DIY Bubble Solution
Intro: DIY Bubble Solution
Spring is upon us, and what better way to celebrate than going outdoors and bathing in sunlight and bubbles! With this simple instructable, I'll show you how to make your own bubble solution, which can easily be increased to any quantity for a perfectly effervescent afternoon! Best part about this is that you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now!
Let's get started!
STEP 1: Materials
For this project, you will need:
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons liquid dish soap (I highly recommend dawn brand)
1 tablespoon glycerin
1 teaspoon white sugar
The above quantities will yield just a bit more than 1 cup of solution. Simply multiply if you plan on getting knee deep in bubbles!
STEP 2: Mixing It All Up
In a separate container, pour all four of your ingredients and stir or shake.
It's ready to get poppin'!
STEP 3: Have a Blast!
Go out and get blowin'! These bubbles are wonderfully strong, as the picture indicates, one bubble even perched on a few blades of grass!
28 Comments
sminarik erickson 10 years ago
mce128 10 years ago
Yeah, Walgreen's sells it. It is usually by the skin care stuff.
zonk3r 10 years ago
Glycerin is commonly used as a laxative and can be found in pharmacies in that section.
Phoghat 10 years ago
most pharmacies have glycerin
amalkhan 10 years ago
mgc8599 10 years ago
Thank you very much
thiruchendur77 10 years ago
Thanks to you because it's very useful for my child for playing
Thanking you
Thiru
lime3D 10 years ago
rkatz30 10 years ago
I've also seen dawn and corn syrup
amalkhan 10 years ago
Sugar is used even in the soap making process, and for the same reasons it's used in many bubble solutions. Namely, it helps form a healthy lather and adds surface tension to the other watery ingredients with its texture, allowing the water to evaporate less quickly and hence giving the bubble a longer float life.
sminarik erickson 10 years ago
AnnetteS 10 years ago
Most drug stores carry it. Or try craft stores--they usually put it in the cake decorating supplies section.
spark master 10 years ago
don't need sugar in it, if the stuff sits around it can sour and or grow mold. I have ade the stuff many times to make giant bubbles as well as giant bubble wands.
spark master 10 years ago
perhaps I need to correct myself on this, check out
http://www.extremebubbles.com/blogs/news
from his pages you might try adding some sodium bicarb to the solution, and definitely add sugar and after mixing let it sit in the fridge overnight. Cold bubble solution apparently yield bubbles that last longer.
One of my kids did a science experiment, years ago, on solution mixes/ and did it in the winter. It was interesting, I must buzz them on the results.
And bubble popping on the lawn is good for the lawn, even with sugar, maybe even better.
bobjacksonjr 10 years ago
Cool idea for summer... but what if you want to make (much) bigger bubbles? I can make a 12" loop out of 10 gauge wire and use a bigger bowl to hold the solution but how should I change the formula to gain more surface tension?
Thanks...
spark master 10 years ago
poke around for another recipe, w/o sugar. It has been years since I made this, but I made a gallon at a clip. and I want to say it was a cup of what we now call Regular Dawn or Joy, a gallon of water and 4-6 tablespoons of glycerin.
On hot days a little more glycerin was a help.
A nice giant bubble maker is a loop of fabric that is thin and flexible(we used what my mom called "Rick Rack", a woven airy trip off a roll that could be used as a decoration on ugly clothing, like the material that hold the hanging fabric balls ), say a 3 foot piece, take a piece of copper wire big enough to thread on a couple of heavy nuts then twist ends closed, thread the rick rack through it. From a plastic milk jug cut a donut shaped disk slip that on to the rick rack, sew the rick rack ends together, then attach it to a long stick maybe 2 feet long.
To use it dip in a potful of liquid, slip the donut over the stick and it will of course drag some fabric , dip again, pull the donut to you to make a glass pane and move the whole thing to make a blob of a bubble. TO Close the bubble simple slide the donut forward toward the end.
It takes practice. I used to make motorcycle sized bubbles on humid days after sun was behind the western houses, of my street. I had several roll down the street maybe 600 feet onto a much larger road with traffic then hang 3-4 feet above the pavement undulating like an giant amoebae, cars stopped. It was better to their sight as they were facing the sun and it shone right through the bubbles.
It was a hoot, sorry it never dawned on me to take a picture. Mine was ugly and not as nice as a store bought one, but the kids loved it. I was asked by several little old Italian ladies how to make it, and how to make "the juice".
if you go here
http://www.amazon.com/Dip-Stix-Giant-Bubble-Grab/d...
you can see one made with two sticks that work , perhaps easier then mine did.
your kids will have a blast, so will you, do not forget to bring a camera.
spark master 10 years ago
Here is the one I copied 20 years ago it has two picture the second one is a drawing that is self explanatory.
http://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Thing-CK-4000/dp/B001...
on the above one I showed a different version (diff company), Maybe I will try the two sticks as it looks easier to make then my single stick.
Oh and alll bubbles make the same shape spheres. the really big ones are always trying to become a sphere, and so the undulate. On very humid days with extra water and a touch more glycerin, they last a relatively long time. Over black road surfaces they can go pretty high up. I have gotten them over 2 story building and then they pop.
ldraconus 10 years ago
The sugar and the glycerin are used to prevent the water from evaproating too fast. You can probably get away with leaving the sugar out, but the bubbles will not last as long then.
thebeatonpath 10 years ago
Have never seen sugar used. Interesting. I'll definitely try this one!
truliwicked 10 years ago
Another project my kids can do this summer...Thanks ;-)