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Safer Cleaning Products by Philip Dickey Keeping your home clean helps to reduce exposure to dust, molds and mildew, and germs. A clean home is better for your health than a dirty home. But some cleaning products can also cause health problems themselves. In choosing cleaning products, it is important to consider both health and environmental hazards. For example, a drain cleaner may be very hazardous to use but have little effect on the environment once it goes down the drain. An all-purpose cleaner with phosphates may pose little hazard to the user, but when it goes down the drain the phosphates can create water quality problems. The best products are both safe to use and safe for the environment. Health Hazards Poisonings Cleaning products are frequently involved in home poisonings. Most households have them and they are too often kept within reach of children. In addition, some cleaning products look like food. Compare jars of Comet Cleanser and Kraft Parmesan Cheese. Other cleaning products, such as lemon oil furniture polish, smell like food. Some cleaning products (like drain cleaners or spot remover) are very dangerous if accidentally swallowed, but many others are unlikely to cause serious injury. The large number of poisoning incidents involving cleaning products does not mean that these products are more toxic than other household products. It's just that they are more often swallowed. While it is important to choose the least toxic cleaning products you can, even they should be kept safely stored away from children's reach. Three to Avoid The three most dangerous cleaning products in the average home are probably drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acid-based toilet bowl cleaners. Most of them are labeled "DANGER. Corrosive. " Corrosive products can severely burn skin or eyes. If accidentally swallowed, a corrosive product could cause internal burns. Many corrosive products also can react violently if mixed with other products. Some rust removers are also corrosive. Most cleaning products can irritate skin or eyes, but only corrosive products cause burns. There is no reason to have corrosive products in the home. Safer alternatives exist for all of them. All Choked Up Also very dangerous if accidentally swallowed are products that contain solvents. Most solvent-based products are not cleaners -- gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, oil-based paints and paint removers, and many automotive products contain solvents. A few cleaning products are also solvent-based: some furniture polishes, dry cleaning fluids or spot removers, and some metal polishes. These products will be labeled: "DANGER. Harmful or fatal if swallowed." If a solvent-based product is swallowed, it can be sucked into the lungs, where it coats the lung surface and causes a pneumonia-like condition that can be fatal. Some solvent-based products can be replaced with water-based products that do the same job. Bleach and Ammonia Don't Mix One of the most common home accidents is the mixing of products containing chlorine bleach with those containing ammonia. A chemical reaction occurs, and a gas called "chloramine" is produced. Chloramine gas is highly irritating to the lungs, and causes coughing and choking. Chlorine bleach also produces dangerous chlorine gas if mixed with an acid product like a toilet bowl cleaner or rust remover. The most common household chemicals containing bleach or ammonia are chlorine laundry bleach and household ammonia. Chlorine bleach is also found in automatic dishwasher detergents, mildew stain removers, and some bath and toilet cleaners. Ammonia is found in glass cleaners, metal cleaners, and dishwashing liquids. Check product labels for warnings against mixing products together. There are many effective cleaners that do not contain bleach or ammonia. Breathe Easy Products containing bleach or ammonia are usually recognizable by their strong odors. Bleach and ammonia are highly irritating to the lungs. They should not be used by people with asthma or with chronic lung or heart problems. Sometimes manufacturers cover up the strong odors of these products with a lemon or "fresh" scent. This is a bad idea because the unpleasant odor is a warning signal that the product is harmful to breathe. Also hazardous to inhale are solvent-based spot removers. Used with poor ventilation they could cause health problems, and any use reduces indoor air quality. Although fragrances are not usually considered toxic, many people cannot tolerate strong fragrances in air fresheners, perfumes, fabric softeners, and cleaning products. Some products are now available without fragrances for those who prefer them. Air fresheners should not be needed. It's better to find sources of unpleasant odor and remove them. You can also "freshen" air by opening windows to bring in cleaner outside air. Next:
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