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Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

sciencedirect.com

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Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#11

Post by pajko »

mathgeek wrote: post #9
danw1979 wrote: post #2

Get yourself a big old tub of anhydrous citric acid from Amazon or wherever, make up a 10% solution and use that in place of rinse aid. Just check with your dishwasher manufacturer that it’s not going to cause issues first. I got a new Miele unit a few months ago and the manual specifically advises the use of such a solution, with caution not to make it any stronger. It’s been working like a charm.

What are the advantages over plain vinegar? Been using that my whole life without any concern beyond wanting to avoid expensive rinse aids.

Vinegar destroys the rubber sealings.

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#12

Post by uniqueuid »

mathgeek wrote: post #9
danw1979 wrote: post #2

Get yourself a big old tub of anhydrous citric acid from Amazon or wherever, make up a 10% solution and use that in place of rinse aid. Just check with your dishwasher manufacturer that it’s not going to cause issues first. I got a new Miele unit a few months ago and the manual specifically advises the use of such a solution, with caution not to make it any stronger. It’s been working like a charm.

What are the advantages over plain vinegar? Been using that my whole life without any concern beyond wanting to avoid expensive rinse aids.

Vinegar can be a stronger acid than citric acid and has the potential to damage rubber sealings. That's why many manufacturers specifically advise against it.

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#13

Post by r1ch »

From my understanding, this article is only about professional dishwashers used in restaurants and hotels etc. that use much higher concentrations and less rinsing than consumer dishwashers. They specifically mention that they could not repeat their findings on consumer dishwashers.

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#14

Post by rafaelferreira »

sergioisidoro wrote: post #7

Ok, this is posed to generate some sensationalist headlines. Do we get these concentrations with regular use in a dishwasher? Does it have cumulative exposure effects? Does it even reach the gut lining after digestion enzymes and acids? From the summary it seems that they only investigated the dose dependent toxicity.

The summary says "detergent residue from professional dishwashers demonstrated the remnant of a significant amount of cytotoxic and epithelial barrier–damaging rinse aid remaining on washed and ready-to-use dishware", which might address the question about concentrations in regular use.

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#16

Post by dellamorta »

vjk800 wrote: post #5

Can someone who understands more about chemistry tell me where exactly which detergents use alcohol ethoxylates and how do I spot them from the label? Should I be concerned about this at home?

Household dishwashers are not affected because they usually have an additional wash cycle in the end. This study is about professional machines which wash dishes in mere minutes. So you can't do anything about it if you still want to eat at restaurants and don't want to bring your own dishes.

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#17

Post by mikkom »

r1ch wrote: post #13

From my understanding, this article is only about professional dishwashers used in restaurants and hotels etc. that use much higher concentrations and less rinsing than consumer dishwashers. They specifically mention that they could not repeat their findings on consumer dishwashers.

> They specifically mention that they could not repeat their findings on consumer dishwashers.

this should be the top comment

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#18

Post by pierat »

sergioisidoro wrote: post #7

Ok, this is posed to generate some sensationalist headlines. Do we get these concentrations with regular use in a dishwasher? Does it have cumulative exposure effects? Does it even reach the gut lining after digestion enzymes and acids? From the summary it seems that they only investigated the dose dependent toxicity.

You can say that, but a lot of detergents and rinse aids use the class of nasty chemicals. But there's detergents and rinse aids that don't have it.

What you're looking for is "Alcohol ethoxylates". Avoid these.

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#19

Post by jasongill »

danw1979 wrote: post #2

Get yourself a big old tub of anhydrous citric acid from Amazon or wherever, make up a 10% solution and use that in place of rinse aid. Just check with your dishwasher manufacturer that it’s not going to cause issues first. I got a new Miele unit a few months ago and the manual specifically advises the use of such a solution, with caution not to make it any stronger. It’s been working like a charm.

From my experience, this will eventually remove any printed on markings from your glassware; for example, all of the measuring lines on Pyrex cups, etc.

Not a huge deal, just worth noting

Re: Gut epithelial barrier damage caused by dishwasher detergents and rinse aids

#20

Post by heftig »

danw1979 wrote: post #2

Get yourself a big old tub of anhydrous citric acid from Amazon or wherever, make up a 10% solution and use that in place of rinse aid. Just check with your dishwasher manufacturer that it’s not going to cause issues first. I got a new Miele unit a few months ago and the manual specifically advises the use of such a solution, with caution not to make it any stronger. It’s been working like a charm.

Does it have to be anhydrous? Seems like a waste to go for the more expensive stuff when you're going to dissolve it anyway. Food-grade citric acid monohydrate should be cheaper.
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