8 Things You Should Never Clean With Dish Soap

Dish soap for homemade ant spray — Credit:
StefaNikolic / Getty Images

Dish soap is one of the most common go-to cleaning agents in the home. Some even consider it to be the holy grail of all household cleaners. After all, it's inexpensive, easily accessible, and gentle enough to clean up crumbs, spills and stains on tons of surfaces beyond your dishes.

But dish soap is not meant to clean everything. In fact, this seemingly harmless liquid cleaner can cause more harm than good if used in the wrong places. We spoke to cleaning experts to uncover which surfaces are not dish-soap friendly and what to use instead.

Delah Gomasi, CEO at Maid for You
Nishant Prasad, co-founder at Clean Fanatics
Forest Weber, owner at Bear Brothers Cleaning

01 of 08

Hardwood Floors

Because of its mild nature, dish soap often seems like a safe option for cleaning wood floors. But think again: "Hardwood floors have a delicate finish that dish soap can strip over time," shares Nishant Prasad, co-founder at Clean Fanatics. "This can lead to dullness and even warping if moisture seeps into the planks."

Dish soap is also known to leave an unpleasantly sticky residue on your wood floors. Prasad prefers a pH-neutral wood floor cleaner or a simple mix of water and vinegar, sparingly used.

02 of 08

Leather

Steer clear of the kitchen sink when cleaning your leather couch or bag. While you might not see any visible damage right away, dish soap is not leather’s ally. "Since leather is a natural material with naturally-occurring oils, when you repeatedly use dish soap on it, you end up stripping the oils away," explains Delah Gomasi, CEO at Maid for You. "This causes stiffening and cracking."

A leather-specific cleaner is recommended for keeping your leather items looking their best.

03 of 08

Granite and Marble Countertops

To keep your granite and marble countertops pristine, avoid using dish soap when wiping them down. "Stone countertops are porous," explains Prasad. "While dish soap won’t damage them immediately, it does build up a residue that dulls their shine over time."

Not only will using dish soap result in dullness, but it will also increase their susceptibility to stains, notes Forest Weber, owner of Bear Brothers Cleaning. A stone-safe cleaner is the better bet for your stone countertops.

04 of 08

Electronic Devices

While using dish soap on your smudged TVs, tablets, and phones might seem practical, you should think twice before applying it—even sparingly. According to Prasad, "the delicate coatings on screens can be ruined by dish soap, causing streaking and permanent cloudiness."

He advises using a microfiber cloth with a tiny amount of a screen-safe cleaner to keep your devices shiny and new. Avoid using paper towels, as they're too abrasive for these surfaces.

05 of 08

Cast-Iron Pans

Clean cast iron skillet next to kitchen towel — Credit:
Aleksandr Zubkov / Getty Images

Cast iron can be a wonderful cooking material—but cleaning it can be tricky business. “Cast-iron pans and skillets are purposefully seasoned with oils, so of course, soap is going to strip the coating off,” cautions Gomasi.

For cleaning cast iron, Gomasi recommends boiling some water in the pan, gently scraping off debris, and then scrubbing it with some rock salt. Dry immediately.

06 of 08

Coffee Makers

It's a common mistake, but never use dish soap to descale your coffee machine. You'll inevitably end up with a sudsy mess that may affect the taste of your morning brew. Instead, try using white vinegar to descale your coffee maker.

Run your coffee maker once with vinegar, and then follow it with a run of hot water to rinse and get rid of the vinegar smell. Your coffee maker will be as fresh as your morning cuppa.

07 of 08

Glass Surfaces

Despite some professional cleaners recommending dish soap as a cleaning agent for windows, mirrors, shower doors, and the like, Gomasi contends that it is not the ideal solution. “Unlike the reliability of a commercial glass cleaner, soapy cleaning solutions don’t give you a clear, streak-free finish,” he says, noting that you can be left with a film-like residue when rinsing off the soap.

If commercial cleaners aren't for you, try mixing one part vinegar with one part water in a spray bottle, applying it to the glass surface, and waiting for a bit before wiping it down with a clean microfiber cloth.

08 of 08

Washing Machines and Dishwashers

Open dishwasher — Credit:
Damian Lugowski / Getty Images

Unless you want bubbles overflowing from your appliances, never replace your laundry or dishwashing detergent with dish soap. Not only is dish soap too sudsy for these machines, but it can leave behind a residue that damages the internal mechanisms. This can lead to leaks, which can be expensive to repair, warns Weber.

When machine-washing your dishes or clothes, it is essential to stick to the detergent assigned to the corresponding appliance.