Are Dishwashing Liquids Secretly Ruining your Health?

October 5, 2020

Doing the dishes is a part of daily life and as harmless as it seems, the dishwashing liquid that you use everyday may have a negative impact on your health. It is important that you are aware of what to avoid when it comes to choosing a dishwashing liquid. The main deciding factor that you should consider will be the type of surfactant used in the product as it makes up the largest composition apart from water.

What Should you Avoid and Why?

Many steers away from using conventional surfactants such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) when creating dishwashing liquids. This is because they can lead to 1,4-dioxane contamination, a by-product that is classified as a probable human carcinogen. As chemical residues that are left behind may go unnoticed, it is best that we avoid SLES containing products and select those with natural surfactants like Alkylpolyglucosides (APG). APG dishwashing liquid is the latest trend in Korea, known to be safe even for infants and pregnant women. Some examples of APG are decyl glucoside, caprylyl glucoside and coco glucoside.

Why APG?

APG is the ideal group of surfactants that is recognized as safe by FDA and satisfies most of the requirements of the global Green Label (eco-friendly label).

APG has good detergency and its oil-removing capability is comparable to LABSA (LAS). Furthermore, APG show significant synergistic effects with anionic surfactants such as LABSA (LAS) and fatty-alcohol ether sulfate (FAES).

Substituting LAS, FAS or SAS with APG can reduce the relative total irritation scores.

Source: Detergency of Specialty Surfactants. Surfactant Science Series. Volume 98 Edited by Floyd E. Friedli (Goldschmidt Chemical Corp., Dublin, OH). Marcel Dekker, Inc.: New York, Basel. 2001. x + 284 pp. $150. ISBN 0-8247-0491-6.

APG is also utilised in many commercialised dishwashing liquids in Korea. Below are some examples:

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Are you looking for ways to improve your current dishwashing liquid? Maha is here to provide solutions for creating a non-toxic, green and effective dishwashing liquid.