How To Mix Dish Liquid, Salt & Bleach For Weed Killer? Step By Step Guide

No gardeners want to have invasive weeds in their lawn. It destroys the natural growth of other plants. The faster you take action, the better it is for other plants.

So the burning question is, how to mix dish liquid, salt, and bleach for weed killer?

Take a bucket and add some dish liquid, salt, and bleach. Then heat it with the stove for 30 minutes and use one spoon of liquid soap for every one gallon of water or 14.79 ml for every 3.79 liters.

But the main concern is how you should deal with them? Should you use any chemical weed killer to kill them? Or go for a natural solution? Many chemical-based weed killers include toxic ingredients, harming other plants, animals, and even humans.

How about using natural, easily accessible, and affordable options? Any guess? Dish liquid, salt, and bleach are several common items; most of us have this product.

But, do you know how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer? If not, don’t worry; this post will share an easy method to learn how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer. Let’s jump on!

How To Mix Dish Liquid, Salt & Bleach For Weed Killer? Step by Step Guide

It is said homemade things are the best. Killing weeds is not so easy as they grow rapidly when they find a single opportunity.

A lot of stuff is readily available at our home, which we can use to kills weeds. So, how do you make homemade weed killers?

According to most garden experts, dish liquid, salt, and bleach are the most effective items we can use to kill weeds.

But why are these ingredients effective in killing weeds? Dish liquids are a surfactant to control the growth of weeds. You can use a negligible quantity in your homemade weed killer.

However, you can’t kill weeds by only using dish liquid. It makes the weed killer formula effective and keeps the solution on the weed for a long time —not alone killing it.

Bleach is a powerful ingredient alone. It can kill any plants by reducing the pH level of the soil. Though you can use bleach alone, a mixing formula works more effectively and quickly to deal with weeds.

Hence, you need dish liquid, salt, and bleach for making weed killer. So, how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer?

At first, we may think of all of them as chemical-based ingredients. But they are not the chemicals that are used in commercial weed killers.

Making A Mixture Of Salt, Vinegar And Dish Soap

Here is the step-by-step procedure you need to follow to know how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer.

Needed items

Step 1 – Take a Large Container and add Salt

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First of all, you will take a large container to fill it up with fresh water. Then boil water in the oven for several minutes. Now, add salt while the water is boiling. So, how much salt should you add? For every two cups of water, you want to add one cup of soil.

You could add salt before boiling the water. But you would need to stir the mixture for a long time to mix it properly. That’s why the salt mixes with the water quickly while the water is boiling.

Step 2 – Turn off The Stove

Once you think the salt dissolves fully, turn off the stove and let it cool down. After it comes to normal temperature, you will add a little amount of liquid dish soap. Dissolve it by stirring with a spoon.

So, how much liquid soap should you use in the mixture?

You should use one spoon of liquid soap for every one gallon of water or 14.79 ml for every 3.79 liters.

Step 3 – Add The Bleach

Now, wear a pair of protective gloves as you are going to touch bleach. Take a large container or bucket and pour the mixture on it.

Afterward, it is time to add the bleach. So, what is the bleach-to-water ratio to kill weeds?

No specific rule is applicable on how much beach you should add. You can include as much as you prefer because more bleach will make the mixture more effective.

While adding bleach, make sure you don’t spatter on your body or cloth. Keep kids away while doing this work. Now, use a large spoon to stir the mixture and keep stirring for several minutes until you think it mixes properly.

Step 4 – Pour Some of Them into Spray Bottle

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Next, you want to pour some amount of them into a spray bottle. Take a pipe or tube to stream the mixture inside the container without spilling outside.

Step 5 – Spray The Solution

Now, spray the solution when the weather is dry and no wind blow. Make sure you don’t apply it to surrounding plants because it will harm them too.

So, these are perfect step-by-step procedures you want to follow when you want to learn how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer.

Does this mixture kill the weeds permanently?

Yes, it will kill weeds permanently if you apply it properly. After using the solution, let the weed absorbs the solution. Wait 2-3 days.

Now take out the weeds from the root and make the area clean. Weeds grow in different areas such as gravel, pavements, patio pavers, and driveways.

The solution will drastically reduce the pH level of the particular area of soil. As a result, weeds will be removed from your garden permanently.

How Does The Mixture Works On Weeds?

The whole mixture will work as a powerful herbicide to kill weeds. The most vigorous ingredient in this mixture is bleach.

This poisonous herbicide will attack the weeds and destroy their existence quickly. Once you apply the solution to a particular area, it reduces the fertility rate of the soil. So nothing will grow in that area of the soil.

Bleach Safety Concerns

Never make the mistake of mixing bleach and ammonia or bleach and vinegar together. It creates lethal chlorine gas. The mixture is hazardous because it will make you seriously ill, and at worst, you may even die.

You will be surprised to know that it was used in World War I as a chemical weapon. Hence, be cautious while choosing any ingredient with bleach. But using liquid soap and salt with bleach is completely okay.

Bleach is an extremely powerful chemical and harmful for human beings. We often think we can use bleach as an alternative for other chemical items sold at shops. In fact, many people use bleach as a regular household item to do various tasks.

How To Use Homemade Weed Killer?

Choosing a sunny day is the best time to apply homemade weed killer. Also, you can use them at mid of the day (12 PM-3 PM).

Turning your normal soil into acidic soil is an easy job for weed killers. You can use weed killer for most plants as they work for any of them.

So, how to apply homemade weed killer?

You will find most weeds between paving stones or under a single-piece rock. Using them where they appear is the best rule of thumb. If you spray the weed killer all over your plants, you will end up harming them.

After noticing the weeds, you want to give them a tremble so that insects can go away. If the weeds are small and younger, spraying the solution on their leaves is enough. But for larger and tall weeds, you want to apply throughout the plants.

So, how long it takes to notice the results?

You will see the weeds start to droop within one hour and will die after a few hours.

Why Use Homemade Weed Killer Instead Of Buying Herbicides?

Using herbicides seems so easy. Right? You just go to your nearby store, purchase one, and apply it on weeds.

So, why should you use homemade weed killers instead of buying herbicides? People will say dozens of reasons to purchase herbicides from shops. We will share two primary causes on why you should use homemade weed killers.

Toxicity

You must be familiar with the “toxicity” word, right? Most of the chemical-based herbicides contain toxic ingredients. You will notice them on the product label. So many warning texts!

All they do is killing; they don’t care what is happening to other plants and humans. In fact, even the part of herbicides (-icide) words means kills things. Funny though!

No doubt, using this chemical-based solution to kill your weeds gives effective results. You think you are the winner. You killed them!

But how about your children and pets?

What if they visit the treated area and carry the toxin ingredients in their skin and paws.

Not only this, but it can also harm other birds and animals if they regularly visit your yards. Avoiding toxicity-based weed killers is a notable reason you should consider.

However, you must be thinking beach are chemical-based ingredients. Why are we using them?

A completely natural solution can’t kill weeds. Killing weeds require super active ingredients. That’s why you want to use bleach. Additionally, commercial products are a mixture of many toxic chemicals, not one or two.

Get A Better Deal

Buying herbicides require handsome money as you need to buy them repeatedly. For buying one bottle of normal weed killer, you will need around $8-$10.

However, if you want to choose an eco-friendly option, be ready to pay $18-$20 for only one bottle. Not a small amount of money!

Some people will say natural ingredients are not cheap either. It is true. But not as much as $20.

Can You Use Vinegar Instead Of Bleach?

Yes, you can use vinegar instead of bleach to make homemade weed killer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, vinegar works effectively to kill weeds.  

Like bleach, you will mix it with other ingredients we mentioned above and make a mixture. Then apply the solution to weeds properly.

So, which type of vinegar is the best to kill weeds? Try to choose vinegar that has 5-10 percent acetic acid concentrations. Research showed that they could kill almost 85-100% mature weeds.

How Do You Make Salt and Vinegar Weed Killer?

Wondering about this question: how do you make salt and vinegar weed killer? These are the required steps you want to follow to make a sale and vinegar weed killer.

Step 1 – Mix the White Vinegar

Take a large container or bucket and add 1 gallon of white vinegar. You can use 5 percent household vinegar as they are already available in your home

Step 2 – Add Table Salt

Now, add one cup of table salt to the vinegar and stir the solution properly using a large spoon to reach the last part.

Step 3 – Add Dish Liquid Soap

Next, you will add one tablespoon of dish liquid soap to the mixture and stir it again. When the mixture gets fully mixed, you want to pour out it into a spray container. Applying the solution to the weeds is all left to do. That’s all!

Where Should You Use The Solution To Kill Weeds?

You have already learned how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer. But applying them by following a manual guideline is necessary. It is because they are not limited to one single location. You will notice them in a wide range of areas in your garden.

You will notice weeds between cracks as their seed easily moves from one area to another through the wind. The mixture of dish liquid, salt, and bleach is quite powerful. Hence, you don’t want to apply the solution on the lawn directly. You may fail to kill them completely when their roots grow between cracks.

Driveways And Pathways

Weeds are mostly seen in driveways and walkways, especially in gardens. Weeds and unwanted grasses grow in cracks and crevices by collecting soil.

The moment you notice them, you want to spray the mixture on that particular areas. Let them absorb the solution and wait for two days. Then take out weeds from their root so that nothing is left.

Using hands, you can use a scraping tool to uproot the small weeds as they are hard to remove.

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Gravel And Stones

Removing weeds from gravel pathways is a little bit challenging task, especially if they don’t enter the soil heavily. In that case, you want to apply the weed killer mixture using a spray container.

As you can’t uproot them unless they become weak, you need to apply the solution several times with a 2-3 days gap between the applications. Once they become soft, you will uproot them completely and clean the area.

Read More – Best Weed Killer For Gravel – Expert’s Review

Among Paving Stones

You will sometimes see weeds between paving stones when they find any scope to strive. Many of them are very hard to kill due to their abrasiveness.

Use a weed puller to pull out the weeds and then apply the mixture so that no weeds build up in the future.

The Mixture Remains In Soil For How Long?

Since the mixture contains bleach, chlorine gas will enter the soil. They will stay approximately two days on the soil and fade slowly.

However, if you use an excessive amount of bleach on the solution, a huge quantity of Clorox will stay in the soil. No germination for the plants will occur in that particular area.

The Mixture Kills Weeds In How Long?

The mixture is supposed to kill weeds within 2-3 days. When the mixture works, you will notice weeds are turning brown, shriveling, and sagging. These are the proof the combination is working effectively to kill weeds.

However, sometimes it may take more days if the weeds are super strong and grown-up. If you notice some weeds are not still dead, apply the solution another time.

Homemade Weed Killer Tips

You have already learned enough idea on how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer. Here are some bonus tips you can check out while making and applying the weed killer.

1. Let the solution stay on the weeds for at least 24 hours.
2. Avoid choosing any rainy day as they will wash away the solution from weeds.
3. If any of your family members are sensitive to smells, make the weed killer when not at home.
4. Don’t make too many solutions at a time. One-time use is perfect! The fresher the solution, the more effective it is.
5. Do not apply on grass as they will also be killed.
6. Keep your pets and children away from the solution.
7. Make sure your pet and children don’t go to the treated area.
8. Make sure you don’t use an excessive amount of bleach to prevent damaging your garden soil.
9. Wear protective gloves prior to use the mixture to the weeds.
10. Don’t use any extra ingredients unless you know the consequence.

Wrapping Up

It is our responsibility to keep your garden fresh, clean, and free from weeds. Otherwise, it will harm other plants and reduce the overall beauty of our garden.

We have mentioned the best homemade solution you can use to kill weeds. Hopefully, you have learned how to mix dish liquid, salt & bleach for weed killer easily.

Make sure you apply the mixture correctly and try to maintain a perfect ratio while mixing the ingredients. Apply the solution and save your beautiful garden!

Last update on 2023-01-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API