When it comes to dish soaps, there is a TON of Sneaky Stuff. What follows are the brands that you ask about most often.
365 dish soaps have moved from Okay Stuff to Sneaky Stuff, thanks to the addition of sodium laureth sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, and benzisothiazolinone.
Aunt Fannie’s dishwashing liquid contains cocamidopropyl betaine, although the rest of their line of cleaning products is Good Stuff!
When I wrote the first version of the dish soap safety review (back in 2010!), Biokleen was tight-lipped about the specific ingredients they use. (“Unfortunately, our surfactants are a proprietary blend and therefore we do not disclose that information to the public.”) Biokleen did assure me, however, that their detergent is free of both SLS and SLES and that they don’t use synthetic fragrances or dyes. They sent me their material safety data sheet (MSDS) and their surfactant blend is not considered hazardous or possibly carcinogenic. Given all of this information, I felt that Biokleen should be considered Good Stuff. Unfortunately, Biokleen recently changed their formula and, to their credit, chose to disclose all ingredients. These include cocamidopropyl betaine, lauramine oxide, and something called C10-16 alkyl glucoside, about which I can’t find any information.
Caldrea dish soaps contain methylisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone, and synthetic fragrance.
Dapple dish soap uses alkyl polyglucoside as a surfactant, which is safe, but it also contains tetrasodium iminodisuccinate (a C on EWG), synthetic fragrance (although they specify that it’s “made from ingredients consistent with the guidelines of the Natural Products Association”), and benzisothiazolinone (definitely Bad Stuff). When we tried to get more info from Dapple on their fragrance, we got no response (via phone or email).
Eco-Max dish wash contains SLES and cocamidopropyl betaine.
Earth Friendly Products used to list the ingredients in their ECOS Dishmate soap as just “water, salt, organic grapefruit oil, and 100% natural anionic coconut kernel oil-based surfactant.” They have recently started disclosing all of their ingredients, which include cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium coco-sulfate, cocamidopropylamine oxide, phenoxyethanol, and methylisothiazolinone. Super sneaky!
Grab Green changed their formula, and their dish liquid now contains sodium laureth sulfate and cocamidopropyl betaine.
Honest Company’s Honest Dish Soap has changed their ingredients for the better since the original version of this guide. But it still contains sodium benzoate, cocomidopropylamine oxide, phenoxyethanol, sodium coco-sulfate, and cocamidopropyl betaine.
J.R. Watkins foaming dish soap has a cool application process, but contains all the standard Sneaky ingredients, including synthetic fragrance.
Method dish soap uses synthetic fragrance and color (this one is free of phthalates), and also contains synthetic preservatives and methylisothiazolinone.
Mrs. Meyers Clean Day’s PR company sent me bottles of all of their dishwashing liquids, hoping to have it reviewed on this site. While I did in fact use all four bottles, I won’t buy or recommend Mrs. Meyers. They are indeed scented with essential oils, as the label claims, but they also contain synthetic fragrances (although a Mrs. Meyers rep assured me they are free of phthalates)–in addition to methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone.
Sapadilla Lovely Liquid Dish Soap contains cocamidopropyl betaine.
Shaklee is a brand that we are asked about often. Unfortunately, their dishwashing liquid contains Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-sulfo-.omega.-hydroxy-, C10-16-alkyl ethers (yes, that’s one ingredient!), which may be contaminated with carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane. It also contains tetrasodium EDTA and C10-16-alkyl glycosides, both of which EWG rate a C.
Trader Joe’s doesn’t disclose any specifics about their dish soap, but we know it has artificial colors.
130 comments
maia
We are working on a toothpaste guide, but at the moment I am using Ton’s of Maine. I discussed hand sanitizer here: https://gimmethegoodstuff.com/why-your-hand-sanitizer-doesnt-stop-the-flu-and-might-make-you-sick/
Lauren
Hey Maia- do you have any hand sanitizer recommendations? Also any toothpaste recommendations?
Thank you!
Maia James
Don’t worry! Small exposure like that for a short period of time doesn’t confer an appreciable risk, in my opinion.
Patty
The johnson and Johnson products that used to contain formaldehyde , how harmful was it?! When my 4 year old was born, the hospital used the head to toe bodywash to rinse some of her baby supplies (pacifiers and bottle nipples) and I’m sure we continued to do so at home for a few months. Is this harmful to her?! I know we rinsed everything when washed and used small amounts of soap but the crazy in me has me nervous.
Maia James
I would ask your pediatrician, but my understanding is that they now say sterilization is not necessary and soap and hot water is fine.
Natalie
Hi love your site! What do you think about sterilizing bottles? Using the machine or just plain hot water?
Maia James
Hi Lance-
Yes, these are all for handwashing dishes. We have not yet done a dishwasher detergent guide, but we will write one in the coming months. Meanwhile, this is what I’m using now: http://amzn.to/1RVDdSa
Lance Lawson
Most of these look to be dish soaps you’d hand wash with, are there any you can use in a dishwasher?
Maia James
Hi Jackie-
In the quantities present in the Eco-Me soaps, and particularly because you rinse dishes (as opposed to, say, a body lotion you apply), I am definitely not worried about the essential oils. If you’re still concerned, you could get this one: http://amzn.to/1PVsasP
Jackie
Hello,
I know that some essential oils are not okay for baby, especially a newborn. I noticed that eco-me dish soap contains essential oils as an ingredient. Is this safe to use on Baby’s bottles/dishes?