Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day dish soap is not truly non-toxic. While the brand markets itself as a cleaner, greener alternative and leaves out some harsh chemicals like ammonia and chlorine, the formula contains preservatives and fragrance ingredients that carry real health and environmental concerns. The Environmental Working Group gives the product a D rating in its Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which places it well below what most people would expect from a “natural” brand.
What’s Actually in the Formula
The lavender version of Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap contains water, sodium lauryl sulfate, lauryl glucoside, lauramine oxide, fragrance, glycerin, lavender oil, orange peel oil, soap bark extract, aloe, polysorbate 20, tetrasodium glutamate diacetate, citric acid, PEG-5 cocoate, methylisothiazolinone, and benzisothiazolinone. That’s a mix of plant-derived ingredients and synthetic chemicals, and the synthetic ones are where the problems start.
Mrs. Meyer’s does exclude some ingredients people commonly worry about. The company states its products are made without parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, artificial colorants, phosphates, ammonia, chlorine, or petroleum distillates. That’s a meaningful list of exclusions. But what’s left in the bottle still raises flags.
The Preservatives Are the Biggest Concern
The two preservatives in Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap, methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone, are the ingredients most likely to cause problems. Benzisothiazolinone is classified as a skin sensitizer (meaning it can trigger allergic reactions), a skin irritant, and is harmful if swallowed. It also carries a serious eye damage classification. Methylisothiazolinone is flagged by the EWG for high concern related to aquatic toxicity and some concern for skin irritation and allergic reactions.
These aren’t obscure concerns. The product’s own safety data sheet classifies the dish soap as a Category 2 skin irritant and a Category 1 skin sensitizer. In plain terms, that means the formula can irritate skin on contact and may trigger allergic reactions in sensitive people. The safety sheet specifically notes that contact “causes skin irritation in some individuals” and “may cause an allergic skin reaction in sensitive individuals.” For a product that sits on your hands while you scrub dishes, that matters.
Isothiazolinone preservatives have become one of the more controversial ingredient classes in household products. They’re effective at preventing microbial growth, which is why manufacturers use them. But the European Union restricted methylisothiazolinone in leave-on cosmetics back in 2013 due to rising rates of contact dermatitis. While dish soap is a rinse-off product with shorter skin contact, repeated daily exposure adds up.
The Fragrance Problem
“Fragrance” appears as a single word on the ingredient list, but it can represent dozens of undisclosed chemical compounds. The EWG flags Mrs. Meyer’s fragrance ingredient for concerns about skin irritation, allergies, respiratory effects, and aquatic toxicity. It also notes a “disclosure concern” because fragrance is a non-specific ingredient, meaning you can’t know exactly what’s in it.
Mrs. Meyer’s does use real essential oils (lavender oil and orange peel oil in the lavender variety, basil oil in the basil variety), but these aren’t automatically safe either. The EWG gives the basil oil in Mrs. Meyer’s Basil dish soap a D rating, citing concerns about cancer, skin irritation, and potential endocrine effects. Essential oils are concentrated plant compounds, and at certain levels, they can irritate skin or trigger reactions just like synthetic chemicals.
Why EWG Gave It a D Rating
The D grade from the Environmental Working Group reflects the combined impact of several ingredients. Four ingredients received individual D ratings in the basil formula: the fragrance blend, basil oil, PEG-5 cocoate, and methylisothiazolinone. PEG-5 cocoate is flagged because its manufacturing process can leave trace amounts of ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, both of which are linked to cancer at higher exposures. The amounts in a finished dish soap are small, but regulators and safety groups still note the concern.
For context, an EWG grade of A or B generally means a product has few or no concerning ingredients. A D means there are multiple ingredients raising moderate to high concerns. Many people buy Mrs. Meyer’s specifically because they assume it’s a safer choice, so a D rating often comes as a surprise.
The Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Factor
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is the primary cleaning agent in Mrs. Meyer’s dish soap. It’s one of the most widely used surfactants in cleaning and personal care products, and it’s effective at cutting grease. SLS is not considered dangerous, but it is a known skin irritant, particularly with prolonged or repeated contact. Research comparing SLS to similar surfactants found it causes the highest decrease in skin cell metabolism among commonly used cleaning agents. If your hands feel dry or irritated after hand-washing dishes, SLS is often the reason.
Environmental Impact
The “non-toxic” question extends beyond human health. Under FTC guidelines, a non-toxic claim legally means a product is safe for both humans and the environment. Mrs. Meyer’s formula has a mixed environmental profile.
On the positive side, the surfactants biodegrade relatively well. The plant-based surfactant in the formula (alkylpolyglycoside) breaks down more than 70% in 28 days and is classified as readily biodegradable. The amine oxide surfactant biodegrades 96% in 19 days. Glycerin, another ingredient, biodegrades 94% in just 24 hours.
The concern is aquatic toxicity. The amine oxide surfactant is lethal to fish at concentrations between 2.67 and 3.46 milligrams per liter, and toxic to water fleas at 3.1 milligrams per liter. The plant-based surfactant is similarly toxic to aquatic invertebrates at 7 milligrams per liter. These concentrations are low enough to matter when dish soap enters waterways, though dilution through municipal water treatment reduces the real-world impact significantly. The methylisothiazolinone preservative is also flagged for high aquatic toxicity.
What “Non-Toxic” Actually Means Legally
There is no official government certification for “non-toxic” cleaning products. The FTC’s Green Guides state that a non-toxic claim conveys the product is safe for humans and the environment. Any company making that claim needs “competent and reliable scientific evidence” to back it up. Notably, Mrs. Meyer’s does not call its dish soap “non-toxic” on the label. The brand uses terms like “clean” and highlights its plant-derived ingredients instead, which is a more legally cautious approach.
This distinction matters when you’re evaluating the product. Mrs. Meyer’s isn’t lying about what it contains, but the garden-themed branding and essential oil scents create an impression of safety that the ingredient list doesn’t fully support. The formula is less harsh than conventional dish soaps that contain ammonia or chlorine bleach, but it’s not free of concerning chemicals.
How It Compares to Alternatives
If you’re looking for a dish soap with fewer concerns, focus on products that score an A or B on the EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning database. Key things to look for: no isothiazolinone preservatives, no undisclosed fragrance, and no PEG-based ingredients. Unscented formulas generally carry fewer risks since they eliminate both synthetic fragrance compounds and concentrated essential oils. Brands that fully disclose every ingredient, including fragrance components, give you the most information to work with.
Mrs. Meyer’s sits in a middle ground. It’s a step up from the most conventional dish soaps loaded with synthetic dyes and petroleum-based ingredients. But it falls short of the cleanest options available, primarily because of its preservative choices and fragrance opacity. If you have sensitive skin, eczema, or contact allergies, the isothiazolinone preservatives and fragrance blend are worth avoiding.