When mixed with water, Dawn dish soap makes a pH-neutral cleaner great for household surfaces like floors, windows and countertops. Adding isopropyl or rubbing alcohol into the mixture provides it disinfecting properties and also helps to remove stains from felt-tip markers, paint, ink and dyes.

Mixing a Stain-Busting Cleaner

Because of its emulsifying and lubricating properties, Dawn dish soap may manage dirt in the kitchen, toilet and elsewhere. You do not need a powerful alternative — 1 or 2 ounces of dish soap per gallon of water is usually enough. By itself, isopropyl alcohol is a powerful enough solvent to remove dye and ink stains, but it could also dull or harm many kinds of finishes; diluting it with water is a good way to make it easier. Add as much as a cup to a Dawn soap alternative to give the solution stain-busting powers.

Busting the Stains

If your kids turned into your recreation room wall into a whiteboard, you may use your Dawn/alcohol solution to wipe off the felt-tip mark stains. It’s also the go-to cleaner for latex paint spatter marks on hard surfaces; alcohol softens the paint, while Dawn lubricates it also makes it much easier to wipe off. You’ll probably also find that this option helpful when removing stains from wine or alcoholic drinks from the ground.

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