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Screened Ingredients

What we screen out, why we screen it, and what the peer-reviewed evidence says.

Transparency = Honesty

A complete ingredient list gives you clear information about what is inside a product. Terms like “fragrance” or “proprietary blend” do not name every ingredient. Our listing standard requires full ingredient disclosure.

What the evidence tells us

These papers examine specific chemicals, concentrations, and exposure conditions. A substance’s ability to cause harm is not the same as the risk from using a particular product. Our screening choices are not proof that every excluded ingredient is harmful in every use.

The studies do not verify the sample products in this directory or establish that listed products are risk-free. Summaries are educational, not medical advice.

Ingredient context · Not automatically excluded

Hypochlorous acid (HOCl)

Dilute, properly formulated HOCl can be suitable for label-directed household surface use. It is not automatically harmful, but it is not harmless in every use. Concentration, pH, freshness, other ingredients, and how exposure occurs all matter. This evidence does not certify any listed brand or product.

HOCl and sodium hypochlorite bleach share related chlorine chemistry, but a dilute HOCl product is not the same formulation as concentrated household bleach. The fact that immune cells produce HOCl does not prove that every external exposure is safe. Crunchify’s bleach exclusion does not automatically exclude HOCl.

Use limitations

Surface disinfection with hypochlorous acid: Phi6 laboratory carrier study

Hamilton et al. · Food and Environmental Virology · 2023

In plain language
Researchers sprayed a surrogate virus dried onto steel and vinyl with 500 or 1,000 ppm HOCl for 5, 30, or 60 seconds. The reduction in infectious virus depended on concentration, contact time, surface, and surrounding material.
Conclusion
HOCl has antimicrobial activity, but the ingredient name alone does not establish a product’s performance.
What this doesn’t tell us
Controlled laboratory surfaces and a surrogate virus are not household transmission or human safety tests. These experimental concentrations and times are not directions for a catalog product.
Read the study

Stability of weakly acidic hypochlorous acid solution with microbicidal activity

Ishihara et al. · Biocontrol Science · 2017

In plain language
Laboratory tests of 200 ppm HOCl at pH 6 found that light, air, heat, and some substances reduced its stability or antimicrobial activity.
Conclusion
Storage and formulation matter; an ingredient list alone cannot establish usable strength or shelf life.
What this doesn’t tell us
This does not establish one storage temperature or expiry period for every commercial product. Follow its own label.
Read the study

Effect of stabilized hypochlorous acid on re-epithelialization and bacterial bioburden in acute wounds

Burian et al. · Acta Dermato-Venereologica · 2022

In plain language
Twenty healthy adults had small standardized wounds treated with a medical solution containing 0.016% HOCl and 0.25% acetic acid, or saline. The study reported improved early healing and lower bacterial counts with the tested formulation.
Conclusion
This offers limited support for this particular medical formulation’s short-term tolerability, not permission to apply surface cleaners to people.
What this doesn’t tell us
Small adult sample, short follow-up, manufacturer involvement, and a combined formulation. It does not establish chronic, child, inhalation, or household-cleaner safety; effects cannot be assigned to HOCl alone.
Read the study

Sources reviewed 2026-10-22 · Educational information, not medical advice.

What we screen for

Sources reviewed October 2026 · Original publication years shown below

Parabens

Parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and similar) are preservatives used in some lotions, wipes, and cleaners. We screen out any ingredient named as a paraben.

Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours

Darbre et al. · Journal of Applied Toxicology · 2004

Small laboratory measurement study of 20 tissue samples

In plain language
Researchers measured parabens in samples of breast tumour tissue and found them in most samples, mostly methylparaben, in a form suggesting they had been absorbed largely unchanged.
Conclusion
Parabens from everyday products can be found intact in human tissue, which supports further study of how they are absorbed and stored.
What this doesn’t tell us
Only 20 samples, with no comparison to healthy tissue. The study does not show that parabens cause cancer or identify which products were the source.
Read the peer-reviewed study

Opens the original study record; full text may require access.

Phthalates

A family of chemicals studied for possible effects on hormone-related development.

Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure

Swan et al. · Environmental Health Perspectives · 2005

Observational study of mothers and young boys

In plain language
Researchers measured phthalate breakdown products in mothers’ urine during pregnancy and compared them with physical measurements in their sons. Higher levels of several phthalates were associated with a shorter distance between the anus and genitals, a measurement used in research on reproductive development.
Conclusion
The findings support further research into whether exposure before birth affects male reproductive development; an association alone does not prove cause and effect.
What this doesn’t tell us
This was a relatively small observational study, not a household-cleaner test. It did not identify cleaners as the source of exposure or establish a child’s future fertility.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Chlorine bleach

Our exclusion covers chlorine bleach, not every chlorine-containing substance. This paper concerns accidental chlorine-gas releases; it does not assess dilute hypochlorous acid (HOCl) cleaners.

Civilian exposure to chlorine gas: A systematic review

Govier & Coulson · Toxicology Letters · 2018

Review of 36 papers covering 1,566 exposed people

In plain language
Researchers brought together reports of civilian chlorine-gas incidents. Cough, breathlessness, and a sore throat were common; among people with follow-up information, 90% were reported to have recovered fully.
Conclusion
Accidental chlorine-gas exposure can cause acute irritation of the airways, eyes, and throat; many reported patients recovered.
What this doesn’t tell us
Follow-up was available for only 60% of people, and exposure conditions varied. The review does not measure risk from ordinary household-cleaner use or from every chlorine-containing compound.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Quats (ammonium compounds)

Quaternary ammonium compounds are used in some disinfectants. The study here tests one of them in freshwater organisms.

Toxicity and genotoxicity of the quaternary ammonium compound benzalkonium chloride (BAC) using Daphnia magna and Ceriodaphnia dubia as model systems

Lavorgna et al. · Environmental Pollution · 2016

Laboratory study in two freshwater crustacean species

In plain language
Researchers exposed two types of tiny freshwater animals to benzalkonium chloride, a quat used in disinfectants. At the tested concentrations, they found toxic effects and evidence of DNA damage.
Conclusion
This particular quat affected aquatic organisms under controlled laboratory conditions.
What this doesn’t tell us
The paper studied one quat, not all ammonium compounds. It does not show human health effects, prove persistence in waterways, or measure harm from the concentrations found at a particular real-world location.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Sulfates and SLS

Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is chemically a sulfate, but it is admissible under Crunchify’s ingredient screen. Other sulfates and SLS/SLES remain excluded. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a cleansing ingredient. This paper examines skin irritation from SLS, not all chemicals called sulfates.

Sodium lauryl sulphate for irritant patch testing—a dose-response study using bioengineering methods for determination of skin irritation

Agner & Serup · Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 1990

Controlled skin patch tests in 12 volunteers

In plain language
Researchers tested four SLS concentrations on volunteers’ skin and measured responses after 24 and 48 hours. Higher concentrations produced greater irritation, including increased water loss through the skin.
Conclusion
Skin irritation increased with SLS concentration under these patch-test conditions.
What this doesn’t tell us
The study was small, and prolonged patch exposure differs from brief washing and rinsing. It does not establish effects for every sulfate, eye irritation, or risk from every finished product.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Synthetic dyes

Some dyes can trigger contact allergy. The available study here concerns textile dyes, so its relevance to cleaner colorants is limited.

Patch Testing to a Textile Dye Mix by the International Contact Dermatitis Research Group

Isaksson et al. · Dermatitis · 2015

Patch-testing study of 2,493 dermatitis patients at nine clinics

In plain language
Researchers tested a mix of eight textile dyes on patients being evaluated for dermatitis. Ninety patients (3.6%) reacted to the mix, and ordinary baseline allergy tests would have missed some dye allergies.
Conclusion
Testing for textile dye allergy can identify reactions that standard testing misses in some dermatitis patients.
What this doesn’t tell us
These were patients with dermatitis, not the general population. Textile dyes are not the same as dyes in cleaners; this paper does not demonstrate allergy risk from household-cleaner colorants or all synthetic dyes.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Undisclosed fragrance blends

A label that says only “fragrance” does not name every substance in the blend. Our screening focuses on complete disclosure.

Fragranced consumer products: Chemicals emitted, ingredients unlisted

Steinemann et al. · Environmental Impact Assessment Review · 2011

Laboratory emissions analysis of 25 fragranced consumer products

In plain language
Researchers tested the air above fragranced cleaning supplies, laundry products, personal-care products, and air fresheners. They detected 133 different volatile chemicals across the products; only one of those chemicals was listed on any product label.
Conclusion
The labels did not identify most of the chemicals detected in emissions from the tested products, illustrating a disclosure gap.
What this doesn’t tell us
The paper measured emissions and labeling, not people’s exposure or health outcomes. Emitted chemicals are not necessarily intentionally added ingredients, and the study explicitly makes no claims about risks from product use. Its findings reflect the products and labeling rules at the time.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Sodium hydroxide

A strong alkali used in some oven cleaners. Concentration and the way a person is exposed matter when interpreting the evidence.

Toxicity resulting from exposure to oven cleaners as reported to the UK National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) from 2009 to 2015

Day et al. · Clinical Toxicology · 2017

Review of poison-service enquiries involving 780 patients

In plain language
Researchers reviewed reports of swallowing, inhaling, or getting oven cleaners on skin or in eyes. Most products contained sodium hydroxide and/or potassium hydroxide, and some exposures involved burns or other symptoms.
Conclusion
Reported exposures to strong-alkali oven cleaners included corrosive injuries, showing why exposure conditions matter.
What this doesn’t tell us
These were enquiries about mixed cleaning products, not tests of pure sodium hydroxide. The records cannot assign each injury to one ingredient or estimate risk during ordinary, correctly directed use.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Sulfuric acid

A strong acid that can be corrosive at high concentrations. This paper concerns ingestion of battery acid, not everyday cleaning.

Battery acid burns of the upper gastro-intestinal tract

Wormald & Wilson · Clinical Otolaryngology and Allied Sciences · 1993

Retrospective case series of 18 battery-acid ingestions

In plain language
Doctors reviewed 18 patients who swallowed battery acid containing 30% sulfuric acid. Injuries included burns in the upper digestive tract, and four patients needed surgery to restore function.
Conclusion
Swallowing concentrated sulfuric acid caused serious corrosive injuries in this case series.
What this doesn’t tell us
This is a small study of concentrated battery-acid ingestion. It does not establish effects from dilute solutions, skin contact, inhalation, or normal household-cleaner use.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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Microplastics and plastic-derived materials

Tiny plastic particles can come from synthetic materials such as polyester, polypropylene, and polyethylene — including the fabrics used in some baby wipes and diapers. Our screening asks what a wipe or diaper is actually made of, not just what lotion is on it.

Occurrence of Polyethylene Terephthalate and Polycarbonate Microplastics in Infant and Adult Feces

Zhang et al. · Environmental Science & Technology Letters · 2021

Laboratory analysis of fecal samples from 6 infants and 10 adults

In plain language
Researchers measured two common microplastics in stool samples from infants and adults in New York. Infant samples contained markedly higher concentrations of PET (polyester) microplastic than adult samples, which the authors suggest may relate to babies’ contact with plastic-containing products such as bottles, toys, and synthetic textiles.
Conclusion
Infants can carry measurable amounts of microplastic in their bodies, and everyday plastic-containing products are plausible sources worth studying further.
What this doesn’t tell us
This was a very small pilot study that measured presence, not health effects. It did not test wipes or diapers specifically, did not prove any product caused harm, and cannot say what a safe level is. It supports asking what baby products are made of — it does not condemn any single material.
Read the peer-reviewed study

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