Arm & Hammer Clean Burst: Marketed as Pure. Tested at 4.28 ppm of a Probable Carcinogen.
Before the 2024 New York reformulation, Clean Burst tested the highest of the three detergents for 1,4-dioxane, while Arm & Hammer marketed its ‘Standard of Purity.’
Arm & Hammer Clean Burst sits at the lighter end of the three laundry detergents reviewed: no borax, no confirmed benzisothiazolinone in the disclosed list. The main issue is 1,4-dioxane, the probable carcinogen that forms as a manufacturing byproduct in SLES and ethoxylated surfactants. In 2022, Bureau Veritas lab testing found Clean Burst at 4.28 ppm, above New York’s 2 ppm limit at the time of the test, while Church & Dwight was marketing the product as meeting a ‘Standard of Purity.’ A class action followed. New York’s 2024 final rules tightened the limit to 1 ppm; brands reformulated. Optical brighteners are present (Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl Disulfonate) and stay on fabric against your skin. Fragrance discloses nothing further.
The label, flagged
Water
Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)CAUTION
The sulfate itself just cleans, the real issue is 1,4-dioxane, a probable carcinogen created when it's made, that never appears on the label.
primary surfactant; 1,4-dioxane pathway
Sodium C10-16 Alkylbenzenesulfonate
anionic surfactant
Sodium Carbonate
alkalinity builder
Sodium Bicarbonate
buffer / pH adjuster
Sodium Hydroxide
pH adjuster
Acrylic Acid Homopolymer
anti-redeposition polymer
Disodium Distyrylbiphenyl DisulfonateCAUTION
Chemicals that don’t clean anything, they coat your clothes to trick your eye into seeing ‘whiter,’ stay on the fabric against your skin, and are persistent in waterways. A cosmetic illusion you wear all day.
C12-15 Alcohols Ethoxylated (C10-16 Alketh)
nonionic surfactant; 1,4-dioxane pathway
Pentasodium DTPAACTUALLY FINE
A chelator that keeps formulas stable. It barely penetrates skin and carries no hazard finding. Cleared, though it does nudge other ingredients in slightly.
chelating agent
FragrancesCAUTION
Not a hazard in itself, but a legal black box. “Fragrance” can shield ingredients (including EU-banned ones) that you are never told are there.
1,4-Dioxane (contaminant)CAUTION
A probable carcinogen that’s never on the label because it’s a manufacturing contaminant, not an ingredient, found in these detergents above New York’s legal limit before 2024 reformulation. The only US rule that touches it is one state’s.
manufacturing byproduct, not listed on label
Colorants
synthetic dyes (undisclosed)
Source: SkinSafe + EWG Healthy Cleaning + Church & Dwight ingredient portal. View label. Tap any flagged ingredient for the evidence.
What to use instead
The fix isn’t complicated: a fragrance-free or fully-disclosed alternative, with the ingredients flagged on this label designed out, closes these gaps at once. We pick the ones worth your money.
See non-toxic detergent picks →Editorial analysis of the publicly listed label and regulatory/peer-reviewed sources. Not medical advice, not affiliated with the brand. Verdicts are evidence-graded, we flag what the data flags and clear what it clears.