Most people don’t think much about dish detergent beyond performance. We know synthetic chemical dish detergents are one of the most toxic and corrosive products in the average home. They are a common source of childhood and pet poisoning. And are terrible for the environment. [1, 2]
This, coupled with the dismal reputation of many eco-friendly dish detergents, led us to investigate the best non-toxic dish detergents and rinse aids.
Even health- and toxin-conscious individuals will often overlook dish detergent because it doesn’t appear to go in, on, or around our bodies. Just pop it in the machine and forget about it, right?
However, there are many good reasons to make switching to non-toxic dish detergent a priority, including:
- Dish detergent is a common cause of poisoning in children and pets. Children are especially drawn to colorful detergent pods, while dogs and other pets can quickly lap up liquid detergents. [3, 4]
- It leaves residue on dishes and utensils that we ingest. The amount of residue may depend on your dishwasher, the cycle, or the type of detergent. However, research has shown even powerful commercial-grade dishwashers leave enough residue on dishes to disrupt gut biome function. [5]
- Synthetic dish soaps are terrible for the environment, especially aquatic life, which becomes starved for oxygen due to ingredients that feed algae blooms.
- Bleach-containing detergents are not good for septic systems, as they disrupt the microbial balance.
- Steam from the dishwasher creates chemical fumes, such as VOCs and SVOCs. This means we breathe in detergent chemicals every time we run a wash cycle.
- Powdered detergents are an inhalation risk. The caustic chemicals in dish detergents, which we’ll discuss below, can easily be breathed in while pouring powders into the dishwasher.
- Dishwasher pods aren’t as biodegradable as we’ve been led to believe. As you’ve likely observed at home, the PVA used to make dishwasher pods doesn’t always dissolve fully. This is concerning, given the microplastic pollution issues we all face.
As you can see, dish detergents do make their way in, on, and around our bodies via inhalation (steam and powders), ingestion (everyday residue or accidental swallowing), or skin exposure from handling pods, liquids, powders, or tablets.
Now that you understand the reasons for switching, let’s examine the toxic chemicals in everyday dish detergents and why you should avoid them.
