This post is sponsored by P&G

I may be a self-described Tidy Dad, but that doesn’t mean that my children are exempt from making messes or getting stains all over their clothes. And as I learned, being a P&G Scientist doesn’t make your clothing exempt from messes or stains either! I’m partnering with P&G to share more about the New York state regulation of 1,4 dioxane and to spread awareness on the safety of Tide and Gain detergents.

Our Family’s Laundry Routine 

Our apartment in New York City was built in 1910 and we don’t have the luxury of an in-unit washer and dryer. So like clockwork, on early Sunday mornings, I gather the week’s laundry for our family of five and walk it across the street to the laundromat. Margaret, our family’s other early riser, always looks forward to this weekly outing. 

Margaret helps me sort clothes and load the washing machine, and then I add the detergent. When it comes to washing our family’s clothes, I want to make sure that I’m using detergents that are safe. For years, our family has trusted Tide. 

Why We’ve Trusted Tide

Since our daughters were first born, we’ve used Tide Free & Gentle detergent for washing laundry. I remember the post-baby shower excitement of my wife and I going through new baby clothes and blankets, and then getting them all washed and folded in anticipation of our new baby’s arrival. 

We love that Tide Free & Gentle detergent is free of dyes and perfumes, yet it effectively removes dirt, food, and stains. It is a powerful cleaner, yet gentle enough for the sensitive skin of babies and this Tidy Dad. Framed in our daughter’s bedroom is a onesie that all three of our daughters wore when they were newborns. It is solid white, which looking back is quite a BOLD newborn photograph outfit color choice, but it still looks brilliantly white. I have Tide to thank for that. 

Addressing the Tide Controversy 

Tide and Gain consumer confidence, including our own, was tested recently because of some misleading news coverage that Tide and Gain detergents were banned. New York state recently issued new state-wide legislation that limits the amount of byproduct 1,4 dioxane in laundry detergents, and a competitor published information that Tide and Gain detergents did not meet safety regulations. That reporting was false. Tide and Gain detergents are not banned in New York. 

As I tell my daughters, it’s always important to do your research before believing what you read on the Internet or hear on the news. I was recently able to flex my skills as a former journalist (note: I retired after my sophomore year of college) and spoke with Jennifer Ahoni, a P&G scientist and mom, about Tide and Gain detergents and the new regulations in New York. 

Jennifer has a Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering, and has worked at P&G for 14 years and for the past 7 years has worked on fabric care. In addition to sharing her expertise on the P&G detergents and their safety, she shared a funny anecdote about laundry and dating her husband. On one particularly memorable date, she found out that he wasn’t using P&G detergents for his laundry. She said to him, “You’ll need to correct that quickly, otherwise we can’t continue dating.” In turn she recommended the correct laundry detergent to help him eliminate the irritation that he’d been experiencing because of his sensitive skin. He’s been using Tide Free & Gentle detergent ever since. 

In our 20 minute conversation, her passion for laundry science and finding the right formulation of detergents that can handle the toughest of stains (including those picked up by her own daughter at daycare) was evident. Here’s some of our conversation: 

Q&A with Scientist Jennifer Ahoni 

What is the job of a scientist at P&G? 

In my role, a lot of what I’m focused on is how do we educate people about the science behind laundry in general. And then, of course, innovating the technology that we have in our products to make them superior, and ensure that they are safe for everyday use for the consumers. There are 1000s of us [scientists] in fabric care alone. There are nearly 1000 located around the globe dedicated to the design of our products and the safety of our products. We do have quite a few scientists who sit in an organization called Global Product Stewardship [GPS].  They’re figuring out what are the ingredients we put into the products, are these ingredients safe and how do we ensure as new regulations and laws come into place that we are always compliant with them. 

There are scientists who are actually designing these products in the lab. We’re figuring out what are the particular ingredients that are going in here. There are scientists who are then testing those products with our consumers and actually going into their homes, figuring out how they are using them, observing their habits, and then translating that into technical requirements. 

What is 1,4 Dioxane and is it safe? 

Dioxane is a chemical that is a by-product of some of the ingredients that we use in our cleaning products or laundry detergent. It is a by-product that is brought about in the manufacture of our surfactants. Surfactants are the primary cleaning ingredient in detergents. And when you manufacture surfactants sometimes byproducts can be created. 1,4 dioxane is one of the byproducts that is created. In terms of regulations or safety limits that are in place for cleaning products, we always ensure that even as a byproduct, if it is present in a product, that it is below any safety limits. If you look at the New York law that just went into effect, it’s two parts per million. We are ensuring that any by-product that is coming from our surfactants is below that safety limit. 

As a kid, Tide was always the laundry detergent that my family used, and when our girls were first born, we were using Tide Free and Gentle detergent to wash all of their laundry.  What does the reformulation process look like and what are the different safety measures that are in place? 

Anytime we’re formulating a product, whether we are reformulating something that’s already in the market, or we are launching a completely new product to the world, we always start off with understanding, are the ingredients that we’re putting into them safe.

Then we check things like the raw materials. What are the safety limits that are in place from different regulatory organizations? What are the certain legislative rules that are in place? 

We start with our safety process to ensure that products are safe. But we also are ensuring that we’re delivering the consumer expectations when we reformulate. Like you said, you use Tide Free and Gentle for you and your children. You’ve come to expect a certain level of performance from Tide. We want to ensure that every time a consumer uses a product like Tide or Gain, they are getting that expected performance. 

If I could show you our labs right now, I’m actually at our downtown office, you would see that we have machines on machines and machines on machines. We are constantly doing testing within our laboratories for performance as well as safety in a given year. We’re running at least 20,000 different tests in these laboratories to make sure that our products are performing as intended, as well as meeting the safety standards as well.

What do you want consumers to know about Tide and Gain detergents?

I want consumers to know that the Tide and Gain that they’ve always loved using is still 100% safe for them to use as directed. There’s a lot of misinformation out there right now, in particular that Tide and Gain have been banned in New York, which is just absolutely not true. When Tide knew of these regulations, we reformulated the product to ensure that it met the regulations well before the new law even came into effect. Tide and Gain have always been safe for consumers to use and consumers can continue to use it! It is not banned and products should be available to them.

Do you trust Tide and Gain for your family’s laundry needs?

I absolutely trust Tide and Gain for my family. I absolutely will not use any other product that is not a P&G laundry product in my home. 

I am astounded by the level of scientific rigor that goes into the design of our products. For example, in P&G Fabric Care some of the equipment that we’re using to analyze fabrics, is the same type of equipment that is used in NASA to observe tiles on the space shuttle. People might say laundry isn’t rocket science, but in this way, it is kind of like rocket science. It’s amazing all of the things that go into the design of our products from ensuring that it is safe, all the way to ensuring that you’re getting a really deep down superior clean.

Why I’ll Continue to Trust Tide & Gain 

As a dad, I was reassured to learn that Tide and Gain detergents ARE safe to use and are not banned in New York or anywhere in the United States. I appreciated Jennifer’s candor, as she shared her work as a P&G scientist and her expertise reassured me on the safety of Tide and Gain and the full line of P&G products. She also shared her go-to P&G laundry detergents. Here’s a look at what a P&G scientist uses for her family’s laundry routine. 

Scientist Jennifer Ahoni’s Laundry Favorites

Tide Ultra OXI Power PODS With Odor Eliminators

Tide PODS Free and Gentle Laundry Detergent

Dreft: Active Baby Liquid Laundry Detergent

P&G is the trusted leader in home products. It’s always important that you do your own research on the products that you use in your home with your family. Tide & Gain detergents are safe and effective, and are not banned in New York or anywhere in the United States. 

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