Is common dishwashing detergent organic or inorganic?

[kenny1999]

I want to add some diluted dishwashing detergent to a bottle for spraying cockcoach, the bottle is claimed to degrade with organic solvent. Is dishwashing detergent organic?

 

[WWGD]

I want to add some diluted dishwashing detergent to a bottle for spraying cockcoach, the bottle is claimed to degrade with organic solvent. Is dishwashing detergent organic?

Not by default. Some are, or at least claim to be. Do you ask if the liquid is biodegradable or if the container bottle is?

 

[jim mcnamara]

Dishwashing detergent usually has sodium lauryl sulfate as one of the ingredients. This is the grease binding detergent molecule. It is an organic chemical, meaning it has a carbon-2-carbon chemically bonded backbone. This has nothing to do with organic in the sense of organic gardening. Which seems to be what you are thinking. There are completely biodegradable household - Green - cleaning products.

Biodegradable means the molecules I mentioned can be broken down into simple components like water and carbon dioxide by bacteria. Yes they can. Most of the time. Dishwasher detergent, separate animal, often is based on additional chemistry some of which creates more resistance to bacterial degradation maybe for inorganic molecules, like calcium carbonate or other non-degradable organic molecules.

Industrial sewage is a whole new ballgame.

The reason sewage treatment plants aerate sewage is to help the bacteria break down all of the crud and debris and chemicals in sewage.

This whole deal is much more complex than this skimpy overview I gave:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment

 

[Ygggdrasil]

I want to add some diluted dishwashing detergent to a bottle for spraying cockcoach, the bottle is claimed to degrade with organic solvent. Is dishwashing detergent organic?

I would not count dishwashing detergent as an "organic solvent."

The question here is confused by the various definitions of "organic" that one might commonly come across in science and in everyday life.

Organic compounds (vs inorganic compounds) are chemical compounds that contain carbon-carbon bonds. In this sense, many dishwashing detergents, which do contain carbon-based molecules, are organic. However, this is not the relevant definition.

Organic products (vs conventional products) are consumer products produced to certain standards meant to promote environmental sustainability. This definition is also not relevant to the problem at hand.

Organic solvents (vs aqueous solvents) are non-water based solvents that are composed of non-polar compounds that will not mix with water. Examples of common organic solvents include hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform, and benzene. Because their chemical composition of organic solvents are similar to the compounds that make up plastics, organic solvents will often damage plastic containers (and are generally best stored in glass). This is the relevant definition, and I would not count water-based detergent solutions as organic solvents.

 

[symbolipoint]

"Organic" does not mean healthy; nor natural; nor safe. Something may be "organic" according to expected or intended purpose but less trained or educated people could still come to argument about a topic. Reread posts # 2, 3, & 4 in great detail, and hopefully understand.