DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (2024)

Love Dawn Powerwash, but not the price tag? I'll show you how to make your own dish spray refill at home for pennies!

Jill Nystul·August 10, 2023


DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (2)

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (3)

Dawn hasbeen my dish soap of choice since I first started blogging back in 2011, so coming up with a Dawn Powerwash recipe was a no-brainer! I’ve used Dawn to make a powerful homemade shower cleaner, DIY cleaning wipes, a homemade granite cleaner, a DIY window and mirror cleaner, and much more!

TheirDawn Powerwash Spray has its uses too, but I thought if I could make Dawn Powerwash instead of continuing to buy those refill bottles, that would be even better! If you also like Dawn’s dish spray but don’t love its price tag, you’ll definitely want to learn to make your own Dawn Powerwash too, and that’s exactly what you’ll learn in this post!

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (4)

What Is Dawn Powerwash?

According to P&G, more people are adopting a “clean as you go” approach in the kitchen, andDawn Powerwash is meant to fit seamlessly into the process. When you’re done using a dish or other container, you can just place it in the sink and spray it with Powerwash to start breaking down grease and food stains, which makes post-meal cleanup quick and easy.

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (5)

Dawn Powerwash Spray Vs. Dawn Dish Soap

The main difference between Dawn Powerwash and regular Dawn dish soap is that you have to add water to dish soap in order for it to work properly. On the other hand, Powerwash starts working as soon as you spray it onto your dish, ideally saving you some time and effort.

Powerwash is diluted and made to spray in a fine mist. Powerwash does list alcohol as the first ingredient on the bottle, but their website says it isn’t antibacterial.

After buying the spray initially, I was less enthusiastic about buying a refill based on the price tag. So I decided to do what I do best and make a Dawn Powerwash hack at home! (Wondering how to refill Dawn Powerwash after you’ve emptied the bottle? This recipe works perfectly for that!)

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (6)

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe

Ingredients:

  • Dish soap
  • Water
  • Spray bottle
  • White vinegar or rubbing alcohol (optional)
  • Lemon essential oil(optional)
DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (7)

Directions:

Add 1 tablespoon of dish soap (either classic blue Dawn orhomemade dish soap, if you prefer) to an empty spray bottle, then fill the remainder of the bottle with water.

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (8)

You can stop there, or add a splash of distilled white vinegar or rubbing alcohol to help offset the effects of hard water. (A couple drops oflemon essential oil for added cleaning power wouldn’t go amiss either!) Replace the spray top and shake the bottle gently to mix.

I recommend making your homemade Dawn Powerwash in an empty Powerwash bottle orcontinuous spray bottle. (You can use a standard 16 ounce spray bottle if that’s all you have on hand, but the foam will be more likely to clog the nozzle of a standard spray bottle.)

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (9)

How To Use Your DIY Dish Spray

When you start making dinner (or any meal, for that matter), set your DIY dish spray out next to the kitchen sink. As you prep and cook your food, spray each dirty dish generously with the dish spray before setting it in the sink.

Later on, once you’re finished eating and ready to clean up the kitchen, the dish spray will have worked its magic! Whether you choose to scrub the dishes by hand or load them into the dishwasher, your dishes will be sparkling clean in no time.

Have you tried a Dawn Powerwash recipe before?

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DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (11)

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe

Jill Nystul

Dawn's new Powerwash soap spray has several great advantages, but my DIY version works just as well and costs pennies to make!

3 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Active Time 3 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Cost $15

Yield 1 soap dispenser

Equipment

  • Continuous Spray Bottle or empty Powerwash bottle

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp dish soap
  • 10 oz water
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 5 drops lemon essential oil

Instructions

  • Squeeze a small amount of dish soap into a spray bottle, then fill the remainder of the bottle with water. (I just eyeballed the amounts here, but I probably used about 1 tablespoon of soap and 10 ounces of water.)

    I recommend using a continuous spray bottle if you can get your hands on one. If you’ve already got an empty bottle of Powerwash at home, you can simply refill that bottle!

    DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (12)

  • You can also add a splash of white vinegar to the bottle to help fight hard water and mineral content in your water, and a couple of drops oflemon essential oilfor added grease-cutting power wouldn’t go amiss either (but both the vinegar and lemon oil are totally optional!)

    Replace the spray top and shake the bottle gently to mix.

    DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (13)

  • As you prep and cook your food, spray each dirty dish generously with the dish spray before setting it in the sink.

    Later on, once you’re finished eating and ready to clean up the kitchen, the dish spray will have worked its magic! Whether you choose to scrub the dishes by hand or load them into the dishwasher, your dishes will be sparkling clean in no time.

    DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (14)

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DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill (2024)

FAQs

DIY Dawn Powerwash Recipe: The Easiest Dish Spray Refill? ›

Gain's green dish spray is the closest product you'll get to Platinum Powerwash, both in terms of functionality and performance. I prefer the discrete clean scent of the Dawn to the Gain, though Gain's formulation includes an “Aroma Boost”—which I didn't mind, but it is strong.

What is the alternative to Dawn Powerwash? ›

Gain's green dish spray is the closest product you'll get to Platinum Powerwash, both in terms of functionality and performance. I prefer the discrete clean scent of the Dawn to the Gain, though Gain's formulation includes an “Aroma Boost”—which I didn't mind, but it is strong.

Is Dawn Powerwash just dish soap and water? ›

The key difference between the original Dawn dish liquid and Dawn Powerwash is the addition of alcohol.

Can you make homemade Dawn Powerwash with vinegar and alcohol? ›

Directions: Add 1 tablespoon of dish soap (either classic blue Dawn or homemade dish soap, if you prefer) to an empty spray bottle, then fill the remainder of the bottle with water. What is this? You can stop there, or add a splash of distilled white vinegar or rubbing alcohol to help offset the effects of hard water.

What not to use Dawn Powerwash on? ›

Surfaces to avoid with Dawn® Powerwash:

Glass with UV coatings or other specialty treatments. Painted, varnished, or coated surfaces, including automobile paint. Precious metals, copper, or sterling silver. Leather, upholstery, or fabrics that won't later be rinsed.

What makes Dawn Powerwash so powerful? ›

How is Dawn Powerwash different from regular Dawn? Dawn Powerwash contains rubbing alcohol, making it slightly more potent than regular Dawn dish soap.

Can you use hydrogen peroxide to make Dawn Powerwash? ›

Mixing hydrogen peroxide and Dawn Powerwash is not recommended because it can create a hazardous chemical reaction. They can create oxygen gas which can build up and cause an explosion.

Can Dawn Powerwash cause stomach problems? ›

Health Hazards (Acute and Chronic): Ingestion: May cause transient gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Can you mix Dawn and rubbing alcohol? ›

Add 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) Dawn Platinum Dishwashing Liquid. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons 70% isopropyl alcohol. Apply spray top. Shake gently to combine ingredients.

Why is there alcohol in Dawn Powerwash? ›

It turns out that soap and alcohol—the two main ingredients in Dawn Powerwash—are both great at killing insects. The soap clogs up insects' breathing tubes, essentially drowning them. Alcohol dries them out as well.

Can I clean my shower with Dawn Powerwash? ›

Instead, Dawn Dishwashing Soap (like the Platinum Powerwash) has become my go-to for cleaning grease splatters off clothes or nixing hard water stains from glass shower doors.

What happens when you mix Dawn dish soap with white vinegar? ›

“Vinegar is a good cleaner because it's acidic, but when you add dishwashing liquid/dish soap to it (which is a base or neutral) - you neutralise the vinegar. You take away the very thing that makes it work well. “The dishwashing liquid works that well on its own.

What makes Dawn powerwash so powerful? ›

How is Dawn Powerwash different from regular Dawn? Dawn Powerwash contains rubbing alcohol, making it slightly more potent than regular Dawn dish soap.

How do you make homemade Dawn foam? ›

To make your own foaming soap, combine one cup of water with 1/4 cup of liquid soap. Secure the top and slowly turn the dispenser. until everything is incorporated. And there you go.

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