Can my dishwasher or laundry detergent contain phosphate?

Only a little, and in many states hardly any. At least sixteen states have capped household dishwasher detergent at 0.5 percent phosphorus by weight since July 1, 2010 [1], New York has a 0.5 percent dishwasher cap in its current law [9], and Vermont allows only a trace [7]. Laundry caps are older: Washington set 0.5 percent in 1993 [2]. Some states go further for cleaning agents in general; Maryland's text allows no phosphorus beyond what is incidental to manufacturing [3]. The caps count phosphorus as the element, so 0.5 percent phosphorus allows about 2 percent sodium tripolyphosphate. Most texts read exempt commercial dishwashing; New York's does not. Below: each state's text and how to count phosphorus.

The sixteen dishwasher detergent states

Consumer Reports reported on July 2, 2010 that a limit of 0.5 percent took effect the day before in sixteen states, down from levels as high as 8.7 percent, and that commercial dishwashing products were not affected [1]. That report is the source for the list; the table below adds the statute or bill text read for each state, and for the rest the citation that a trade association survey by ISSA (the worldwide cleaning industry association) gives, so you know which section to ask the state about [11]. The ISSA survey is undated (its file name says 2015) and is wrong for Vermont against the current statute, so treat its entries as leads.

Two more states have dishwasher caps that the 2010 report did not list. New York's ECL 35-0105(2)(a)(2), current text, bars dishwasher products "in excess of five-tenths percent by weight expressed as phosphorus," and its subdivision 2(b) bars a commercial establishment from possessing or using products over the limits [9]; ISSA dates the household limit from August 14, 2010 and the commercial one from July 1, 2013 [11]. ISSA also lists South Carolina (44-53-50) at 0.5 percent from July 1, 2012 [11].

Small wording differences change the threshold. Minnesota and Maryland bar "more than 0.5 percent," and Ohio and Michigan "in excess of" 0.5 percent; Utah and Washington bar "0.5% or more." A product at exactly 0.5 percent passes the first wording and fails the second, and Vermont's "trace quantity" is lower than either. Stay well below 0.5 percent if you sell nationally, and at a trace for Vermont.

What counts as household dishwasher detergent

Utah's definition is the clearest of those read: a substance used "to clean an item commonly used for preparing food, eating, or drinking," and "by an individual for a personal, family, or household purpose" [5]. A product sold to restaurants for their machines is outside it; the same product sold in a grocery aisle is inside it.

Laundry detergent and other cleaning agents

The laundry caps came first.

• Washington. The 1993 law banned laundry detergent with 0.5 percent or more phosphorus by weight, and dishwasher detergent above 8.7 percent until the 2006 amendment, with commercial and industrial products exempt [2].
• Maryland. Environment Article 9-1503(a), as printed in the 2008 bill, says cleaning agents may not contain "more than 0.0 percent phosphorus by weight expressed as elemental phosphorus," except up to 0.5 percent incidental to manufacturing [3]. That covers far more than laundry detergent. Its exemptions in 9-1502 include cleaning agents for dairy, beverage or food processing equipment; phosphoric acid products such as sanitizers, brighteners, acid cleaners and metal conditioners; products used in hospitals, veterinary and health care facilities and agricultural production; industrial metal cleaning; laboratories; and products made or stored for use outside Maryland [3].
• Minnesota. Section 116.23 subdivision 1 bars cleaning agents above the "prescribed maximum concentration of a prescribed nutrient," set outside the section read [4].
• New York. ECL 35-0103 defines phosphorus as "elemental phosphorus" for the household cleansing products article [6]. Section 35-0105(2)(a)(1) bars household cleansing products other than dishwasher, food and beverage processing and dairy equipment products from containing phosphorus compounds "other than such trace concentrations as may be authorized by the commissioner by regulation"; food, beverage and dairy equipment products may carry up to 8.7 percent [9].
• Vermont. 10 V.S.A. 1382(a) bars any household cleansing product with phosphorus "in excess of a trace quantity," with exemptions for agricultural uses and approved lead hazard projects [7].

Consumer Reports said in 2010 that phosphorus limits on laundry detergents had been in place since 1994 [1], which fits the early 1990s state laws above. ISSA's survey lists laundry limits, most at 0.5 percent or a trace, for more than twenty states [11]; no federal agency publishes such a list.

Counting phosphorus in a formula

All the texts read set the cap as phosphorus by weight, and Maryland says "expressed as elemental phosphorus" [3]. Phosphate ingredients are only part phosphorus. The fraction comes from atomic masses (phosphorus 30.97, sodium 22.99, oxygen 16.00); this is arithmetic, not a figure from the statutes.

To check a product: multiply each phosphorus-containing ingredient's weight percent by its phosphorus fraction, add them, and compare the total with 0.5. Hydrated grades carry water, which lowers the phosphorus fraction; use the assay on your supplier's certificate of analysis.

Two consequences for makers:

1. A dishwasher powder built on phosphate is out in all sixteen states. The alternatives (carbonate, citrate, silicate and enzymes) are on dishwasher detergent and builders and chelators.
2. A TSP cleaner is about 19 percent phosphorus by weight as the anhydrous salt. Under Maryland's general cleaning agent rule as printed in 2008, it would need one of the 9-1502 exemptions to be sold there [3]. Check any other state you sell a phosphate cleaner into.

Commercial products

Most texts read exempt commercial or institutional dishwashing, in slightly different words: "commercial or institutional dishwashing purposes" in Minnesota [4], "designed and used for a commercial or industrial purpose" in Utah [5], "commercial or industrial use" in Washington [2], "a commercial or institutional facility" in Ohio [8]. Vermont lets commercial products carry up to 8.7 percent [7]. New York is the exception: its commercial establishment rule applies the same limits to what a restaurant or other business possesses or uses [9]. If you make a product for restaurant machines, label and sell it so that its commercial purpose is plain, keep it off retail shelves in these states, and do not sell it into New York above the cap. The janitorial side is on selling to janitorial and commercial buyers.

Saying "phosphate-free"

Meeting a legal cap is a requirement, and a claim built on it is an environmental claim judged by the FTC's Green Guides. That is covered on biodegradable, recyclable and other green claims.

This page reports the texts as read on October 22, 2026, and is not legal advice. The Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah and Washington texts read are bills or older editions; confirm the current code with each state.

Formulating a dishwasher detergent without phosphate

The cap shapes what an automatic dishwasher product can be made of. Can I make automatic dishwasher detergent? looks at what is published, what commercial products contain, and the safety labeling that alkaline powders need.

References

1. Consumer Reports, *Phosphorus ban on dishwashing detergents goes into effect in 16 states*, July 2, 2010. https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2010/07/phosphorus-ban-on-dishwashing-detergents-goes-into-effect-in-16-states-manufacturers-roll-out-new-cleaners-nationwide/index.htm
2. Washington State House of Representatives, *Final Bill Report, HB 2322* (chapter 223, Laws of 2006), 2006, read October 22, 2026. https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2005-06/Htm/Bill%20Reports/House/2322.FBR.htm
3. Maryland General Assembly, *Senate Bill 710* (2008 session), amending Environment Article 9-1503 and reenacting 9-1502, bill text, read October 22, 2026. https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2008rs/bills/sb/sb0710t.pdf
4. Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Statutes 2007, 116.23*, read October 22, 2026. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2007/cite/116.23
5. Utah Legislature, *H.B. 303, Phosphorus Limit for Household Dishwashing Detergent* (2008 General Session), enrolled copy, read October 22, 2026. https://le.utah.gov/~2008/bills/hbillenr/HB0303.htm
6. New York Environmental Conservation Law section 35-0103, Definitions, via New York Public Law (text last modified September 22, 2014), read October 22, 2026. https://newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._environmental_conservation_law_section_35-0103
7. Vermont General Assembly, *10 V.S.A. 1382, Phosphorus; household cleansing products*, current text, read October 22, 2026. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/10/047/01382
8. Ohio Legislative Service Commission, *Ohio Revised Code 6111.11*, version effective September 1, 2008, read October 22, 2026. https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-6111.11
9. New York Environmental Conservation Law section 35-0105, via New York Public Law (text last modified January 7, 2022), read October 22, 2026. https://newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._environmental_conservation_law_section_35-0105
10. Michigan Legislature, *Senate Bill 152 (2007), as passed House, December 18, 2008*, read October 22, 2026. https://archive.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billengrossed/Senate/htm/2007-SEBH-0152.htm
11. ISSA, *Phosphate survey* (state phosphorus laws for cleaning products), undated, read October 22, 2026. https://www.issa.com/wp-content/uploads/phosphate_survey2015.pdf