Safer Ways to Clean Your Kitchen
In Week 7 of our Detox Your Kitchen Challenge, we explain how to choose sprays, dish detergents, wipes, and more with fewer toxic chemicals
Consumer Reports has partnered with the Guardian US to create this seven-week Detox Your Kitchen Challenge.
Are you a chemist? No? Then you probably have a tough time deciphering lengthy ingredients lists filled with difficult-to-pronounce chemicals on the back of most dishwashing detergents, countertop wipes, and other kitchen cleaning products.
I write about toxic chemicals for a living—most of this stuff is a mystery to me, too.
That’s a problem for us because there are some things we certainly should know about and avoid in most popular kitchen cleaning products. Meanwhile, some companies seek to capitalize on consumers’ desire to buy nontoxic and environmentally responsible items by greenwashing or being vague about what’s in their products.
The idea of disinfecting our kitchens to protect our health but risking our health in other ways during the process is nonsensical. Fortunately, there are some very easy steps you can take to keep your kitchen clean without using harmful chemicals. I can help you with those and offer some easy tips that I learned while cleaning up my own cleaning products.
What’s Lurking in Cleaners?
Kitchen cleaning products have to do some heavy-duty work—eliminating grease, killing dangerous bacteria like salmonella, and generally sanitizing high-germ areas.
Check Out Other Installments in the Detox Your Kitchen Challenge
Week 1: Nix the Pesticides in Your Food. Week 2: Shopping for Safer, Healthier Meat. Week 3: Lower the Risk From Chemicals in Seafood. Week 4: What You Can Do About Microplastics in Your Food. Week 5: Clean Up Your Tap Water. Week 6: Opt for Safer Kitchenware.
How to Avoid Toxic Cleaners
A very easy-to-use resource for finding safer cleaners is the EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning. It independently analyzes top cleaners’ ingredients and ranks them in an A-F grading system, while also designating the safest products with a verification seal.
The EWG breaks down the cleaners into categories. Among EWG-Verified dishwasher soaps and pods are the Branch Basics fragrance-free tablets and Attitude fragrance-free dishwashing soap. If you’re washing dishes by hand, try AspenClean Dishwashing Soap.
For wiping down countertops, Whole Foods Market’s Minty Fresh Wipes received high marks, as did AspenClean Kitchen Cleaner’s Bergamot and Grapefruit Cleaner.
If you need a degreaser, check out Truly Free Home Heavy Duty Degreaser.
For your floor, AspenClean and Attitude products are EWG-Verified.
Generally speaking, try to avoid cleaning products with fragrances. More than 3,000 chemicals are used to scent products, and about 1,200 were found to be toxic by one estimate.
I skip most major cleaner brands because they generally get bad marks from the EWG and contain ingredients I know are toxic. (But be aware that some smaller brands may also greenwash their products.)
If you do use a major brand, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for how much to use. A tiny amount of dishwashing detergent, for example, will go a long way. People often add much more than needed, and that increases exposure to any toxic ingredients.
Skip Cleaners in Plastic Packaging, if You Can
If you really want to go deep, steer clear of cleaning products packaged in plastic, which can leach microplastics, phthalates, and PFAS, potentially compounding the level of harmful chemicals you use. Many of the plastic containers produced for cleaning products in the U.S. are treated with PFAS, which have been found to leach into packages’ contents at high levels. It’s difficult to know which plastic has been treated with the chemicals, though thinner, clear, less rigid plastic is less likely to have been.
It’s easy enough to dodge plastic with some soaps and detergents—there are handwashing and dishwashing bars. Cleaning products like sponges or scours are often made of plastic and you can also get plastic-free dishwashing sets.
It’s harder to find cleaning solutions that don’t come in plastic containers, but hopefully, a world with less plastic use will be the norm someday.
You've Got Questions, We Have Answers
What About Making Your Own Countertop Cleaner?
This is a great idea and quite easy. There are a number of recipes out there, but among the usual ingredients is white vinegar, which kills some bacteria because it is so acidic. (Be aware that vinegar could damage some surfaces, like stone countertops.) Most recipes call for antimicrobial essential oils, like lavender or eucalyptus. You can also use a bit of baking soda for greasy messes.
What Are Good Products to Use in the Kitchen?
I use Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds for hand-washing dishes in my sink and disinfecting countertops and laundry. It doesn’t contain dangerous ingredients or fragrances. Its bottles are plastic, though the company also told me it doesn’t use bottles treated with PFAS. For hand soap, I use Dr. Bronner’s unscented castile soap bar.
Goals for the Week
• Purchase a non-toxic cleaner with help from the EWG database.
• Take a look at the different seals that can help guide your purchases. EWG Verified, Safer Choice, UL Ecologo, and Green Seal.
• Consider making your own vinegar cleaner. The EWG has vinegar-based cleaner recipes developed for a range of situations. Or invest in a scrub brush made from nonplastic materials.
