Blue Dawn: solution to many life problems
The detergent has many uses beyond washing dishes
Does anyone remember the character from My Big Fat Greek Wedding who carried around the bottle of Windex and used it to treat every ailment? It was the wonder cure!
In much the same way, Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid has garnered a reputation for solving many everyday problems, from cleaning toilets, unclogging drains, dealing with garden pests and more.
Members of the Ask Nova Scotia Facebook group weighed in with their best advice and tips.
OIL SPILLS
Dawn may be most wellknown for helping clean marine animals after an oil spill and supports wildlife agencies dedicated to this cause.
Just don’t use the dishwashing liquid on birds that have not been exposed to oil. Krista Murphy Patriquin of Beaverbank, N.S. found out the hard way.
“See how there is a baby duck on the bottle? Don’t use Dawn on ducks. It was a hard lesson learned,” she says.
Patriquin has pet ducks and during a hurricane brought them inside and gave them a bath in the tub. Thinking they might like bubbles to play with and seeing the Dawn bottle had a baby duck on it, she figured it must be safe for birds.
She discovered the soap took away the birds’ natural oils and they ended up with wet-to-the-skin ducks that couldn’t go outside for weeks.
TOILET DRAINS
One Facebook member says she once used Blue Dawn to clear a completely plugged toilet drain.
The plunger wouldn’t seal properly so she poured in a lot of Dawn and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then, she poured tap hot water on top of it. It worked beautifully, she said.
Christina Fontaine, Lower Sackville, suggests pouring Blue Dawn in the bottom of the toilet and flush repeatedly to help keep the drainpipes clean to prevent anything from building up in the pipes that may cause a clog. To be safe, one member suggested doing this twice a week.
JEWELLRY/SILVER
Put some Blue Dawn (10 drops) in a bowl of warm
water and let your jewelry soak for about 40 minutes and it will come out sparkly. Add extra polish by scrubbing with a baby toothbrush.
You can also line the bottom of a bowl with tin foil and add some Dawn and warm water for tarnished silver jewelry and let soak.
SHOES
When the suede part that your bare feet rest on in your sandals looks dirty and you can see dark imprints from where your toes were, run warm to hot water, dampen the insole and put some Dawn soap there, take a small brush and scrub well and rinse under the tap.
Once fully rinsed, use your fingers to push any excess water out of the inner soles and then use a small towel to dry them as much as possible. Let them dry. Now, they will be clean and better smelling.
LAUNDRY
It’s great for getting whites white, getting out oil stains and even removing the smell of animal urine.
Some add Blue Dawn directly to the washing machine along with laundry soap. You only need a little bit, like a ring round the top. Others put one tablespoon of Blue Dawn on a cloth and add that to the wash.
STAINS
Create a stain remover by combining Blue Dawn and baking soda to create a paste. Scrub this into clothing stains with an old toothbrush, let sit and then toss it into the washing machine. Some also spray with some vinegar before finally putting it into the wash.
HAIR AND BODY
Many Facebook users use Blue Dawn once a month to deep clean their hair to help with oil control and to reduce product build up. Just use it like normal shampoo. Follow up with a regular conditioner. Others use this treatment the day before they colour their hair, as they feel it helps the colour to hold better.
Blue Dawn is used by some sufferers of psoriasis, as a body wash, as it helps to alleviate some of the symptoms for a few days, especially in the summer.
Add a little sugar to Blue Dawn and use it as a hand scrub. It’s perfect if your hands are really dirty, especially after working on cars.
GARDEN
You can use Blue Dawn to get rid of most soft body pests that harm your garden. Combine two tablespoons of dish soap per gallon of water and use it to spray your plants and soil to control the pests.
Combine Blue Dawn, water and vinegar and spray over the weeds in the driveway to kill them down to their roots.
FRUIT FLIES
Put out a dish of Blue Dawn and vinegar to trap the fruit flies in the summer.
FISHING
You can use Dawn to get worms for fishing. Pour some on the grass, spray it with the hose and the worms pop right up.
VEHICLES
Use Blue Dawn to clean the air filter to remove all the dirt and particles that become attached to the foam. Slather it on, massage it into the foam to fight the grease, and rinse!
Take a baby bottle brush and hot water and the soap and scrub your wheels. The brush is soft, so it won’t scratch your wheels.