How to change your indoor air quality by the way you run your dishwasher
I started seeing feed on my Facebook page that indicated I was endangering my health by using commercial dishwashing soap. Really? I use a dishwasher but don’t even touch the stuff…literally. I don’t use pods, instead choosing to use powder or liquid. By the time I open the door, there is no soap left in the machine, only nicely clean, steaming dishes.
But what I cannot see or touch, apparently does affect me. During the cycle, the the water gets aerosolized and steam is allowed to “vent” into your home. There is even more steam if you use the “drying cycle”, which uses an electric coil at the bottom of the machine to generate heat. An important experiment in 2019 by Hayward Score revealed that the “drying cycle” of the dishwasher (to dry the dishes at the end) is actually the source of most pollution.
The researchers placed an indoor air quality monitor in a room adjacent to the kitchen and ran the dishwasher three times:
-
Dishwasher run with standard soap, heat and dry cycle on = Air Quality: RED ZONE (bad)
-
Dishwasher run with no soap, heat and dry cycle on = Air Quality: RED ZONE (bad)
-
Dishwasher run with standard soap, heat and dry cycle off = Air Quality: BLUE ZONE (good)
Because soap was omitted in the second run but the air quality was still bad, they knew that soap was not causing elevated levels of VOCs; instead it was caused by high temperature combined with chlorinated water.
Drying cycles can cause the interior of the dishwasher to go up to 160 degrees F. This heat vaporizes the water left on the dishes, and the resulting steam gets vented into your kitchen. According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, “Most cities and counties use chlorination to disinfect their water supply. As a result, when the water (especially hot water) comes out of your faucet or is heated, chloroform vaporizes into the surrounding air. You can be exposed to chloroform when cooking, washing dishes or clothes, bathing, or operating the dishwasher.” The idea that the dishwasher vaporizes chemicals from the water into the air was also confirmed by University of Colorado researchers (Showers And Dishwashers Contribute To Indoor Air Pollution)
Although those researchers did not detect VOCs from the soap, there are other toxins that fly “under the radar” in dishwashing soap. The stuff that’s in the dishwashing detergent also gets vaporized and released into your home. Here are just some of the toxic ingredients that most commercial dishwashing detergents contain (Why Human-Safe Dishwashing Is So Important):
-
Fragrances: these are emitted as VOCs, to which many people may be allergic
-
Phthalates that are endocrine-disruptors and can cause DNA damage and lower IQ.
-
Formaldehyde-releasing agents that act as preservatives such as DMDM hydantoin, etc., are carcinogenic.
-
Surfactants (which help food and grease separate from the surface of the dishes to be washed away) are present too. Some surfactants like Nonylphenol Ethoxylates (NPEs) have been banned in other countries (but not the United States) due to disrupted physical function and fetal development. They are also toxic to aquatic life.
-
Antimicrobial agents from the isothiazolinone family, such as methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone, are neurotoxic and linked to lung, skin, and eye irritation.
-
Dyes are problematic because they contain many different potentially harmful chemicals, they are absorbed through the skin, and are often not listed on labels. Plus, they can make a detergent more appealing to a child, increasing the risk of poisoning.
Yikes! Don’t fret, however, you can still use your dishwasher safely. Here’s how to do that:
-
Omit the dry cycle: Besides saving you money on your electric bill, omitting the dry cycle can also improve your air quality. Instead, after the washing cycle has finished, crack the door on your dishwasher and let the dishes dry naturally. Steam will come out of the dishwasher, but you can hasten the process of drying by ventilating the room (opening a window). If you don’t like the steam, just wait a few hours and then open the door and unload the dishwasher contents onto a clean towel on the countertop.
-
Use a non-toxic dishwasher soap like Branch Basics’ Dishwasher Tabs. They are free of any fragrance, sulfates, formaldehyde, ethoxylates, chlorine, phosphates, phthalates, and plastic film. (The plastic film on many “pods” is released into the wastewater coming out of the dishwasher, which makes its way as microplastics into our environment.) The other unseen benefit of using non-toxic dishwashing soap is that you are cutting out toxins from the manufacturing process, such as ethylene oxide and benzene. (The Dirty Secret of America’s Clean Dishes, a very eye-opening article)
These easy steps still give you the convenience of dishwashing with a healthier outcome for your family and the environment. Win-win!
Photo by Pavol Tančibok on Unsplash
