# Chemistry experts - Ivory vs Dawn dishwashing liquid



## dixiedragon (May 24, 2019)

Specifically, on puppies.

I read somewhere 20 years ago that if you had a puppy with fleas, it was a good idea to coat them with Ivory dish soap and let it sit for 20 minutes. That would smother and kill the fleas, without using a poison (Frontline, etc,) that might not be puppy safe. I remember the 20 years b/c the puppy I used it on the first time has since passed away. For some reason it was very specifically Ivory dish soap. Maybe at that time it was actually soap vs detergent?

I've highlighted in blue the ingredients that are different - the alcohol in Dawn makes me think it is less gentle/more cleansing vs Ivory?

Just curious b/c we recently got a foster puppy. She was living ROUGH, so she was half-starved and just eaten up with fleas and ticks. She'd be treated but still had a pretty bad infestation on her and we didn't want to use more poison on her. So, 20 minutes of Ivory, then 10 minutes of pet conditioner (in case the Ivory dried out her skin.) No fleas or ticks!

Ivory Dish Liquid
Proctor & Gamble puts the following ingredients in its Ivory dish liquid: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, alkyl dimethyl amine oxide, sodium choloride, PPG-26, cyclohexanediamine, phenoxyethanol, methylisothiazolinone and fragrance. The ingredients in Ivory dish liquid have one of four purposes -- they are processing aids, cleaning agents, preservatives or fragrances.

Dawn Ultra
Water (Solvent), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (Cleaning Agent),  Sodium Laureth Sulfate (Cleaning Agent), Lauramine Oxide (Cleaning Agent),  Alcohol Denat. (Solvent), Sodium Chloride (Viscosity Adjuster), PPG 26 (Viscosity Adjuster), Sodium Hydroxide (PH Adjuster), Phenoxyethanol (Solvent), Methylisothiazolinone (Preservative)


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## Obsidian (May 24, 2019)

I've always heard to use dawn for fleas but really, any good dish soap should work.

I suspect the surfactants break down the water repellent surface of the fleas so they can drown.
Since insects don't have lungs like mammals, it can take awhile for them to drown. Hence why it needs to sit on them for awhile.

I do believe dawn is more cleansing. I know it works on dishes better then any other detergent and its what is used on birds that get caught in a oil spill.

If your dog gets dry skin, you can rub some OO or coconut into the skin. My dog had a bad reaction to coconut so you might want to do a test patch before applying all over.


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## dixiedragon (May 24, 2019)

You let the Ivory sit for 15-20 minutes, then you rinse off dead fleas. So the Ivory coats them so they can't breathe, vs drowning in water. It can be difficult to wash off lots of live fleas, because they will flea into the dog's ears, nose and anus (sorry), then come back out later. Plus they bite when they're inside there.


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## Lin19687 (May 24, 2019)

Honestly, you are better off using the treatment drops.  It will work faster.
The faster they are completely rid of fleas the more they will heal and gain weight instead of being anemic from all the blood sucking.

I am all about no chemicals, but in places where fleas are prevalent, treat.  My cats were always INDOORS and I did not live in a flea area.


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## lenarenee (May 24, 2019)

dixiedragon said:


> Specifically, on puppies.
> 
> 
> Dawn Ultra
> Water (Solvent), Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (Cleaning Agent),  Sodium Laureth Sulfate (Cleaning Agent), Lauramine Oxide (Cleaning Agent),  Alcohol Denat. (Solvent), Sodium Chloride (Viscosity Adjuster), PPG 26 (Viscosity Adjuster), Sodium Hydroxide (PH Adjuster), Phenoxyethanol (Solvent), Methylisothiazolinone (Preservative)



A little correction here: phenoxyethanol is a preservative (I'll never forget that; it was the same thing we used in anatomy lab to...uh...augment the preservation of the cadavers. )


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## dixiedragon (May 28, 2019)

Lin19687 said:


> Honestly, you are better off using the treatment drops.  It will work faster.
> The faster they are completely rid of fleas the more they will heal and gain weight instead of being anemic from all the blood sucking.
> 
> I am all about no chemicals, but in places where fleas are prevalent, treat.  My cats were always INDOORS and I did not live in a flea area.



Oh, we used the treatments! And they helped. But we'd already used the maximum allowed, and due to the fact that she is only 5 months old and very malnourished, didn't want to push that envelope. But yes, we will definitely be maintaining the chemical treatments.


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