Lara and I have been analysing chemicals inside detergents for a while now. I have to admit that when I first started looking into the ingredients of hand soaps, laundry and dish detergents I thought it would be tough to find some evidence of toxic or environmental harmful substances. Unfortunately this was not the case. Most surprisingly for me were the dish soaps: the most used, including the well-known P&G YES (Fairy/Dreft in other countries) and ICA Skona, have several potentially toxic chemicals, especially harmful for our health.
Take a look at this image. What strike you at first? The irritant hazard symbol, right? Well, believe it or not, dish soap - that you are supposed to handle with your hands to wash dishes - IS irritant (responsible chemical: Sodium Laureth Sulfate). Moreover, it is a human immune system toxicant (Cocamidopropyl betaine); can cause allergic reactions (Colourant Patent blue CI 42051) and might be carcinogenic (SLS can be contaminated with the carcinogen 1,4 dioxane and there´s a strong evidence that the colourant Acid yellow 17 - CI 18965 - induces mutations in our DNA). Needless to say, these chemicals are not explicity listed in the ingredients. One have to get the complete list from the producer´s website. This procedure is time consuming and not enough to understand the risks associated with the use of these products. Further research for each chemical is necessary. Follow our blog, and you will soon discover more about detergents. In the meantime use gloves when you wash the dishes!
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