TAED is short for tetraacetylethylenediamine, which is why everyone says TAED. It is a bleach activator: it lets oxygen bleach work in a warm wash instead of needing the hottest setting. It also carries an EPA yellow triangle rather than a green circle, and we would rather explain that than skip past it.
Quick facts
- What it is: tetraacetylethylenediamine, a white crystalline organic compound
- Its job in our products: bleach activator for oxygen bleach
- Where it comes from: synthetic, made from ethylenediamine and acetic acid
- EPA Safer Choice: yellow triangle, meaning it meets EPA's criteria for its job but is not rated low concern on every measure
- EWG grade: B (see the EWG page)
- CAS number: 10543-57-4
What happens in the wash
Hydrogen peroxide, released by sodium percarbonate, bleaches best in hot water. TAED reacts with that peroxide to form peracetic acid, a more reactive oxygen bleach that works on stains in warm washes.
Peracetic acid does not last. It is used up on stains or breaks down into acetic acid (the acid in vinegar), oxygen and water. TAED itself ends up almost entirely as DAED (diacetylethylenediamine). The detergent industry's HERA risk assessment assumed 99 percent of what reaches the drain is DAED, which in its data was not acutely toxic, mutagenic or sensitizing.
What about cold water?
In a lab test HERA cites, run at room temperature (23°C, 73°F) under alkaline, wash-like conditions with oxygen bleach present, about 99 percent of the TAED had reacted within 20 minutes. That measures the chemical reaction, not stain removal. Bleaching still depends on temperature and pH (the alkaline side comes from builders like sodium carbonate), and HERA notes that 23°C is below the temperature recommended for TAED powders. If you usually wash cold, save stained loads for a warm cycle when the care label allows.
The yellow triangle, explained
EPA uses the yellow triangle for a chemical that has met the Safer Choice criteria for its function and is among the safest available for that job, but is not associated with a low level of concern on every human health and environmental measure. EPA also names this function as an area where it wants safer chemistry to keep improving.
EWG gives TAED a B; follow the link for its reasoning. For how we read both ratings, see how we vet ingredients. Here is what HERA found for the ingredient itself:
- Skin and eyes: practically non-irritating
- Genetic effects: not genotoxic
- Margin of exposure: estimated consumer exposure is about 7 million times (TAED) and 64 million times (DAED) below the dose that caused no effects in animal studies; HERA concluded neither causes concern for human health
- Biodegradability: 68 to 95 percent broken down in the 28-day OECD 301B test; HERA concluded both TAED and DAED are readily biodegradable
- Sewage treatment: more than 97 percent removed
Handling and safety
Like most fine powders, concentrated TAED can irritate the eyes and airways as dust. In our products it is blended with other ingredients and diluted further in the wash. Use them as directed and avoid contact with eyes. If any gets in eyes, rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. If any is swallowed, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Store powders and tablets dry and sealed in their pouch, up high or in a latched cabinet, out of reach of children and pets.
Where you'll find it
- Laundry: EWG Verified Max Strength Laundry Powder
- Dish: EWG Verified Dishwasher Tabs, EWG Verified Dishwasher Powder
- Kits and bundles: Home Kitchen Kit, Dish Starter Kit, Ultimate Home Bulk Bundle, Expert Home Cleaner Kit
All are fragrance-free, except that the Expert Home Cleaner Kit also includes scented sprays. Each product page has the full ingredient list.
Sources
- America's Poison Centers. (n.d.). Poison Help. https://poisoncenters.org/
- Environmental Working Group. (n.d.). EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning: TAED. https://www.ewg.org/cleaners/substances/151917-TAED/
- HERA Project. (2003). Tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED) (CAS 10543-57-4). Human and Environmental Risk Assessment on Ingredients of Household Cleaning Products. https://www.heraproject.com/substance/taed/
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). PubChem compound summary: Peracetic acid. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Peracetic-acid
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. (n.d.). PubChem compound summary: Tetraacetylethylenediamine. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Tetraacetylethylenediamine
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Safer Choice: Safer Chemical Ingredients List. https://www.epa.gov/saferchoice/safer-ingredients
