This is not my usual post – because it’s not about food! It’s about a copycat, DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill. It’s only three ingredients including water – four if adding optional fragrance! And it is PENNIES to make! 55 cents or less instead of $4.94.
I saw an impressive Tik-Tok video about making your own & the creator went on and on about how & where she used it. I bought some and was so psyched! I was cleaning anything and everything I could get my hands on!
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!
It’s an amazing product. It worked on items I thought were hopeless. Items that I had just resigned myself to living with as they were. Items that worked perfectly well but had a bad case of the “Uggs!” But in my cleaning frenzy, I ruined a couple of things.
There was no mention on the label (and Ms. Tik-Tok didn’t mention, either) that Dawn Powerwash couldn’t be used on painted surfaces…like my fave breadbox that lives on top of the fridge. The paint just melted away!
So whether you buy the powerwash or make the DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill, familiarize yourself with the product. I had to dig for the info on Dawn’s website mostly under the Faqs, but it’s all below for you now.
Making the DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill:
First of all, let’s make it! It’s so easy. All three (or four) ingredients go in a spray bottle (preferably a continuous spray bottle) or even better, the spray bottle that Dawn Powerwash comes in. That bottle is fabulous!
To make, add the alcohol, then the dawn dishwashing detergent, then slowly (so it doesn’t foam too much) fill with water, leaving about an inch at the top of the bottle. (The mechanics of the sprayer have to fit inside so if no room is left, it will overflow.)
If you wish, add about 8 drops of an essential oil. That’s it! Some recipes advise to let the concoction sit for four hours before use. I have never done that.
This is all you need to make your own + water
The Ingredients for DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill:
The Alcohol:
The alcohol is Isopropyl Alcohol, commonly known as Rubbing Alcohol. It’s dirt cheap and you’ll only use 1 1/2 tablespoons per 16 ounces.
It is sold in several strengths: 50%, 70%, and 91%. With only a tablespoon and a half added to 16 ounces, the strength doesn’t matter. Many recipes call for 70%. I used 91% because it was what I had on hand. There is not enough alcohol in this DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill to qualify as antibacterial or to sanitize surfaces.
Pricing: Cost for a basic 70 % Equate Alcohol at Walmart is $2.98 for the bottle, appx. 7 cents.
The Dish Detergent:
The backbone of this Powerwash Spray is Dawn. In case you’re not in the know, Dawn has several dish detergents out now, as far as I know, this is all of them:
- First is the old blue Dawn I am sure most of us recognize.
- One of the others is the newer Dawn Platinum dish detergent.
- Then, there’s Dawn Gentle Clean.
- Lesser known is Dawn Ultra Antibacterial Dishwashing Liquid
- Don’t forget Dawn Free & Clear Pure Essentials Liquid Dishwashing Dish Soap
- And finally, Dawn Heavy Duty Manual Pot & Pan Dish Soap Detergent
I’ve made the DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill with both the old blue Dawn and the Dawn Platinum and didn’t notice any difference in effectiveness. I did, however, notice the slight price difference. By the way, using the Dawn Antibacterial Dishwashing Liquid won’t make this DIY refill an effective antibacterial or sanitizing product.
Check this page to learn more about what is in Dawn Dishsoap and why.
Pricing: There are so many sizes and prices at Walmart, but Dawn Platinum in any size runs a little over 17 cents per ounce. 4 tablespoons is 2 ounces, so about 35 cents. For the regular blue Dawn, it would be approximately 32 cents.
The Water:
Some recipes call for distilled water. Distilled water is less likely than tap water to have any fungi or bacteria present. When using tap water, if the conditions are right, they could possibly grow inside your Powerwash Dupe. If using the Powerwash Spray in a short amount of time, say a few weeks, plain old tap water should be fine.
When adding water, fill the bottle to almost the top leaving about an inch of headroom for the pump mechanism. Use a slow, steady stream to prevent too much foaming.
Pricing: At Walmart, 1 gallon of distilled water is $1.37, which is 1.1 cents per ounce. Using about 12 ounces, the cost is about 13 cents.
Essential Oils Fragrance:
Some Dawn products are already scented but if you wish to add scent, it only takes a few drops of an essential oil. Eight drops, to be precise.
While another Tik-Toker said using a few drops of lemon essential oil would increase the cleaning power, instinct tells me that 8 drops in 16 ounces won’t make any significant difference.
Pricing: You’re on your own as far as pricing.
Making Dawn Powerwash Dupe
How much does Homemade Dawn Powerwash Spray Cost to Make?:
The Homemade Dawn Powerwash Refill may require an initial outlay of several dollars but will save beaucoup bucks in the long run. Or you might be like me – I had all these items on hand so the initial outlay was painless.
I checked Walmart for pricing. Explanation is above under each product that goes into the powerwash spray:
- Alcohol: 7 cents.
- The Soap: 32 to 35 cents.
- Distilled Water: 13 cents.
- Essential Oils: You’re on your own.
It’s about 52 cents making it with Blue Dawn. 55 cents to make with the Platinum Dawn. A typical price for a refill is $3.94 to $4.94 for the 16 ounces.
Bonus: Just think about all the plastic bottles you won’t be using!
How to Use the Dawn Powerwash Spray Dupe:
According to Dawn’s website: Spray, wipe, rinse. For tough jobs, let sit for 3 to 4 minutes before rinsing. Buried under faqs, Dawn states always test a small area first. These are from Dawn’s faqs:
- Powerwash will save 50% of the time washing dishes.
- Powerwash was formulated to work on dishes and works best without water. Simply scrape off any residual food, spray surfaces, lightly scrub, and rinse clean. For tough jobs, let sit for several minutes.
- Dawn can work on hard-to-reach or hard-to-clean surfaces like water bottles, mugs, air fryer baskets, and Instant Pots. For tough jobs, skip the overnight soak, just spray, and wait 3 to 4 minutes for the activated suds to break down burnt-on, baked-on food, and grease, then lightly scrub and rinse.
My notes:
- Dawn did a great job at cleaning most items in minutes.
- It even cleaned items that had been discolored over years of use, but the very toughest objects needed an overnight soak.
- It did an amazing job on items that had hard to reach surfaces. Examples are my popsicle mold that had sat in storage for several years (shown above) and the condensation collector on my Instant Pot.
Dawn Powerwash cleaned this lid to one of my fave 25 year old Pampered Chef bowls! We love it for pancakes so I didn’t want to toss it! It was stained, yellowed and so awful before.
Other uses according to Dawn’s website:
- Dawn is so powerful it can replace multiple products around your home for jobs like counters, stove, and even as a pre-treater for laundry stains!
- Dawn may be used for getting soil and grease off of grills.
The website warns not to use other products in their sprayer because they could clog it over time, and over and over states that Dawn Powerwash spray has 3 cleaning boosters.
My notes:
- It worked great as a laundry pre-treater, even getting stains out of items that had previously been washed and dried.
- I have not tried it on a grill but it cleaned up a grill pan beautifully.
Where to Be Careful with Dawn Powerwash:
I had to do some digging to find the below and compile it for you:
- Powerwash is safe for adults and teenagers to use but should be kept out of reach of children. The spray bottle has a locking trigger.
- While gloves are not needed, if you have dry or sensitive skin, they are a good idea to prevent irritation.
- Aluminum can be sensitive to cleaning products; they recommend spraying and immediately rinsing.
- Dawn’s site claims it may be used on cutting boards if rinsed, but gives several warnings about using on wood (below).
- Safe for use on Cast Iron according to Dawn. It mentions in another area of their site, “as with other dish soaps, Dawn Powerwash can remove the seasoning on cast iron pans and griddles.”
- Stoves: Can be used to clean the glass, enamel, or stainless steel exterior surfaces of your stove, but is not intended for use inside an oven as it would require rinsing to remove any residual soap or suds.
My note: with no warning on the bottle, I had sprayed it on an old wooden antique buffet I keep on my screened-in porch. It ate the finish in minutes. I was not happy.
warning for children & dishwasher – nothing else
Where Not to Use DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill:
- Do not use on animals or plants.
- Not recommended for surfaces with specialty treatments or coatings.
- Do not use in Dishwashers. The surfactants can create a high level of suds that can spill out of your dishwasher and onto your floor.
- Avoid spraying Dawn on Marble. This includes anything marble, for instance, countertops, sink basins, backsplashes, knick-knacks, or furniture tops.
- Avoid spraying Dawn Powerwash on Wood: This means unsealed, varnished, stained, or painted wood surfaces and furniture. (They do state it can be used on cutting boards if rinsed.)
- Do not use on painted, varnished, or coated surfaces, including automobile paint.
- Materials not recommended to use Powerwash on include wood, any painted or varnished surfaces, copper or sterling silver (can cause tarnishing), or other precious metals.
- Do not use on Leather.
- Do not use on upholstery or fabrics that won’t later be rinsed.
- Do not use on glass with UV coatings or other specialty treatments.
- Do not use on Cast Iron: Dawn will eat away the seasoning. (Dawn has more than one contradiction about this on their site.)
My notes:
There was no mention of not using the Powerwash on television, laptop screens, etc. I would highly advise not doing so.
Off Label Uses & Instructions:
These items are not mentioned by Dawn, but have been cleaned by myself or others with good results. Your results may vary.
- Dawn cleaned most items in seconds, but some hard-to-clean kitchen items like pan bottoms, discolored plastics, or rubber, including plastic housing of some items all came clean eventually. They required several sprays and an overnight sit. Dawn did not do much for the burnt-on discoloration of my 30-year-old cookie sheets.
- Plastic Shower Curtains: Dawn will remove molds and mildew and worked well. Spray, let sit, gently rub, and rinse.
- Found elsewhere: Avoid some Toilet Areas. While it may be fine to clean the outside of the toilet, do not use Dawn Powerwash on any painted surface, or the interior of the toilet (where dish soap could break down gaskets & seals.)
- Also found elsewhere, Grout & Tile: Spray solution: Just spray, wait, gently scrub, and rinse.
It took me 2 minutes to clean my vacuum filter! I used to hate cleaning it – it was a struggle!
Helpful Sites:
Family Handyman lists several applications, including glass & ceramic bathtubs & showers. Windows including track & sill. Clothing & Carpet. Grill grates. Stainless Steel Appliances. Degreasing tools.
Homes & Gardens gives a dozen ideas, among them cleaning garden tools, freshening up shoes, & cleaning window tracks, kitchen grease, stains on clothing, barbecues, stainless steel, carpets & rugs, and dried on food.
I hope this will help you and I know it’s a lot. I’d hate to see anyone go through what I went through in my initial cleaning frenzies! Seriously, I was (and am) Super Psyched with this Dawn Powerwash Spray Dupe! Do you use it? And what do you use it on? Do Tell!
Printable Instructions are below.
Mollie
Diy Dawn Powerwash refill
DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups (16 ounces) 1x
- Category: helps
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, preferably 70%
- 1/4 cup (four tablespoons) Dawn dish detergent or Dawn Powerwash dish detergent
- Water to fill bottle within 1″ of top, distilled preferred
- 8 drops of essential oil of choice, optional
Instructions
This makes enough to fill a Dawn Powerwash Spray Bottle, about 16 ounces (2 cups.)
Add ingredients in order to spray bottle, being careful to add water slowly so as not to cause too much foaming. Gently mix by shaking. Allow to sit for 4 hours if time allows.
15 thoughts on “DIY Dawn Powerwash Refill”