Why do families who use dishwashing detergent advise others not to use it?
In homes without dishwashers, people usually wash dishes by hand and use detergent to remove grease stains. However, why do families who use detergent advise others not to use it? What’s the reason for this?
It turns out that there is a saying that detergent is a “pest” that not only harms your hands but also causes cancer. Regardless of whether or not this claim is correct, from the past news, we have not heard of detergent causing harm to the human body, therefore, it is very likely that this claim is a rumor and has no basis in fact. So, is detergent really harmful? Let me tell you below!
First, let’s talk about the ingredients of detergent.natural sponges for dishes Commonly used detergent by sodium alkyl sulfonate, sodium fatty alcohol ether sulfate, foam, flavor, water, color, solubilizer and preservatives, which removes oil mainly rely on sodium alkyl sulfonate.
And sodium alkyl sulfonate is an anionic surfactant, which belongs to the derivatives of petroleum. When it enters inside the human body, it is not easily digested. If a pregnant woman ingests too much sodium alkylsulfonate, it could lead to serious consequences.
This is the reason why detergent is known as the “evil spirit”, as it is considered to be a hidden hazard that affects the human body.
So, can we continue to use detergent?
Seeing the above mentioned dangers of detergents, some people may be worried that they have been using detergents for many years and that they are causing harm to their bodies. However, this is not the case. Normal use of detergent does not affect the human body, nor does it cause miscarriages or fetal abnormalities in pregnant women.
The prerequisite for the above to occur is a large intake of sodium alkyl sulfonate, which is only about 2% in detergent. In addition, after washing dishes with detergent, we rinse the dishes with plenty of water to dilute the toxicity on the dishes and basically cause no harm.
Therefore, there is no problem with the normal use of detergent to wash dishes. Of course, prolonged exposure to detergent will make your hands dry and rough, but these are within acceptable limits.
So, how to use detergent properly?
Detergent itself is not harmful, but if you are still concerned, you can follow these steps to use detergent properly:
1. Before washing dishes, remember to wear rubber gloves to prevent the skin on your hands from drying out and becoming rough from prolonged contact with detergent. After washing, rinse your fingers with water and apply hand cream so as to protect your fingers from being slippery.
2. Do not soak dishes in detergent for a long time. This is unhygienic and unhealthy as it is likely to breed bacteria; it will also cause the detergent to penetrate into the chopsticks, making it more difficult to clean them later.
3. When washing chopsticks, rinse them several times with running water to wash away the foam. This will reduce the chance of detergent sticking to the chopsticks and not getting into the human body.
4. For the hygiene of fruits and vegetables, there are special fruit and vegetable detergents that can be used, do not use dishwashing detergent.
Generally, fruit and vegetable detergents contain high levels of plant surfactants rather than anionic surfactants. This reduces the amount of heavy metal ions and is safer and healthier.
Overall, there is no risk of cancer when we use detergent to wash dishes, only skin damage. Therefore, as long as you follow the four steps above to use detergent correctly, you don’t have to worry about it causing harm to human health.
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