Build Your Own Bubble Solution

One thing about bubble solution is that it’s super cheap. At the beginning of the season I marched stalwartly into Target to buy tampons (I avoid Target, because although I try to avoid new purchases, I am weak in the face of a deal), and somehow ended up with gallons of bubble solution for basically pennies. A lot of which the girls managed to spill into the minivan carpet on the ride home, so it was just as well that I bought extra—bonus carpet shampoo, I suppose.

Sometimes, however, you don’t want to buy something just because it’s a deal. Perhaps you have an empty container of bubble solution and just need some product, not the packaging, or perhaps you and your child like to experiment with recipes, or perhaps you’re just of the DIY mindset and would rather make something yourself rather than purchase it—admirable goals, all.

• » See also: Something Every Parent Should Have: Removeez
• » Get Eco Child’s Play by RSS or sign up by email.

What follows are two recipes for bubble solution—one for small amounts, one for large—that call for household ingredients, all except for the glycerine, but once I finally figured out how to buy some (drugstore, in the mouthcare aisle), I actually found a lot of uses for it, so it’s not gone to waste. In addition, I’ve thrown in a bonus recipe of my grandmother’s that actually calls for ingredients so obscure that I’ve never tried it myself, but once you’ve got the bubble solution bug, I’m betting you’ll want to try out every recipe you come across, just to experience all the subtleties in sturdiness and elasticity that each recipe will produce.

Recipe #1: for a small amount of bubble solution

• 1 Cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of liquid dish detergent (the brand doesn’t matter, as long as it’s meant for washing dishes by hand)
• 1 tablespoon glycerine
• ½ teaspoon sugar

Shake it up, let it sit until the froth has diminished, and then bubble away.

Recipe #2: for a large amount of bubble solution

• 2/3 cup of liquid dish detergent
• 1 gallon of water
• 1 tablespoon of glycerine (a tiny amount goes a loooooong way, and that’s why you don’t really need to increase the amount from the smaller recipe, but you certainly can as an experiment)

This recipe, mostly because it’s so large, works well if it has time to mellow. For the best bubble results, let the solution to sit in a container with the lid off for at least a day before use. An open container of liquid is a drowning hazard for small children, however, so do this at your own discretion.

Bubble Solution #3: this one’s the antique, although my grandmother would probably have had a fit if she’d lived to hear me call it that

• 3 cups of water
• 2 cups of Joy liquid detergent (do they still make that?)
• ½ cup of Karo syrup (I know they still make that, but I’ve never been called upon to use it)

If your favorite bubble solution recipe is different, please post it in the comments!

Tweet This Post