If you really think about it, bubbles are truly fascinating. How does the bubble hold together? Why do bubbles have a rainbow color in sunlight? Why does a bubble pop when you poke it? Why do some bubble solutions allow you to make giant bubbles and other solutions make a lot of little tiny bubbles? What started out as a fascination with bubbles turned into an obsession to explore these questions.
I spent 12 months testing different giant bubble recipes and experimenting with different bubble wands. Why? To see if I could find a simple bubble recipe and an easy-to-make bubble wand that would allow everyone to make huge bubbles. This webpage holds the findings of my year-long bubble journey.
Bubble Recipes
I tested more than 20 bubble recipes and examined the three qualities to determine what was the best giant bubble recipe:
Easy to make
Stores well (does not mold or separate when stored)
Produces giant bubbles
Best Giant Bubble Recipe
(Recipe #1: Modified "Keith Johnson Recipe" from Soap Bubble Wiki)
This is the best giant bubble recipe and produces the biggest bubbles I have ever made!
18 cups distilled water (3.8 Liters)
1/2 teaspoon J-lube
4.25 oz Surgilube (one small bottle)
1/4 cup glycerine (also known as glycerol)
Directions
Add 16 cups distilled water to a bucket.
Add 1/2 teaspoon J-lube to 1 cup distilled water. Mix thoroughly. Add to water bucket. Mix bubble solution in bucket.
Add 4.25 oz Surgilube to 1 cup distilled water. Mix thoroughly. Add to water bucket. Mix bubble solution in bucket.
Add 1/4 cup glycerine to bucket. Mix bubble solution in bucket.
Add 2 cups Dawn Professional Dish Detergent to water bucket. Mix bubble solution in bucket.
Let the bubble solution sit for at least 24 hours. The solution improves with time because the J-lube, Surgilube and Glycerine must completely dissolve (intermix) into each other and into the soap and water solution.
Easy Giant Bubble Recipe
(Recipe #2: NightHawkInLight Recipe)
This is the easiest recipe for making giant bubbles. The bubbles do not hold together as well as the "Best Giant Bubble Recipe" above, but it is a much cheaper and easier bubble solution to make.
3 gallons distilled water (11.3 Liters)
1 Tablespoon J-lube
Directions
Add 3 gallons (11.3 Liters) distilled water to a bucket
Add 3 cups Dawn Professional Dish Detergent to the water bucket. Mix thoroughly.
Add 1 Tablespoon J-lube to 1/2 cup water. Mix. Add to the bubble solution bucket and mix.
Let bubble solution sit for at least 24 hours. The solution will improve over several days and will last for weeks.
How to Make a Giant Bubble Wand
I built and tested 10 different types of bubble wands to determine what makes the best giant bubble wand. The following two wand types are my favorite:
Easy Giant Bubble Wand
This wand will not make massive bubbles, but it makes very big bubbles and anyone, at any age, can use this wand to make bubbles
Cotton T-Shirt
2 sticks
Directions
Lay the t-shirt flat on a table and cut strips from the shirt by cutting from one side to the other. You should have a loop of shirt fabric when finished. Spread the shirt fabric loop into a triangle.
Find two sticks (or pencils or anything that will hold the shirt fabric loop) and attach them to two corners of the shirt fabric loop, allow the other corner to hang down.
Best Giant Bubble Wand
This wand, along with my "Best Giant Bubble Recipe" will make bubbles more than 20 feet long (6 meters)! This wand takes some time to build but the design allows you to switch out wicks (bubble ropes) of different types and sizes and will last forever!
Directions
If using a mop head, carefully cut the threads holding the individual strands together. Stretch the strands end to end and braid them together. You may use cotton rope or string instead of a mop head but I had the best results with the mop head listed.
Make a triangle out of the string that is 6 feet on each side and tie the two ends together to make a loop. At two corners of the triangle, make a loop so these two corners can be attached to the poles. Note: You can adjust the size of this loop to any length you like.
Attach the clips to the end of the Fishing Rods with wire.
Clip the two corners of the string into the clips.
Resources
With a year of testing and research, I have found a lot of resources for bubbles online. Below are some of the best resources for making bubbles and bubble wands:
Soap Bubble Wiki on Fandom
This is the best resource for everything about bubbles
Discover Magazine - Scientists Discover Why Bubbles ....Monster Bubbles:
Emory University
These scientists studied WHY giant bubbles form:
Keep on Learning! ~Craig Beals