Remember the dad in the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and how he used Windex for everything?  My dad is the same way–with Brown Soap.

He swears by the stuff, and I’ll bet that my brother and sister have a bar of it in their homes, just like I do.  It’s probably in the basement, but although supermarkets sell this soap in the laundry section, we don’t use it for laundry.

Dad has many ways to use this soap, but the one that has stuck with us kids is its anti-itch properties.  If Dad even sees poison ivy, he rushes home and scrubs down with Brown Soap.  I’ve really put it to the test this summer, what with the Kamikaze Mosquitoes that have taken up residence around here.

How to use Brown Soap on itches:  Get an edge of  your bar of soap wet.  Rub the wet bar of soap on the poison ivy or bug bites.  Do not rinse.

Little Brother picked up a few mosquito bites at soccer practice tonight.  After he went to bed, he wandered out of his room asking me for anti-itch medicine.  Instead of pulling out a tube of hydrocortisone cream, I took a page from Dad’s playbook.

“Go into the bathroom and get a little soap from the dispenser.  Rub it on the bug bite and don’t wash it off.”

“Hey, that really works,” he observed a minute or so later.

Yes, it does.  And a little extra soap on that kid won’t hurt either.