How Easy Is It to Use Solid Dish Soap? Ridiculously Easy.

One of the first things we hear when talking about solid dish soap is:

“But I have a dishwasher.”

So do we!

Solid dish soap isn't about giving up your dishwasher and standing at the sink washing every plate you own. It's for all those things that still need to be washed by hand—because somehow, no matter how wonderful your dishwasher is, there's always something sitting next to the sink waiting for you.

Yep, You Still Need to Hand Wash Things

Think about what ends up in your sink on a normal week:

• Wooden cutting boards and wooden spoons
• Good kitchen knives
• Cast iron
• Delicate glassware and wine glasses
• Antique or hand-painted dishes and teacups
• Insulated tumblers and thermoses that aren't dishwasher-safe
• Oversized cookie sheets, pans, and cutting boards that simply don't fit
• Anything marked hand wash only

Wood in particular can warp, crack, or lose its finish after repeated exposure to the heat and moisture of a dishwasher. Sharp kitchen knives are also generally better cared for by handwashing, and delicate or sentimental glassware and China may be safer staying out of the dishwasher altogether.

And for insulated tumblers and thermoses, always check the manufacturer's care instructions. Some newer ones are dishwasher-safe, while others can be damaged by the heat of a dishwasher.

So yes—the dishwasher can absolutely do the heavy lifting.

But the sink isn't retiring anytime soon.

So...How Do You Use Solid Dish Soap?

This is the ridiculously easy part.

Wet your brush. Rub it on the soap. Wash your dishes. Rinse.

That's it.

Seriously.

You don't need to fill the sink with soapy water. You don't need to squeeze half a bottle of liquid soap onto a sponge. And you definitely don't need special solid-dish-soap skills.

Wet the bristles of your dish brush, palm brush, bottle brush, or sponge and rub it directly across the solid dish soap a few times. It will pick up the soap and create a lather as you wash.

Need more soap? Give it another swipe.  Need to soak a pan overnight?  Run water over the soap in the ramekin and dump the liquid in the pan/pot and fill with water.  Now you have another way to utilize the cleaner, non-plastic all-natural solid dish soap that Irogami Essentials makes. 

That's the entire learning curve.

A Cleaner Way to Clean

The solid dish soap itself is only one piece of what we love about this setup.

Instead of another plastic bottle sitting beside the sink, we pair our solid dish soap with simple, reusable tools made from materials such as bamboo, sisal, and hemp.

A bamboo dish brush or palm brush handles everyday dishes and pans. A bottle brush reaches down inside glasses, bottles, and tumblers. Hemp sponges give you another reusable option for scrubbing and washing.

And before you even reach for the soap, a bamboo pot and plate scraper can tackle stuck-on food from plates, baking sheets, pots, and pans. Scrape first, wash second—and let the soap and brush do the rest.

For counters, spills, and everyday kitchen messes, Swedish dishcloths can replace many of the paper towels we'd otherwise grab, use once, and toss.

It's not about throwing away everything in your kitchen tomorrow and declaring war on plastic.

It's about replacing disposable things as you need to replace them with options that can be used again and again.

Less waste. Less plastic. Fewer throwaway cleaning supplies.

And a sink setup that happens to look pretty darn cute, too.

The Secret to Making Your Solid Dish Soap Last

Here's the important part:

Let it dry.

After washing, don't leave your wet brush sitting in the ramekin with the soap.

Rinse your brush thoroughly, give it a good shake to remove excess water, and leave it bristle-side up to air dry.

If you're using a bottle brush, rinse it well, shake off the excess water, and allow it to dry where air can circulate around the bristles.

Your solid dish soap needs to dry between uses, too. If water has collected in the ramekin, pour it out rather than letting the soap sit in it.

A bar that stays wet will soften and disappear much faster. A bar that's allowed to dry properly between uses will last much longer.

Wet it when you need it. Let it dry when you don't.

Easy.

You Don't Have to Give Up Your Dishwasher

We aren't coming for your dishwasher.

Promise.

Use it. Love it. Let that beautiful machine wash every dishwasher-safe thing you can fit inside it.

Solid dish soap is simply a different way to handle everything else.

Instead of reaching for another disposable plastic bottle when it's time to hand wash, you can reach for a solid bar and reusable tools made with materials like bamboo, sisal, and hemp.

One little change at the kitchen sink can mean less plastic, less waste, and fewer disposable products coming into your home.

And using it?

Wet. Swipe. Scrub. Rinse.

We told you it was ridiculously easy.