# Liquid hand soap vs. liquid dishwashing soap



## Karen G (Sep 19, 2011)

Is there any difference in these two products?  I've run out of liquid dish washing soap (NOT the kind you put in a dishwasher but the kind you'd use for washing dishes by hand).  I do have plenty of the liquid hand washing soap, however.

I'm soaking a few things in it now. The suds seem different & they seem to last longer than the dishwashing soap usually does.  Why?


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## glypnirsgirl (Sep 19, 2011)

I think that the difference is the addition of glycerin to the liquid hand soap. Both contain water and variations of sodium laurel sulfate (or other solvents). The addition of glycerin in the hand soap is for conditioning. When I used to make my own soap bubbles, the recipe I had called for adding glycerin to make better bubbles.

I am no scientist. So, just a guess.

elaine


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## Pat H (Sep 19, 2011)

It'll work and you can also use bubble bath.


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## LLW (Sep 19, 2011)

Karen G said:


> Is there any difference in these two products?  I've run out of liquid dish washing soap (NOT the kind you put in a dishwasher but the kind you'd use for washing dishes by hand).  I do have plenty of the liquid hand washing soap, however.
> 
> I'm soaking a few things in it now. The suds seem different & they seem to last longer than the dishwashing soap usually does.  Why?



A question that I have asked myself in the past.  

I think liquid hand soap usually has more
1. germ-killing power,
2. moisturizer for hands, and
3. fragrance for human bodies,

and liquid dish soap has more 
1. grease-cutting power,
2. shine-creating power for dishes, and
3. cleaning power (is less gentle than liquid hand soap).

Just a guess as a user.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Sep 19, 2011)

The hand washing soap should work, but it might not be as efficient as the dish detergent.  That's because, while both contain added ingredients to soften and moisturize skin, the hand soap will probably contain more of those ingredients.

But often when I'm cooking and need to clean a dish or implement that has grease or oil on it, I'll hit it with a couple of pumps from the hand soap dispenser if the dispenser is handy. 

*****

When I've been working on the car and my hands are greasy, I use either one to scrub my hands (without using any water until I after I get the grease emulsified into the soap.  But I've found that dish detergent works a bit better than does hand soap.

Same thing when I have fresh tree sap on my hands.  I can get it off easier by emulsifying it with dish detergent than with hand soap.

Seems similar when I'm cleaning latex paint out of a brush.  Before cleaning up with water I work liberal amounts of dish detergent into the bristles, going deep into the brush, and getting the paint mobilized into the detergent.  Only then do I begin the water rinse.  And I've found that while liquid hand soap will work, dish detergent seems to work better.


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## sfwilshire (Sep 20, 2011)

Dishwashing soap also works very well to handwash greasy stains out of clothing. Dawn seems to me to be the best.

Sheila


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## Lee B (Sep 24, 2011)

When I hand wash dishes, the skin on my fingers next to the nails gets hard and peels up (a "hangnail").  That little piece then bothers me when I touch it on anything, so I have to clip it off with those special scissors.  The only way to avoid that is to wear gloves or frequently rinse the fingers while working.

The regular liquid hand soap doesn't do this to me.  In a pinch, I'll use dish liquid to wash hands and very quickly rinse them.


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## Tia (Sep 30, 2011)

After reading this topic a while back I remembered it when my tan cloth Coach purse  met a piece of pizza  . The purse  sucked up grease sadly covering a spotty large area. I tried the Coach cleaner but it failed.  I was going to replace the purse, but I decided to try liquid dish soap  on a moist white towel. It worked!  There is still a little on the leather trim, but the cloth area is now grease free!:whoopie:


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