Conventional cleaners may not be as clean as you think, and many contain known carcinogens. Let’s talk about a few of the biggest offenders and how you can avoid them. First, there’s 1,4-dioxane. 1,4-dioxane occurs when ethoxylated surfactants are used, which means they often show up in soaps and detergents. While you’ll never see it listed on the label, you can avoid it by passing on any products that contain ingredients that end in “-eth,” such as laureth-6 or sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), ceteareth or steareth.
Second, there’s Ethanolamines. Ethanolamines are surfactants and emulsifiers that break down into carcinogenic toxins called nitrosamines. They’re often found in laundry detergents and surface cleaners. Luckily, they’re easy to avoid since most ethanolamine compounds contain either TEA, DEA or MEA in their chemical name, such as cocamide DEA.
And finally, there’s formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is present in many household products, despite not being listed on most labels. Unlike the two previous ingredients, without researching each ingredient in depth, it can be nearly impossible to recognize the formaldehyde-releasing preservatives found in common cleaners.