because the soap solidifies in the apparatus. Before it clogs the pump completely, it often partially blocks the pump and causes soap to shoot up and out, often into people’s eyes. We highly recommend against it.
Heather – You would probably run into the same scenario by adding the citric acid. you’ll notice that there is citric acid already in the soap, but this is added on a batch by batch basis to monitor and lower the pH of the soap. Too much will undo everything.
Andrea – if the purpose of the soap was to make the mixture stick, I imagine that it would still work. You could also use Sal Suds (which is a detergent) and pure peppermint essential oil.
Ann – When using the castile soap in the laundry, use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of soap per large load. However, because the soap can react with minerals in water, you should also add vinegar to the second rinse cycle. This cuts the residue, which caused your stiffness.
Priscilla – You might have taken this step but didn’t mention it – did you rinse the soap off the dishes before spritzing them with the vinegar? If so, it is possible that with particularly hard water and shiny surfaces as are on dishes, the mineral residue is still going to show up. Be sure to hand dry your dishes to help combat this.
Lindsay – Hmm. I haven’t heard this one. If the soap is old (over 3 years) the smell can start to turn. The essential oil’s breaking down is what determines our products’ shelf life. This can be hastened by extreme heat as well. Another possibility is that if it’s super diluted and has been sitting in a nice, warm spot, the solution might have turned as well. Generally, when things don’t smell like they should, there’s something up. If you believe the smell is off, and if it is earlier than you feel that should happen, take the soap back to where you bought it and exchange it.
Mary – What you are noticing is the reaction of the soap with the minerals in the water. This is inevitable with hard water and takes regular scrubbing to keep at bay. In this case, vinegar is actually the solution. You’re not dealing with the soap, but rather with mineral deposits. Vinegar cuts these. Check out a post I wrote on that exact topic here: http://lisa.drbronner.com/?p=343.
Danny – Soap is a surfactant (reducing the surface tension of water, making it more penetrating), but it would still react with the vinegar in the way I’ve described above, so whatever benefit you were achieving from the vinegar on the weeds, and whatever you hoped to achieve by adding the soap, you’ll really get neither.
I’m glad this is helping so many!
All the best,
Lisa
Lisa,
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! May God bless you and your endeavors.
<
Hi Lisa,
I use vinegar for organic weed control in my garden. I recently came across a video posted by one of the organic “gurus” (at least in my part of the country) and he uses Dr. Bronner’s castile soap mixed with his vinegar as a surfactant.
Would the chemical reaction between the two render this concoction useless as a weed killer or is this just a concern when discussing house cleaning and left over residues, etc.?
Thanks!!
I have been using dr bronners pure castile soap liquid as a dish soap as well as a hand soap in my bathroom. Since doing this I have noticed my sinks to be super greasy. Also, my kitchen sink keeps clogging and my pipes are building up with greasy residue. I don’t mix anything with the soap but it is still greasy even without vinegar. I am afraid that pouring vinegar down the drain to clean the residue off the pipes will make matters worse. Any suggestions?
Hi there,
We noticed that our lavender Dr. Bronners soap suddenly smells like onions! We added a bit of water to it in the original container aabout a month ago. I’m wondering if the vinegar I use to spray down the shower somehow got into the soap pump. Would that cause it to smell like onions??
Hi Lisa
I’ve gone green changing all chemical cleaners to natural ones starting with soap nuts for my laundry.
I tried using soap nuts for dishwashing but it couldnt cut the grease.
I recently tried your recipe for hand dishwashing detergent with 1 part of Castile Liquid Soap to 1 part of tap water.
This time, the dishes felt ‘oily’ after washing. Evening spritzing vinegar and rinsing after with water didnt help.
Can you tell me what’s the problem here?
Thanks
Priscilla
Thank you for your posts about Dr. Bronner’s. Dr. Bronner’s 18 in 1 Hemp castile soap – Peppermint is listed as tops for purity for laundry soap. How much should be added to a full load of wash? I tried using it on a small load with two capfuls of Bronners. When the clothes were dry, they were stiff, especially the socks.
Thank you.
Thank you for this post! We’ve gone non-toxic around here and are so grateful for your trusted products. I made a liquid dish soap that called for castile and vinegar and wasn’t awfully disappointed but wasn’t impressed. We have high mineral in our water (calcium and magnesium)so it’s on everything.
Now I know how to adjust the washing liquid! 🙂 If you have thing else to add I would welcome your input. Thanks again, Shannon
Sorry should have said in the above comment that the main ingredient in our home brew fly spray is white vinegar!
I noticed the “curdling” when I added Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint soap to the home brew we use on our shelter horses to keep flies away. The original recipe called for detergent (it helps the mixture stick to their coats) so I substituted Peppermint oil soap – figuring the peppermint would enhance the action of repelling flies and mosquitoes. But, after a day or two in the spray bottle, I noticed the “curdling effect” had dissipated -and I use the concoction successfully (other components are cloves and citronella oil or vegetable oil)
Thank you for sharing!
Hello! I make laundry soap with Dr Bronner’s and I add citric acid as a colour brightener and water softener. Is this a bad mix? Thank you!
thanks, great article!
Thank you for clarifying this. I didn’t think that looked like a good idea.
Oh my. You know, I had wondered about the acid and baking soda cancelling each other out in my recipe. But figured it must be alright since so many sites show this combo with the liquid castile, soda, and vinegar. I just made a huge batch for laundry detergent. 🙁 Ugh. Thank you for the information though. I appreciate it so much!
Ha – I always tell people that high school chemistry is not useless. Maybe now they’ll believe me. (I’ve always rejected recipes that mix vinegar & castile soap because it didn’t make sense based on what I remembered from high school chemistry.) 🙂
Is there some reason DB castile can’t be put in a standard pump bottle? I was going to get pump bottles to put in my bathrooms as hand wash.
Thanks!
Its very concentrated so putting in the pump straight, without any water, will cause you to use way too much. And it’s $10 a bottle. Try adding water and a teaspoon of vegetable glycerin
Hi there,
So I found this blog in hindsight of “Wow, why does my dish soap look & stick like watered down milk? I should research this” Ok, so I made the vinegar mistake without even thinking. My question now, is there a way to fix this or repurpose the “soap”? I was thinking to kill pests on plants but I don’t want to clog my sprayer either.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Great post! However milk curdling with orange juice isn’t an acid-base reaction- it’s the affect of the acid in the OJ denaturing the proteins in the milk.
Hi Dr. Bronner Experts!!
My daughter recently began using the Rose Dr. Bronner’s soap. She also uses a very small amount of coconut oil on her skin before getting out of the shower. Every night after she showers I go in and remove all her long hairs from the tub to prevent the horrible bath tub drain plug. However, I’ve noticed since using the castille soap it doesn’t seem to matter. The tub still plugs something fierce. In the past I would use baking soda and vinegar or even just baking soda and some boiling water poured down the drain to fix the plug but this time nothing is working. On the same topic I’ve noticed a huge bunch of the castille soap “scum” in my kitchen sink drain and I’ve tried numerous things to get rid of it. I can always scrape it on the surface but I can’t do that in the drain. Do you have any ideas or even web sites that would help me be able to clean out my drains from any of the residue left over? I have a feeling some of my daughter’s long hairs made their way down the drain and then started collecting the “scum”. Any help would be appreciated and I apologize profusely for my long winded comment/questions. Thank you!!!!
I just wanted to say thank you! I googled why you can’t mix sal suds with vinegar which I read after I made a dishwasher detergent for the first time and your clarification sure made my day:)
Yes! I too am curious about your comment on the toxicity of Borax.. I too use it religiously with homemade laundry soap. Please explain!
Borax is toxic to the reproductive system. Since I am beyond that I use borax in everything. If you are reproductively active I would not use borax.
Hi Lisa,
I happened to stumble upon your blog when i was searching for information about castile soap. I am trying to make an all natural shampoo for my very damaged hair, but one of the ingredients is lemon juice.. so will this not mix well at all? or was your post only about cleaning products for around the house? Also i would like to know if using castile soap is okay for colored hair?
Hello, let me start by saying that I am so very confused right now. I want to start making homemade whitening laundry detergent, but there are SO many recipes out there. Most call for borax, washing powder and either castile soap or fels-naptha. I won’t use the latter because of the chemicals in it (trying to get away from all that stuff), but I’ve read that castile tends to leave residue behind when used on things like showers. Would it leave a residue on clothes as well? Thanks. BTW, very helpful blog, thank you!
Hello!
I read in the comments that you didn’t like borax due to its toxicity…I have been using a homemade laundry detergent recipe because I thought it would be the least toxic option for our newborn’s clothes…Can you please provide any feedback?
Thank you!
RECIPE:
1 bar of castille soap – grated fine
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
Use 1 tsp in load.
So this is dangerous? should we call 911 if they get mixed together?
Hi, I’ve recently developed very severe skin allergies towards all commercial soaps in the last couple years. I was looking for a recipe for natural dish soap for handwashing dishes and I came across this, luckily before I tried the Castile/vinegar combo. What recipe do you recommend for killing germs on dishes? I would like to stick with the Castile soap and avoid Sal Suds if possible because my skin is extremely sensitive to detergents. Do I just mix the soap with water? Would that kill germs from raw chicken or do I need to add something else too?
Thanks!
Hi Lisa–this article was the one that kept me coming back for more! Love your site. I hope you don’t mind I referred and linked to it in my article. http://lifeimproved.org/2013/03/16/the-solution-to-my-solution/.
I’m very glad I ran into this site. I am just getting on board with making my own dish liquid. This information will definitely be of help. I have found several recipes that do not call for vinegar or lemon juice. Thank you Miss Lisa.
I just wanted to mention something that maybe a lot of people don’t know. I mix the bronner’s with vinegar and baking wash and distilled water to make a dish detergent. I use apple cider vinegar with the mother and I have never had a reaction. But what I did find out about white vinegar is its not natural anymore. It is made from petroleum. If you look on the bottle and it only says 5% acidic, yup petroleum. But if it says made from grain then it is derived from corn. So that is why I do not use white vinegar anymore.
Have you tested the alcohol/castile mix yet? Very curious as I’d like a sufactant+disinfectant too…but have to ditch my old water-vinegar-soap-essential oil combo!
Does this logic also apply with sal suds? do they leave anything behind or not because it isn’t really soap? I’m new to all this and trying to learn.
I’m also wondering when to use Castille vs Sall suds?
Thanks and so glad I came across this website. I love it!
I have hard water where I live, but Ive read that distilled water prevents that gritty salt feeling that can be left behind when castile soap mixes with hard water. Is that true? And if so what ratios would be best for cleaning bathrooms and mopping?
Hello,
I’ve been reading all the posts about making dish washing liquid. I too mixed the Castile soap with vinegar before I read all of the posts not to do so. I had spots and an oily film on all of my dishes. I just found online a suggestion about mixing a teaspoon of Castile soap with a teaspoon of baking soda. I tried this and mixed a little water into it as well, just enough to make it pourable into the dishwashing dispenser. I also added some vinegar to the rinse cycle. I’m currently re-washing this load of dishes to see if it works. I understand the concern about the Castile soap in the dishwasher creating too many suds. So far there are no suds coming out of my dishwasher. The baking soda seems to have calmed the sudsing action, but when I tried to wash my hands with it I still got enough suds when rubbing my hands. I’m hoping this is the solution for the dishwasher. What do you think? I would also assume that this would be a good toothpaste combination, minus the vinegar.
Aaraena – Yes the vinegar goes into the jet-dry section. You just fill it up like you normally would do with jet-dry and it disperses it at the end (once the soap is gone.
The recipe I saw that mixed Dr. Bonners with vinegar and lemon juice you actually cooked on the stove. I have always heard that cooking changes chemical properties, would this help the problem of them canceling each other out? I was really hoping to use that recipe because our water is so hard that from time to time it will plug the rinse aid dispenser so having vinegar in the soap seems like a great help to me.
Hi,
I am using this in our dishwasher. How can I use vinegar for a rinsing step you suggest. Would I add vinegar to the same sectiont hat we add jet-dri into? Can i add that in a start the cycle? will the soap and vinegar mix in that case?
Appreciate your help.