I like doing product reviews for you. I’ve did my Tru Earth Laundry Strips Review and here’s my Charlie’s Soap Detergent review.
I do not like when the wool is pulled over my eyes.
I really don’t like being lied to or feeling like someone kind of sort of told a lie, but tried to make it look honorable.
And when I share that untruth or half-truth with the world before finding out that I’m wrong, too? Then I start smoking from the top of my head.
I was feeling that way last week when an astute reader did what I should have when I reviewed Charlie’s Soap in 2010. I was even questioned at the time because instead of doing thorough research into butylcelosolv, the active ingredient the company told me was in their all-purpose cleaner, I accepted their explanation of its safety. I still didn’t look into it further. Big mistake.
Luckily, a reader named Michelle popped in with a new comment and some much better Google searches. She shared the following:
I found this when I googled “charlies soap ingredients”: The document is the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that the federal government requires for all chemicals. It lists one of two active ingredients as “2-BUTOXYETHANOL”.
I have yet to find any blog or letter from the president stating anything about that ingredient.
I love their soap, but after reading this I no longer trust Charlie Soap.
Is 2-Butoxyethanol Acetate Safe?
A year too late, here are my findings on this new name, since the one given me by the company was very difficult to Google search for:
Their active ingredient that they called butylcelosolv is Czech for 2-Butoxyethanol acetate, also known as Butyl Cellosolve. According to the Skin Deep Database, which rates it a 6 (moderate hazard), butoxyethanol has ties to cancer, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and more.1
It’s used in hundreds of cleaning products, even as an oil spill dispersant, and “provides cleaning power and the characteristic odor of Windex and other glass cleaners. It is the main ingredient of many home, commercial and industrial cleaning solutions.”2 It may not be a major environmental contaminant, but it certainly doesn’t sound safe!
Here’s a must-read from the Janitorial Products Pollution Prevention Project:
2-Butoxy Ethanol is one of the most toxic of the glycol ethers.
You should use products containing butoxyethanol with extreme care. It is a poison that can easily absorb through your skin to harm you. When working with it, always wear gloves and goggles and be sure the you have enough ventilation.3
The Australian Government warns about butoxyethanol, recommending:
Avoid touching 2-BE and touching or breathing its spray or vapour.4
The New Jersey Department of Health prepared this helpful hazardous substance fact sheet, including:
2-Butoxy Ethanol may be a CARCINOGEN in humans. There may be no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen, so all contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level.5
Is Charlie’s Soap Natural and Can We Trust Them?
I’m very upset that I feel like the company was not straightforward in their claims, and the company tagline “safe, non-toxic, biodegradable soap” seems like an awful stretch after reading all this.
I am not yet sure what is in their laundry soap, which so many people trust and love for cloth diapers in particular.
UPDATE: Readers in the comments inquired, “What do we use for laundry then?” My personal recommendation, which I tested at the same time as Charlie’s and liked it better then, too, is soap nuts. They are truly natural, hands down. Here’s my soap nuts review and where I purchase mine.
My thinking? If a company fibs their way through one product and uses Czech so it’s harder to research the active ingredient, I simply can’t trust anything they make. What do you think?
A Response from Charlie’s Soap
Without any contact from me to him, I received an email from the president of the company a week or so after I publicized the update to the original post:
“I’m really sorry you had the issue with the biodegradable solvent. You might like our new Kitchen & Bath cleaner, though. That’s coming out tomorrow. We cut the amount of solvent in half and made it ready for spray-on/wipe-off application for daily use. With less of the solvent, it’s even that much safer and biodegradable, and better still, it doesn’t smell as much like a cleaner.”
Did he miss the point entirely? I’m pretty sure I’m pointedly upset about the ingredient itself, period, being used, not the quantity in which it’s measured out.
SafER is not what I’m looking for. Give me SAFE.
Here’s my original review on Charlie’s soap.
You would think that by my age I would have learned to follow directions. Charlie’s Soap for laundry instructed me to run an empty-ish load with two scoops of soap and a few rags. The purpose was to clean out residue from other detergents that remain in the washing machine and would interfere with the effectiveness of Charlie’s Soap.
I am lazy. I am frugal. I am green. All these traits allowed me to convince myself that I didn’t need to do a special load. I never thought of it until I was ready to start my laundry and didn’t want to put the regular load off. I didn’t want to waste the energy/water/money to run a load for no reason. I rationalized that I had already been using other natural laundry options for a while, so my machine was probably A-OK.
Whoops.
I really did get better results when I finally caved and ran the nearly empty load. Lesson one from Katie’s laundry experiments: follow directions people, just like your first-grade teacher taught you.
Charlie’s Soap Review
I ran the same tests with Charlie’s Soap for laundry as I did with my Soap Nuts, namely the odor test. I always figure that all laundry soaps miss a stain here and there, and nothing was super evident with Charlie’s as far as not cleaning the laundry. I can still get a whiff of body odor every so often, so I wasn’t as impressed with Charlie’s as Soap Nuts in the natural laundry detergent race.
I am impressed with Charlie’s Soap, the company, however. I get emails right from the president of the company, which tells me:
1) It’s a small company, and one we ought to be supporting.
2) The company takes pride in its product. I love that!
Here is the pres’s response to my difficulty:
How many times have your test garments been washed in Charlie’s Soap? It can take upwards of 10 (that’s ten) full washes with a full dose of Charlie’s to remove old detergent residues from clothes that are buried in the fibers. Until they’re gone, you can have the Charlie’s Soap cleaning that instead of the BO, leaving, well, stinky clothes. That’s 10 washes to get it completely out, but usually the majority is gone after the 3rd or 4th. If you haven’t washed your test garment that many times by itself, the Charlie’s is fighting an uphill battle. Consider washing it a few more times, then go get it dirty and wash it once as normal to see if the daily smells go away quickly like they’re supposed to.
Do you have hard water? If you do, you might need an additive like washing soda, borax, oxygen bleach, or calgon to help clear the water of impurities so the soap can do its job. (~1/4 cup of no-frills Oxygen Bleach) Hard water + the transition period of removing old detergent residues can be a pain delaying all the good things you read about Charlie’s Soap.
With the soap nuts, in your calcium rich water, a soap will turn into calcium soaps which are insoluble and thus won’t rinse out of clothing. Charlie’s is not a soap but a highly rinseable detergent.
Charlie’s All-Purpose Cleaner
Charlie’s Soap also sells an All-Purpose Cleaner that comes in a spray bottle. I tested it on my kitchen counter grout/mildew, my
bathtub, and my shower curtain.
Here’s my review of how it cleaned.
The Bathtub
I usually just wipe down my tub with a microfiber cloth or use straight vinegar, so I was surprised that it wasn’t a pleasant experience cleaning my bathtub with a “natural” cleaner. I didn’t expect the fumes, they bothered my nasal passages, and they made me worry and second-guess the safety of the product. However, to be fair: I don’t always love the smell of pure vinegar when I clean with that. I’ve gotten more used to it, but my husband and son would both say it’s too strong and bothers them.
Before I would use it again around my kids, however, I emailed the company asking what the active ingredient was.
It is called butylcelosolv. It can form vapors. In the dilution we use it is non-toxic and biodegradable. It breaks stains loose. There is no ammonia in our products.
This will not hurt you at all to breathe or to touch. You may want to dilute the cleaner. You can even back it down to 1/4 strength if you wish to. It will do the job. And last longer.
And from the president of the company himself: The APC is natural, non-toxic, safe, effective… and stinky. 🙂 We tried taking the smell out and it wouldn’t clean ANYTHING. We tried covering it up and it didn’t work anymore.
However, the main thing to remember about the APC is that it really is a concentrate (new labeling to that effect is coming out soon). If you’re spraying it and you can smell it, chances are you’re using WAY too much. For everyday cleaning and wiping off, like you would imagine using 409 or any multi-surface cleaner, you really should dilute Charlie’s Soap APC to about 1/4 strength. By that time, it has only a faint odor to it. And once you wipe it off, wet or dry absorbent cloth, it shouldn’t smell like anything at all.
I would like to see the All-Purpose Cleaner come in a bottle with a spray bottle alongside then. It’s a pain to pour the concentrate from the spray bottle, which is high quality and sprays very nicely, into something else in order to dilute it and get it back into the spray bottle. Just my two cents![/purplebox]
Sigh. Oh, dear. I’m glad I didn’t use this stuff often or for long. It should be labeled as toxic AND disclose the active ingredient on the packaging, as well as make it very, very clear that the spray bottle is a concentrate!
Kitchen Counter Grout: Mildew
Charlie’s soap All-Purpose Cleaner made a dent in my kitchen counter grout mildew issue where nothing else (even bleach! Yes, I tried some in desperation..) ever does. I sprayed it on full strength and left it overnight, then wiped it off in the morning. The dark color wasn’t gone, but it was diminished.
I wondered if the APC is meant to kill mildew or if I just lucked out. The company says: “It will simply remove [mildew stains] from the surface. The mildew is still alive, but alive somewhere else!” Hey, I’m cool with that. As long as it’s not on my kitchen counter anymore!
Shower Curtain: Hard Water Stains
I was most impressed when I tried cleaning the inside of my shower curtain. It’s a “mildew-free” curtain (which is probably off-gassing some terrible chemical that I don’t even want to know about! I love the ease of cleaning, i.e. “none”.) so I don’t clean it very often other than to wipe down the water sometimes with my micro-fiber cloth. When I do attempt to clean it, I use straight vinegar and don’t see any results on the terrible hard water stains, so I don’t bother very often!
Charlie’s Soap APC and a few minutes of wait time knocked the stains right off! I couldn’t believe how clear my curtain was after the All-Purpose Cleaner and a little rubbing with my cloth. Truly night and day.
Charlie’s Soap Review: Final Thoughts
After digging more into the active ingredient in Charlie’s Soap products, I’d rather use these natural alternatives to bleach when I need some heavy-duty cleaning power.
For general cleaning, I’m sticking with my vinegar or my homemade all-purpose cleaner.
I’m so glad Charlie’s Soap never ended up advertising with me; I’d feel even worse about all this! I’m very upset about their active ingredient and would no longer trust anything they sell. Phooey on that!
Sources:
- EWG Skin Deep®: What is BUTOXYETHANOL. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/700842-BUTOXYETHANOL/
- 2-Butoxyethanol. (2020, April 11). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-Butoxyethanol
- Janitorial Products Pollution Prevention Project 2-Butoxy Ethanol. (2011, March 10). Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20110310050236/http://www.westp2net.org:80/janitorial/tools/butoxy.htm
- National Industrial Chemicals Notification. (2013, May 1). Butoxyethanol (2-Butoxyethanol) in cleaning products. Retrieved from https://www.nicnas.gov.au/chemical-information/factsheets/chemical-name/butoxyethanol-2-butoxyethanol-in-cleaning-products
- Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet 2-Butoxy Ethanol. (2008, August). Retrieved from https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0275.pdf
I’m well known for honest, thorough product reviews…
…and you can always tell a real family has run these products through the gauntlet.
When I review a type of item, I try to review a LOT of different brands! From over a dozen reusable sandwich bags to over 120 natural mineral sunscreens, I’m your girl for straight-up info about natural, real foodie items you’re considering buying.
Click here to see more product reviews and you’ll also love my resources page, with REAL products that have passed my rigorous testing enough to be “regulars” in the Kimball household, plus some other comprehensive reviews. Updated at least once a year to boot the losers and add new gems!
Katie Kimball, CSME is a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. She’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine as well as contributing regularly on the FOX Network. 
A mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is a Certified Stress Mastery Educator and member of the American Institute of Stress.
April says
I used Charlie’s Soap for about a year (both the power and the liquid). Then my washer started smelling horrible and so did the clothing. When I would take the clothing out of the dryer it would smell like it had never been washed. My family started complaining. I thought maybe it was the washer, so I did everything I could think of to clean it without success. Finally I stopped using Charlie’s Soap and immediately the smell from the washer and the clothing disappeared. I have soft water and I have a great washer as well, so I know it was the Charlie’s. The same thing happened to my parents and they stopped using it as well.
Zoletta says
I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (caused by a severe adverse reaction from the antibiotic Levaquin, seven years ago) and had to change my entire lifestyle around to prevent getting sick from chemicals that are everywhere.
I’ve been using Charlie’s Soap for all these years, and found this article very interesting, because it brought to mind a bad experience I had with their cleaning spray when I first starting using the product.
The task was to wash decades worth of cigarette smoke residue off deeply grained wooden paneling from a home I was about to move into. (Cringe)
I decided to mix their All Purpose cleaner half and half, and although it cleaned the wall like nobody’s business, it DID give me a very bad reaction after about a 20-30 minute exposure. All my nerves reacted, and I literally felt poisoned, as though I were a bug that had been sprayed with Raid. I aired out the back room with open windows overnight, and it took me a day or two to fully recover.
Despite that experience, I continue to use Charlie’s Soap to this day – but now I only use a shot-glass full of cleaner in a spray bottle mixed with water, and have not had any problems since. Even that diluted, it cuts through sauces, eggs, and gravy that splatter or spill onto a red glowing burner on my electric stove. And if something is really, really stuck on, I use one single full-strength squirt from a separate tiny bottle I keep for emergencies, then immediately cover the squirted cleaner with a hot wet rag to let it soak for a few minutes. Doing it this way has not caused me any problems, even though I’m so exquisitely sensitive, I had to go to the ER once because of hand lotion, and couldn’t raise my arms because of aching muscles for two full weeks after entering a room with wet paint fumes.
I stuck with Charlie’s because I have not found anything better that is any safer that cleans and rinses right down to the bare fibers the way their stuff does.
I’ve never had any problems at all or whatsoever from their laundry detergent, and my washing machine has no soap residue, ever, and still looks like brand new after three years. I mean, if you scratch the detergent cup with your nail, you’ll get absolutely nothing at all. It’s like it never saw detergent a day in its life.
Martin says
Just read the info on Charlies Soap. Very interesting. I noticed that the MSDS used above was for the All Purpose Cleaner which they say in the description has a solvent added. The MSDS for the laundry detergent has no solvents and states that it contains nothing hazardous. We just started using Charlies laundry powder recently and have really liked the results. I also own a non-toxic carpet cleaning company and have been researching to see if Charlies would make a good product to use professionally on carpets. Obviously the All Purpose would not fit the bill for “green” but I don’t see why the laundry powder would not. I’ll have to find the right concentration and try it on my own carpets first. Great forum. I’ll follow up with my results.
Katie says
Martin,
Thanks, looking forward to it! It’s actually on my post list for this month to share a bunch of ideas that the community gave me for cleaning my carpets in a new home a few weeks back. We ended up using vinegar, but you might be interested in the rest of them, so watch in a few weeks! 🙂 Katie
Martin says
I look forward to seeing it. I need to offer a word of extreme caution, however, when using vinegar. When fiber artists want to set dyes in fabric they use vinegar. On the right kind of spot vinegar can work fine. On the wrong kind it can take an easily removable spot and make it a permanent stain never to be removed.
Martin says
Just another note. The difficulty in finding a good home brew carpet cleaner is that many have the affect of setting stains. Many that are “green” also leave residues in the carpet that cause premature re-soiling. This is something I want to do more looking into because it would be really great for people to have a truly effective and safe product that they can get their hands on. Even if it is between professional cleanings. Looking forward to seeing your list. 🙂
Katie says
Martin,
I hope you come back to check out the list my readers shared – it posted today: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2012/01/27/seeking-a-natural-non-toxic-carpet-cleanerdo-you-steam-vacuum-carpets/
Opinions, please! Thanks, Katie
Martin says
Interesting.
I’m not familiar with a couple of the products mentioned but it sounds like most people get that soap leaves residue. Thats good.
For the red spot in the picture, a professional carpet cleaner MAY still be able to remove that with a red stain removal process. I used Charlies soap on my own carpets and was happy with the results. I need to do more tests as far as concentration and to be sure it is not leaving ANY residue. Will update.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Thanks, Martin! 🙂 Katie
Cheryl says
Martin,
Any updates???
Justin Scott says
Googled to find reviews on Charlie’s Soap before I purchase another big bottle.
We have a roommate that cleans with Tide so I will never REALLY know if this stuff is as good as it claims it is. All that aside, I feel Charlie’s Soap is pretty decent and incredibly affordable.
I used to work in the chemical business and reading MSDS’s was literally my job.
As a former professional (a little bit of a joke there) I wouldn’t worry so much about the amount of 2-Butoxyethanol acetate.
Before I start my Dr. Science ramble, please note that Charlie’s Laundry Soap contains absolutely zero ingredients that OSHA finds carcinogenic, flammable, mutagenic, skin irritant etc etc. The only warning they provide is direct contact with the eye can result in irritation. Also worth nothing, the same goes for almost anything with an MSDS.
These two products are two completely different products. Whew, now to the fun sciencey stuff.
Less than 4% of the solution has 2-BA, awfully low amount. On top of that, it is suggested you cut the solution by 75% which would lead you with less than 1% of 2-BA.
Unfortunately with MSDS’s, even if you have simply a trace amount of a chemical in a product, OSHA requires it be listed on an MSDS as if it were the entire ingredient. What I mean to say by this is if a 99% solution of 2-BA causes skin irritation or respiratory issues (even if it is only when used in an unventilated room), Charlie’s Soap has to, by law, report it as a possible side effect of the use of their product.
So yes, a massive dose of 2-BA would certainly be bad. But luckily it isn’t a chemical that builds up overtime like radiation poisoning. You should be able to use their general purpose cleaner, as instructed and especially as diluted above, without any worry whatsoever.
Now, I am not a chemist by trade anymore and I have never actually used their general purpose cleaner. I do have experience with these documents and the reality behind chemical use.
Section VI of just about any MSDS will warn the same thing about how to get medical treatment if it comes in contact with skin etc etc. I once read an MSDS for water that was pretty hilarious.
For instance, with a water spill, nearly as with a Charlie’s Laundry Soap spill, the instructions are as follows:
[Water] must be disposed of in accordance with federal, state and local environmental control regulations.
Small Spill: Mop up, or absorb with an inert dry material and place in an appropriate waste disposal container.
Large Spill: Absorb with an inert material and put the spilled material in an appropriate waste disposal
And finally. Thanks for the review. 😀 I’m not a mom, or a dad, and I’m not as green as I should be (though a move to San Francisco is making me change). Cheers and keep up the great blog!
Katie says
Justin,
Thank you for the “insider” information! It’s good to hear the balance sometimes…the MSDS on water confirms that one should skim those guys quickly looking only for really big issues, eh?
Now I’m curious: Did you decide to go with Charlie’s after reading the results of your Google search or did you find something new?
🙂 Katie
Mrs. Graham Gardens says
Good info, Katie. Thanks for the update.
heidi says
Katie, is it the APC that we should avoid, or the detergent for washing clothes as well?
Katie says
Heidi,
Definitely the APC, but I’m just not sure about the detergent. My gut says that if a company is going to be so sly about the active ingredient in one cleaner, can I trust what they say about their other product? Sorry to be the bearer of bad news! Katie
Stacy says
Thanks for updating this! I have used the AP cleaner that I won only once, on a super greasy and dirty stove vent in our new house we moved into. I was impressed, but nasty chemicals have no place in our house! Thanks for the alert on facebook!
Stephanie says
I’m super bummed….just recieved my All Purpose Cleaner from Azure last week! {big- disapointing-can’t believe I just wasted my money-thinking I was using- a better product-sigh}
Christine says
I signed up for twitter, just to follow you. 🙂
Soap Nuts says
Giveaway of soap nuts if you want to check out
Rebecca says
I really like Charlie’s Soap. We use the liquid laundry detergent and everything comes perfectly clean (but to be fair, we haven’t been using nasty chemical detergents before, so it was an easy transition). The all-purpose cleaner is great too, we buy a big bottle of it and then dilute it into a sprayer.
.-= Rebecca´s last blog ..Tuesday Twister – French Dinner =-.
Paula says
Katie –
I went to the Charlie’s website and found their site informational, honest, and I appreciate that.
To answer a green cleaners resolution, I would have to say that I need to study up on it first. According to most naturally made cleaners, they don’t seem to work. However, I am intrigued with the all-purpose cleaner that Charlie’s Soap makes. Very interesting!
One thing I removed from our cleaners years ago is drain cleaner. Now I use hot water to heat up the guck in the drain, then I pour baking soda in the drain until it reaches the top of the drain. I pour vinegar in next and let it work, ideally all day, or all night when no one will be using it, giving it a good chance to work. The next day, I run extremely hot water down the drain for 5 minutes. This method has proven effective in the husband’s sink, not sure why his is always guckier, and works great in the kids’ sink with glops of toothpaste and who knows what else. It has freed up the drains enough to open them up. I have had to use a snake as well, but again, no plumber was called and it saves money, our health not breathing fumes, and the sewers, not pouring toxic cleaners down their pipes.
Thanks for the chance to win, I would love it
Paula
Cindy B says
I too have been using Charlie’s laundry detergent & AP Cleaner for several years, and the customer service they provide is second to none. Generally, when I used the APC I dilute it, alot. I have a spray bottle that I use a 1:5 concentration, and I also use it in my Bissell carpet cleaner in lieu of the 3M product. In the carpet cleaner, I probably use a 1/3 of what I would use if I used the 3M product. There is a warning on the side of the bottle that it could harm insects. So last year when we had an ant infestation, well, they got the Charlie’s Soap treatment, and yep, it killed them. Even if the butylcelosolv isn’t the most natural product, I figured it was better than a pesticide alternative.
Erin aka Conscious Shopper says
I’ve been using Charlie’s Soap laundry detergent for four years – ever since we started using cloth diapers. I love it, partly because as you show, they are a great company with super awesome customer service. Regarding laundry smell – every now and then if I’ve done a really stinky load of diapers, the Charlie’s Soap won’t get the smell out, but then I run a rinse cycle with 1/4 c. vinegar, and it washes the stink right out. Also, if you buy the 5-gal bucket of Charlie’s Soap off of their website, it’s only 12 cents per load.
I’m kind of concerned about the ingredients in the all-purpose cleaner, though. When I googled “butylcelosolv”, I got some not so good results.
Lenetta @ Nettacow says
1) I love your thorough review posts, Katie!
2) My cousin is living in China right now and also washing her clothes in the tub with a washboard. I’m pretty sure she’s going to throw everything in a washer the minute she gets home, though! :>)
JulieVW says
I’m with Meghan – it’s just not feasible to wash out the washing machine before doing laundry when you are using community washing machines in an apartment building. This is one reason I have not bothered to deal with all-natural soaps.
I’ve thought about washing things in the sink. (I had a friend that was in China for a year and had to wash everything by hand. When he came back to the states he continued to wash his clothes in the tub). Maybe that should be my Green Cleaning Goal ?!
Pam says
Very thorough run-down on the products. On the mildew on the counters – bleach will not kill mildew, it only lightens it. The best thing for that is break out the good ol’ vinegar. Apply it to a dry counter (where the mildew is). That should kill it. It won’t be immediate. But within a few days it should be gone. (That’s the way it’s supposed to work, anyhow). :0) Good luck.
Christal says
What about Tea Tree Oil? Has anti-fungal, anti-bacteria, anti-viral. I use it in my bathroom, dish/hand soap & all purpose spray. Also got rid of something betweene the toes with 1 application.
Meghan says
Your comment about needing to clean out your washing machine to use Charlie’s Soap has got me thinking. I have been planning on ordering some Soap Nuts – do you know if they have any of the same sort of issues? I live in an apartment building with shared laundry facilities, so I have no control over what other people might choose to put in the washing machines. Any idea whether this might cause a problem with Soap Nuts? I was really excited to switch to them!
Katie says
Meghan,
The soap nuts I tested (NaturOli – find the link in my left sidebar) did not come with instructions like C’s Soap. They worked great first time! 🙂 Katie
Meghan says
Thanks Katie! I ordered some last week and am waiting for them to arrive.
tonya says
So do you trust what the company pres told you about the chemical ingredient you can’t pronounce being safe and non toxic? If you trust them, why are reluctant to trust other info on chemicals that is scientifically backed?
Katie says
Tonya,
No, not exactly. That’s why I asked what was in there. I did some Google searches and was content that it was, at least, safer than your average bleach/ammonia/etc. No, it didn’t make it into the review. I’m a big long-winded as it is…
😉 Katie
Michelle says
Katie, Ive read many things online stating that the active ingredient in the all purpose cleaner is butylcelosol. HOWEVER, and thats a BIG however, you might find this VERY interesting. I found this when i googled
“charlies soap ingredients”
http://www.charliesoap.com/pdf/Charlie’s%20Soap%20All%20Purpose%20MSDS.pdf
I have yet to find any blog or lettter from the president stating anything about that ingredient.
I love their soap, but after reading this I no longer trust Charlie Soap.
Katie says
Michelle,
I am SO glad you updated this. Clearly I didn’t dig deeply enough and should NOT have taken the company’s word for it. I updated the post with a lengthy section on this news and what I think (lots of crossed out recommendations from the original post).
I would highly NOT recommend Charlie’s Soap for anything, and I’m afraid their labeling may not be very up to snuff, either. You are dead on right – I don’t trust them anymore either, because 2-butoxyethanol is a very toxic ingredient. It’s a synonym for butylcelosolv, which they quoted at me, but it’s not safe for people to use regularly, especially without gloves and around children. I’m not even sure what to do about this, but I’m angry that I used it!
Thank you again for alerting me to the alternative name of Charlie’s Soap active ingredient. I’m so glad I’m more informed now!
Katie
Anne says
Tonya,
Can you refresh my memory re: Katie’s reluctance “to trust other info on chemicals that is scientifically backed?” It sounds like you’re staying abreast of the info better than I am. Could you cite a few examples? Thanks.
Anne says
Sorry, Tonya, I meant to reply to your comment, but it looks like it went as a reply to Katie’s comment. Please check for it there. Thanks.
tonya says
The prime example would be deodorant.
Anne says
Thanks. I may have read parts of that post, but I’ll read it more thoroughly within the next couple of days.