What Happens If You Mix Dawn Dish Soap With Olive Oil?

Dawn dish soap has earned a reputation as a powerful grease fighter, so adding olive oil to it might sound like a slippery slope to accomplishing nothing. Surprisingly, though, these opposing ingredients can actually work together when they're incorporated into a water-based cleaning mixture. Normally, as the saying goes, water and oil don't mix. However, Dawn dish soap can help break the oil into tiny droplets and disperse them throughout the water, allowing the ingredients to temporarily blend into what's known as an emulsion.

When working with an emulsion of Dawn dish soap and olive oil, the dish soap helps distribute a small amount of oil throughout a larger water-based mixture. While there are plenty of surprising uses for dish soap beyond washing dishes, combining it with olive oil can be especially useful for a homemade dusting spray. The slight stickiness of the oil helps grab dust rather than releasing it into the air, which can do wonders when it comes to improving your home's air quality. Of course, even the best dusting routine can't eliminate every particle floating around your home, so it's still important to keep household dust under control with regular cleaning.

To create an effective emulsion of Dawn dish soap and olive oil, proportions are crucial, as adding too much oil can cause the mixture to separate rather than remaining evenly dispersed throughout the solution. Recipes should generally use plenty of water, a relatively small amount of olive oil, and only a tiny quantity of dish soap. For a simple version, try combining 1 cup of warm water, 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and ¼ teaspoon of Dawn dish soap in a clean spray bottle. Shake the bottle before each use to redistribute the ingredients. You can use this emulsion to dust a variety of surfaces in your home, including stainless steel appliances.

The olive oil and dish soap combination can also come in handy for your beauty routine: Instead of buying a dedicated cleaner for your makeup brushes, you can mix two parts dish soap with one part olive oil in a small bowl and use the mixture to clean the brushes.

However, avoid using it on glass or screens, as it will leave streaks behind and potentially cause damage. Instead, stick with a plain microfiber cloth and a specialty commercial cleaner for stubborn buildup. Also, rather than spraying it directly onto furniture, lightly mist a microfiber cloth and use the dampened cloth to wipe away dust. Lastly, when in doubt, always test a small inconspicuous area before use.