For those thinking of picking up a bottle or bar, here’s exactly what Castile soap is, how it differs from other cleaners, and 14 recipes to help you get the best use of it in every room. Nowadays, “Castile is truly a multipurpose soap and very popular among people who want to live a cleaner, healthier, and more natural life,” says Loni Brown, the founder and CEO of EntirelyEco. In addition to the original olive oil blend, you’ll also find solid and liquid Castile soaps made with coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or hemp oil. “The term is now used a little more generally for a vegetable-based soap,” says Bronner. Over the past century, many soaps have been replaced by detergents, which are made from synthetic ingredients instead of vegetable or animal fats. Bronner notes that if you take a walk down a typical cleaning aisle, most of the bottles you see will be detergents. This means that a high-quality Castile soap can replace dozens of other cleaning products, saving you some money, packaging waste, and storage space. Bronner adds that unlike harsher products, plant-based soaps don’t strip the skin of its beneficial natural oils. Castile soaps made with more moisturizing oils like coconut and jojoba tend to be the most nourishing for bath time. In reality, we don’t and would be better off using multipurpose cleaners like Castile all around our homes. Get started with these 14 room-by-room ideas. Hard-water folks can follow the recipe tweaks below to keep streaks to a minimum. This should also work for sensitive soft stones like marble or limestone. Brown notes that extra-greasy items will likely require a few extra pumps of the soapy mix. She especially likes using Castile on baby bottles, baby toys, pacifiers/teethers, etc., since it’s so safe and gentle. If you have hard water: To prevent streaks, dry your dishes by hand or dip your dishes into a vinegar rinse (a few dashes of distilled white vinegar in water) after washing them. “Any minerals brought out by the soap will be carried away by the vinegar,” Bronner explains. If you have hard water: Add ½ cup vinegar to the rinse cycle to wash away any lingering film. Castile soap is also safe to use on pet hair. Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
