Grease Removal? My New Go-To is Magic!

Dawn dishwashing soap is known for being gentle on you while tough on grease.  I mean, who has not seen the commercial of Dawn soap being used to clean baby ducks that had been caught in some environmental disaster?  Great marketing plan.  Tug your heart-strings.

And for the most part, Dawn does do a pretty good job at removing grease from human arms and legs that have gotten dirty.  Although I will say, you have to work at it - sometimes even using a scrubbing pad to remove stubborn grease from one's body parts.  Been there.  Done that.

A lot of advertising for Dawn

But recently, I have made two discoveries.  First some background.  I learned of Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap at my first Tom Brown, Jr. class back in the early 90's.  Dr. Bronner's soap is not only good for your body, but also the environment, as it's 100% biodegradable.  Plus, as a bonus, the wildlife are not bothered by the peppermint smell - basically, it masks your human odor - or at least that's what we were told.

Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap concentrate - peppermint


As a bit of a back story, I must warn you that the soap comes in concentrate.  You are supposed to dilute it.  Using it 'straight' and getting it into ones eyes or "other sensitive" areas can cause some burning sensations.  None of which are pleasant.  MPK has a story that will make you laugh so hard you will cry about this effect.  We even have a nickname for this soap.

So I've been going along thinking that the peppermint is the only version available.  For 25 years this is the world I lived in - happy and content with Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap masking my human odor.

Discovery #1 - while grocery shopping with the bride, I happened upon a section of Dr. Bronner's soaps - soaps, plural.  Mind blown.  Yeah, there are like ten or so of them.  What?  You can get, rose, citrus, almond, lavender, unscented, eucalyptus, and tea scents, along with the peppermint I have always used.  Ok, curiosity piqued.  I buy a bottle of citrus to try.

A multitude of Dr. Bronner's soap scents!


Discovery #2 - Dr. Bronner's citrus does not burn near as much - anywhere - but will pop grease right off your body with only the slightest amount of effort.  No smearing.  No smudging.  No scrubbing.  Just GONE.  I know this only by accident.  I had been working on the tractor and got both arms and one leg into grease - some fresh grease, some old.  I hit the shower and used the Dr. Bronner's citrus and the grease popped off my leg it was never even there.  I figured that maybe I didn't get into as much grease as I thought.  Flash ahead a couple of days and my hands are greasy again.  This time, an experiment...

I use Dr. Bronner's citrus to clean my hands.  Grease gone.  Not an accident.  Not a fluke.  Pure Magic!  Then I test this theory, do All Dr. Bronner's soaps remove grease?  I took the peppermint soap and applied it directly, undiluted, to my arm where there was grease.  Nothing.  Didn't even touch the grease.  Rinsed off and tried the citrus.  Grease gone.  Maybe some of the other scents would work on grease?  I do not know.  I do not own any others.  But I can state for a fact that peppermint does not work and citrus does.  And there is no pumice in Dr. Bronner's like there is in GoJo or Fast Orange - the standard soaps for mechanic's garages.  Those soaps are very hard on your skin.

This is now my Go To soap for removing grease.  I do have to wonder how it would work on baby ducks covered in oil.  It has to be better for the environment than Dawn.  I suspect that Dr. Bronner's does not have the financial backing to challenge Proctor & Gamble, the makers of Dawn, to become the duck-oil-removing soap.  But if they did, my money is on Dr. Bronner's!

As an aside, I specifically asked my bride if she could smell the citrus on my body - because I will say, it is quite the powerful smell in the shower - pleasant, mind you, but powerful.  The answer?  Only if you are really close - like hugging distance close - can she smell the citrus.  Good to know.

But for you, my dear readers, if you happen to see this soap at your local market - buy it.  Keep it next to your utility room sink or even in your shower, like me.  And the next time you're oily, greasy, or just plain dirty, this soap will work wonders in getting you clean quickly with minimal to no scrubbing.  Seriously.  Dr. Bronner's is NOT a sponsor of this page (yet, wink).  I get nothing to advertise for their products.  I'm just giving you my experience and suggesting you will have the same.  It's worth it!  This stuff is just plain awesome.

Dr. Bronner's pure castile "magic" soap - citrus scent
My new Go To for grease / oil removal


P.S.  It's also available in bar soap if you don't want to buy the liquid concentrate.  I personally have never tried the bar soaps of any scent.  Let me know if you do.

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