How Bad is Drinking Detergent?

[ku]

Sometimes when I take a glass from the pantry I pour myself some Coke and drink some only to realize that the glass was just recently washed. In the Coke I could taste some detergent residue. Is drinking of detergent in small amounts harmful?

[Dak]

logically speaking, no: if detergent was toxic enough to be harmful at very small doses, its doubtful that the companies would be legally alowed to sell it for the purposes of cleaning eating utensils.

 

actually, i wouldnt be surprised if the coke was more harmful than the detergent.

[YT2095]

things like washing up liquid or houshold soap are non toxic, although they can have a laxative effect when taken in large enough doses.

[insane_alien]

if it was toxic enough for you to worry about you'd either puke it up, feel really really bad or be dead. i wouldn't worry about it but it doesn't mean that you can start drinking fairy liquid straight

[Dak]

things like washing up liquid[...][/b'] are non toxic

 

Are you telling me that you could neck an intire bottle of fairy, and the only adverse effects would be the squits???

 

That'd be some interesting dihoreahh... I wonder if it would bubble?

[husmusen]

Sometimes when I take a glass from the pantry I pour myself some Coke and drink some only to realize that the glass was just recently washed. In the Coke I could taste some detergent residue. Is drinking of detergent in small amounts harmful?

 

In those tiny doses, there is no evidence to show any harm.

But usch it would taste.

 

As for daks comment, there is a mythbusters episode that immerses a tooth

in weak phosphoric acid for 24 hours (used in cola) the results are

quite unsettling.

 

YT2095:

things like washing up liquid or houshold soap are non toxic, although they can have a laxative effect when taken in large enough doses.

 

I thought detergent and toilet soap was quite alkaline?

that wouldn't be very good for you, it could screw up your pH.

 

Insane A':

if it was toxic enough for you to worry about you'd either puke it up, feel really really bad or be dead.

Or permanently crippled.

 

Dak:

That'd be some interesting dihoreahh... I wonder if it would bubble?

 

 

Ask the Tokyo Shock boys. Kak-tos Weh-Jii

 

Cheers.

[the tree]

Would an alkaline detergent, when mixed with something acidic such as Cola form a salt of some sort?

[Dak]

I believe its phosphoric acid in coke, and apparently liniar alkylbenzine sulfonates¹, with the generic equasion R¹(CHR²)-PhSO₃^-Na⁺ in washing up liquids ^{2 (pdf)}

 

sooooooooo... I assume that youd get a mixture of H₂PO₄^-Na⁺, HPO₄^2-Na₂²⁺, and PO₄^3-Na₃³⁺ salts , and R¹(CHR²)-PhSO₃H.

 

with sodium dihydrogen phosphate being the resulting salt in the 'bit of detergent left in glass of coke' example above, due to the exess of phosphoric acid compared to liniar alkylbenzyl sulfonate.

 

 

maybe.

 

 

btw, i came across this ^(pdf) info, related to the toxicity of fairy liquid (a common washing up liquid in the UK).