Is Dish Soap Toxic?

The chemical at issue is 1,4-dioxane, which the EPA says may be found as a contaminant in consumer products such as soaps and detergents. For the people using them, the EPA’s 2020 risk evaluation looked at products such as detergents and cleaning products containing 1,4-dioxane as a contaminant and found that the use did not present an unreasonable risk to consumers or bystanders, and its 2024 revised determination does not count those consumer uses toward its unreasonable risk finding.

The EPA’s concern is what goes down the drain. It says the presence of 1,4-dioxane in products like dish soaps and laundry detergents significantly contributes to its unreasonable risk determination when these products are washed down the drain and contaminate surface water used as a source for drinking water.

New York limits it. State law bars selling household cleansing products with 1,4-dioxane above trace concentrations, which may not exceed 2 parts per million by December 31, 2022 and 1 part per million by December 31, 2023, and the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation says no waiver from those limits is effective after December 30, 2025. The EPA says that before a product can carry its Safer Choice label, it reviews every chemical ingredient regardless of its percentage, against criteria that include carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, toxicity to aquatic life and persistence in the environment.

Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.

The sources behind this answer

  • Government sourceThe EPA says 1,4-dioxane is used as a solvent in commercial and industrial applications and may be found as a contaminant in consumer products such as soaps and detergents. US EPA ↗
  • Government sourceThe EPA’s 2020 risk evaluation found that consumer use of products such as detergents and cleaning products containing 1,4-dioxane as a contaminant did not present an unreasonable risk to consumers or bystanders, and its 2024 revised determination does not count those consumer risks. US EPA ↗
  • Government sourceThe EPA says 1,4-dioxane in products like dish soaps and laundry detergents significantly contributes to its unreasonable risk determination when they are washed down the drain and contaminate surface water used for drinking water. US EPA ↗
  • Regulatory filingNew York Environmental Conservation Law section 35-0105 bars household cleansing products with 1,4-dioxane above trace concentrations, capped at two parts per million by December 31, 2022 and one part per million by December 31, 2023. New York State Senate ↗
  • Regulatory filingNew York’s Department of Environmental Conservation says that under its regulations no waiver from the 1,4-dioxane limits will be effective after December 30, 2025, and all products will need to comply. New York State DEC ↗
  • Government sourceBefore a product can carry the Safer Choice label, the EPA reviews all chemical ingredients regardless of percentage, against criteria including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, aquatic toxicity and environmental persistence. US EPA Safer Choice ↗

Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.

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