Dish soap is something everybody owns and for good reason; it’s extremely handy to have around. There are tons of uses for it besides doing the dishes. A while ago, we wrote about eight fun and useful things you can use dish soap for, but we didn’t mention the things you shouldn’t do with it. That’s why today we’ve got another list for you!

When it comes to these seven things, you shouldn’t use dishwashing soap.

1. Mixing

This is very important! You should never mix dishwashing soap with other cleaning products, especially not with bleach or ammonia. Doing this can cause dangerous toxins to be released and those are very unhealthy. Only use dish soap mixed with water – you’ll always be safe that way.

2. Cast iron skillet

Do you own a cast iron skillet you love to use? Don’t clean it with dish soap! If you do this, you’ll wash away the protective layer on the surface of the skillet and you don’t want that. Instead, you could use salt and oil. Use hot water and a soft brush to scrub the pan. Then, make a paste of salt and water to remove stuck-on food scraps. When the skillet is dry, apply a light coat of vegetable oil to the inside of the skillet with a paper towel.

3. Moka pot

Do you own a moka pot to make your own espressos with? Then you’ll know those things can get pretty filthy on the inside. But did you know they are supposed to get a little oily? It makes the coffee taste better! If you use soap to clean the pot, you’ll remove the oily layer, which will make coffee taste less good afterwards. So, just rinse your moka pot with hot water and don’t use any soap.

4. Dishwasher

Out of dishwasher tablets? Don’t use dish soap instead! The composition of these two products are completely different because they have a different function. Dishwashing soap will foam and bubble, which can damage a dishwasher. The dishwasher could also flood because of this, which isn’t what you want. The next time you’re out of tablets, you’re going to have to do the dishes by hand, or go out and buy new ones!

5. Washing machine

It might not even have occurred to you, but it does happen: people putting dish soap in the washing machine. Dish soap can be really handy when it comes to removing stains, but leave it at that! You should really only use dish soap to treat the stain itself, and never pour it into the washing machine directly. Just like with the dishwasher, pouring it into the washing machine will cause too much bubbles to appear and this can break the machine.

Go to the next page to read about the last things you should never use dishwashing soap for!

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