I know. You want to know what Bar Keepers Friend ingredients are. You want to know if Bar Keepers Friend is natural, if it contains bleach, and if Bar Keepers Friend is safe to use in your home around kids. Well, I’ve done some digging for you and found the answers so read on!
Bar keeper’s friend is perfect for glass cooktops, hard water stains, stubborn stains, metal surfaces, and more! It’s one of my favorite household cleaners and always one of the first things that I use as my all purpose cleaner. I’ve been using this non abrasive cleaner for a long time, and it helps to get rid of those tough stains with a quick scrub! It really does help me keep a clean house!
You can use it for casual use on a small spot or keep it on hand to clean stains as they arise. I have it for everyday use because it’s one of those great products that gets rid of so much grime with a little elbow grease!
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If you need a good reason to use bar keepers friend, this is the article for you! It does miracles on mineral deposits on glass shower doors and is great for cleaning the kitchen sink, too! So many uses for this cleaner! Just rub in a circular motion and watch the soap scum and hard water spots disappear!
I began using Bar Keepers Friend about five years ago now and have found some many great uses of Bar Keepers Friend! My favorite things to clean with it are pots and pans, bathtubs, rust stains, and glass! There are uses for it all over my house and I have grown to love it.
I even worked with Bar Keepers Friend to create multiple cleaning tutorials in the past (they are listed at the bottom of this post).
I am a HUGE fan of theirs and pretty much tell all my friends to use it for various cleaning tasks around their homes.
But, I have never really dug into the Bar Keepers Friend ingredients, always just assuming they wasn’t very toxic or harmful to use. As I care about my health and my children’s health (as well as my friends I’m recommending this product to) I wanted to be certain I was using Bar Keepers Friend safely and correctly and not damaging my skin or lungs or eyes.
I needed to know how natural Barkeepers Friend is or not and if Bar Keepers Friend was safe to use all over my house.
Bar Keepers Friend Ingredients
I looked up the Bar Keepers Friend Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for a list of Bar Keepers Friend ingredients. Here is what I found listed in their various staple products.
The Bar Keepers Friend ingredients in the Cleanser & Polish powder and their Cookware Cleanser & Polish are:
- Feldspar*
- Linear Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (DDBSA)
- Oxalic Acid
- * not regulated as hazardous materials
The Bar Keepers Friend ingredients in the Soft Cleanser are:
- Water*
- Feldspar*
- Oxalic Acid
- Citric Acid
- Polymeric Dispersant*
- Nonionic Surfactant*
- Orange/Lemon Scent*
- * not regulated as hazardous materials
The Bar Keepers Friend ingredients in their Spray & Foam Cleaner are:
- Water*
- Oxalic Acid
- Citric Acid
- Nonionic Surfactant*
- Orange/Lemon Scent*
- * not regulated as hazardous materials
What is in Bar Keepers Friend and Is It Safe?
I honestly didn’t know what “oxalic acid” was, but it is listed as the main ingredient and cleaning force behind Bar Keepers Friend.
But, I was glad to realize that Bar Keepers Friend products are:
- V.O.C. Free (aka no micro-scrubbing particles)
- Chlorine Free
- Bleach Free
In the Bar Keepers Friend FAQ and other places on their website, it says the following about their main ingredient Oxalic acid:
“Oxalic acid cleansers are acidic instead of alkaline, which makes our products more effective against rust, tarnish, oxidation, mineral scale, hard water, and lime deposits than most other cleaning products. Unlike other acidic cleaners, Bar Keepers Friend doesn’t use fillers or bleaches, making our products biodegradable and safe for septic systems.”
The reason they use oxalic acid instead of other cleaning substances is based on how their company got started:
“Our cleansers were originally formulated with an acidic compound found in rhubarb after a chemist noticed how clean his pot became when he boiled the plant. Over 100 years later, we’re still committed to oxalic acid cleansers because of their unique gentle but effective results.”
On their website, they boast that they “use fewer, yet higher-quality ingredients. It is safe for what you clean and who you clean it for.”
In fact, they state that Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser & Polish may be disposed of in household garbage.
So, What is Oxalic Acid?
Oxalic acid is an organic compound with formula C2H2O4 and it is a colorless crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. It occurs naturally in many foods – like rhubarb, chives, collards, parsley, radishes, lettuce, and brussels sprouts (you can see the exact levels of oxalic acid in various foods here).
Excessive ingestion of oxalic acid or prolonged skin contact can be dangerous. In fact, eating too many of the above foods can lead to kidney stones.
The harmful effects of oxalic acid in Bar Keepers Friend present themselves if it is ingested or inhaled. Breathing it in can cause upper respiratory tract irritation which mostly means it may lead to a cough, shortness of breath, or a sore throat. Ingesting it it can lead to nausea and vomiting, balance issues, and possible damage to your kidneys.
But it is not identified as mutagenic or carcinogenic.
What is Feldspar?
And because I’m sure you’re curious about the other ingredients on their MSDS, let’s talk about feldspar as well.
Feldspar is the abrasive ingredients found in most of Bar Keeper Friend products (except for the MORE Spray+Foam) and is a mineral, one of the most abundant minerals found in the earth’s crust. It is found in most igneous and metamorphic rocks and has no color of their own.
It is the Feldspar that works in the Bar Keepers Friend to help it polish and clean metal, plastic, and tile.
As far as I can tell, there doesn’t really seem to be health risks to its use. It’s found in many everyday objects and products.
What is Linear Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (DDBSA)?
Linear Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate serves as the surfactant in Bar Keepers Friend. Surfactants are compounds that “lower the surface tension of water, making the molecules slippier, so they are less likely to stick to themselves and more likely to interact with oil and grease” and so on.
This particular surfactant is one of most popular ones used today thanks to its low cost and biodegradability.
As far as human health effects of DDBSA, it may cause skin irritation but sensitization or allergic reactions are rare. If swallowed may cause vomiting. Shouldn’t be breathed in as aspiration can cause upper airway irritations and respiratory distress, most often in young children.
What is Citric Acid?
Citric Acid is a weak organic acid with chemical formula C6H8O7 that occurs naturally in citrus fruits like lemons and oranges and is found in many many different products today.
Certain Bar Keepers Friend products contain citric acid to help with the removal of limescale and rust (acting as a chelating agent) and helps make the product foam and work better with water.
It is generally accepted as a safe product to use and even presents many benefits thanks to acting as an antioxidant and an alkalizing agent and may help prevent kidney stones.
It is only considered unsafe in very large quantity in higher concentrated form.
There has been some concerns however about the commercially made Citrus Acid because it is most often made from feeding certain sugars (primarily from beets and corn, which are among the mostly commonly produced genetically modified organisms (GMOs)) with fungus Aspergillus niger (a common black mold on fruits and vegetables).
Even though the black mold is filtered out, some people believe the mycotoxins (microscopic waste products left behind by the fungus) aren’t entirely eliminated.
“Wellness experts worry that ingesting or inhaling these on the reg can be problematic because mold and mycotoxins have been tied to respiratory issues, allergies, and even chronic illness. Dr. Vila warns that citric acid in beauty and cleaning products has the potential to be an irritant and trigger asthma symptoms.”
Bar Keepers Friend Safety Use Recommendations
Just like any product or substance, too much of it isn’t good for you. But, a small amount of Bar Keepers Friend coming in contact with your skin or breathed in will definitely not kill you or seriously maim you in anyway. It will not lead to cancer or anything serious.
But, you should still try to AVOID the following when dealing with their products:
- Ingesting It
- Inhaling It
- Getting It In Your Eyes
- Mixing Bar Keepers Friend with other chemicals including bleach and/or ammonia
This means you should not inhale the dry product and use only as much as you need.
To help you with this, be sure to wet the product immediately after dispensing. You also should not use it where rinsing thoroughly is difficult, or impossible.
You could wear some sort of simple face mask if you are really concerned with accidentally breathing some of the powder in.
If you are using it for a prolonged period of use or have sensitive skin, wear gloves while cleaning and handling the product.
If you get Bar Keepers Friend in your eyes, you need to rinse continuously with water for several minutes and remove contact lenses if present. Continue rinsing until the irritation is gone.
If you digest Bar Keepers Friend, you should drink milk or water and call a doctor, but do not induce vomiting.
If you get Bar Keepers Friend on your skin, you should wash it off with soap and water.
I am glad to know that Bar Keepers Friend is, for the most part, a very mild cleaning product that still works amazing!! I may start wearing gloves more often while using it and be sure not to breathe any in, but I don’t see any reasons to stop using it any time soon!
Pick up some in a store near you or online at Amazon!
Then check out my cleaning posts featuring Bar Keepers Friend below!
- How to clean bathtub with Bar Keepers Friend
- Clean stainless steel pizza pan with Bar Keepers Friend
- How to clean copper sink
- How to clean chrome rims at home
- Best way to clean inside of a dishwasher
- Best way to clean glass cook-top
- Best way to clean oven racks
- How to clean burnt pot bottom
- How to clean golf clubs so they’ll shine like new
- How to remove rust from porcelain sink
- Best way to clean porcelain sink
- How to remove scratches from dinnerware
- How to clean drip pans
Marge Schmidt says
best cleaner that has ever been invented. I have been using it for 40 some years & just love it for cleaning everything.
Mark Bennish says
wow I’m never using this product
Ruth Y says
Thanks for this thorough report! I’ll happily keep using BKF knowing there’s no danger when using it according to the instructions. =)
Peter Iliades says
What is the what is the size of the feldspar grains used in microns
Cornell says
I don’t know. But feldspar is frequently used in abrasive cleaners. BKF has the smallest size of all I’ve checked, i.e. least physically abrasive.
Viv says
Natural does not equal non toxic or non harmful.
So I am not sure what the point of asking ‘is it natural’.
Toxicity is totally dependent upon dosage.
Water is ‘natural’ and mostly non toxic – but take too much water (no matter how pure) at once and it will kill you.
Song Girl says
Yes thank you for saying this. I just saw a veterinary site that talked about how harmful this product is if inhaled or ingested based on amount.
“The principle ingredient of Bar Keeper’s Friend products is oxalic acid. Oxalic acid has toxic effects through contact and if ingested. It is extremely destructive to tissue of mucous membranes and upper respiratory tract; harmful if swallowed; harmful to and destructive of tissue and causes burns if absorbed through the skin or is in contact with the eyes. Symptoms and effects include a burning sensation, cough, wheezing, laryngitis, shortness of breath, spasm, inflammation and edema of the larynx, inflammation and edema of the bronchi, pneumonitis, pulmonary edema.”
Mashi says
THEN DON’T EAT IT.
Alan says
You should modify your article to say that it “does contain micro scrubbing particles”. Barkeeper’s Friend advertises that it does. Please refer to this page: https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/cleaning-products/
Jennifer Spallin says
Those scrubbing particles are just feldspar in this case. Literally ground up rock. It’s the most widely available mineral on the planet. Not rocket science: abrasives work.
Cornell says
Mehtinks that “inhaled” does not refer to breathing the air around where you happen to be using the product. More like sticking your nose in the container and breathing deeply, perhaps in an effort to get high.