If you’re a parent, you probably think about what goes on your family’s plates. But what about the soap you use to wash them?
Dish soap touches plates, cups, lunch containers, and the hands doing the washing. Laundry soap touches pajamas and bedding. Counter sprays are used where your family prepares food and eats. Cleaning products are part of your family’s everyday environment, so they’re worth a closer look.
I’m not saying one bottle of dish soap causes cancer or hormone problems. The ingredient, the amount, and how someone is exposed all matter. But if you’re using a product every day, I think you deserve to know what’s in it.
1,4-Dioxane: The Contaminant You Won’t See on the Label
1,4-Dioxane can form while certain cleaning ingredients are manufactured. It isn’t intentionally added to the finished soap, so you generally won’t see it listed on the bottle. The EPA says it can be present as a contaminant in soaps and detergents.
That doesn’t mean every dish soap contains it, and it doesn’t mean washing dishes has been shown to cause cancer. In fact, the EPA did not find unreasonable risk from the consumer detergent and cleaning product uses it assessed. I still think it’s fair to ask manufacturers about contaminants that an ingredient label alone cannot show you.
Formaldehyde-Releasing Preservatives
Some household products use preservatives that release small amounts of formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can irritate the eyes and airways, and the EPA notes its use as a preservative in household cleaners.
But I wouldn’t tell you that every dish soap, or every version of a particular brand, contains a preservative like Quaternium-15. Formulas change. Check the current ingredients on the specific bottle you’re buying, especially if someone in your family notices skin or breathing irritation around cleaning products.
Fragrance: Everyone Shares the Air
Have you ever sprayed a cleaner and had someone across the room say, “What is that smell?” The person holding the bottle isn’t the only one exposed to its scent.
“Fragrance” tells you little about the ingredients used to make a product smell the way it does. That doesn’t mean every fragrance causes hormone problems. It does mean that scented products can bother some people, particularly those with asthma or fragrance sensitivities. Cleaning fumes can also linger after the job is done.
If a cleaner makes someone in your house cough, wheeze, or get a headache, pay attention.
Dyes: What Are They Doing for Your Dishes?
I want you to look at the soap by your kitchen sink and ask one question: Does that color help clean a single dish?
It doesn’t. The dye is there to make the product look appealing. And in a home where you’re already paying attention to what your family eats, breathes, and puts on their skin, I think it’s reasonable to question ingredients that serve no cleaning purpose.
There are also benzidine-based dyes, a particular group with much more serious concerns. The EPA says these dyes can break down into carcinogenic substances in or on the body and has raised concerns about potential exposure, including for children.
Why These Choices Matter for the Whole Family
Think about how many times the sink gets used in one day. Breakfast dishes. Sticky hands. Lunch containers. Dinner pans. Then there’s the cleaner on the kitchen counter, the soap by the bathroom sink, floors, and the detergent washing everyone’s clothes.
For families with eczema, asthma, hormone sensitivities, or easily irritated skin, those everyday products are a practical place to look. Household cleaners and air fresheners can trigger asthma symptoms in some children and adults.
You don’t have to replace everything in your house tonight. Start with what your family uses most.
The Swaps I’d Make
The Thieves Home Loyalty Bundle puts several everyday cleaning swaps in one place.
Here’s how I would use it around the house:
- At the kitchen sink: Swap your usual dish soap for Thieves Dish Soap. Use it for plates, pots, pans, and lunch containers according to the bottle directions.
- On counters and tables: Swap your usual all-purpose spray for Thieves Household Cleaner mixed with water. This is the concentrate I’d turn into an everyday spray for kitchen counters, sinks, and other household surfaces.
- In the laundry room: Swap your usual detergent for Thieves Laundry Soap. This is one of the changes that reaches everyone in the house because everyone wears the clothes and sleeps in the bedding.
- At the bathroom sink: Put a good Foaming Hand Soap where your family will actually use it. An easy swap only helps if it fits into your routine.
For jobs that need scrubbing: Use Thieves Kitchen & Bath Scrub for sinks and appropriate bathroom or kitchen surfaces, following its label.
For produce: Use Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak according to its label directions.
For quick cleanups: Keep the Thieves Multipurpose Wipes handy for the little messes that happen between bigger cleaning days.
How to Dilute Thieves Household Cleaner
Because Thieves Household Cleaner is concentrated, you’ll use a different amount depending on the job.
- Everyday cleaning: Mix 1 capful of Cleaner with 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. This is the one I’d make first for general cleaning around the house.
- Heavy grease: Mix 1–2 capfuls with 1 cup of water for jobs like a greasy stovetop. Wipe the surface afterward with a damp cloth.
- Light cleaning: Mix 1 capful with 4 cups of water when you need a lighter solution.
If you’re wondering where to begin, I’d start with Explore the Thieves Home Loyalty Bundle !
