The dirty truth about cleaning products

Okay, now you look at that glass door and see it’s spotted. So you grab your trusty blue ammonia-based window cleaner and guess what? Those two chemicals — chlorine and ammonia — instantly create a toxic, lung-damaging gas cloud. Turn the hot shower on to rinse the cleaners away and it actually gets worse. The shower stall is clean, all right, but you’ve just inhaled some really dangerous stuff.

You can almost hear the manufacturers crying, “We said right on the label you shouldn’t do that.” To which you shrug and say, “Hey, I’m just trying to get the tile and the glass clean, with the stuff you made for each.” And maybe you add, “If this stuff is for cleaning, how come it’s so dangerous?”

We’ve just had a (somewhat unsettling) look at just a few of the chemicals typically found in household cleaners and related products. Here’s a closer look at the products themselves — you know, the ones under the sink in your kitchen or bathroom:

Aerosols: Lots of household products come in aerosol form: air fresheners, window and counter cleaners, deodorants, hair spray, furniture polish, and more. What they spray (sometimes propelled by butane) can include formaldehyde, phenols, toluene, and phthalates, among other toxins or carcinogens. Aerosols like these can and do cause skin, eye, and throat irritation and may also damage your lungs.

Air fresheners and room deodorizers: Their toxins can include naphthalene, terpenes, and dichlorobenzene, among others. Some dichlorobenzenes have been shown to reduce lung function and are possible carcinogens. Some plug-in air fresheners contain chemicals that react with ozone to create formaldehyde, a carcinogen and respiratory irritant. Many air fresheners also include phthalates.

All-purpose cleaners: Many contain solvents and surfactants suspected of causing or aggravating asthma symptoms; phthalates; formaldehyde; and ethylene glycol butyl ether, which has been shown to cause reproductive problems such as testicular damage, reduced fertility, death of embryos, and birth defects in animal studies. Some contain morpholine, which can cause liver and kidney damage, and butyl cellosolve, a neurotoxin.

Antibacterial cleaners: Many contain triclosan, a chemical that may increase the resistance of some bacteria to antibiotics.

Video   The eco-friendly home Oct. 2: TODAY contributor Sloan Barnett talks about her pursuit of a greener life and her new book, "Green Goes with Everything." Today show

Automatic dishwashing detergent: These products typically contain complex phosphates (banned in laundry detergent), which pollute waterways by fostering oxygen-depleting algae blooms, and chlorine, which can become a harmful vapor during the drying cycle. Many common rinse aids are banned by the European Union.

Carpet cleaners: Toxic fumes, principally naphthalene (a carcinogen), are especially dangerous to children who play on carpets after they’re cleaned. The majority of poison exposures from carpet and upholstery cleaners were for children under six. Fumes can also cause kidney and liver damage.

Chlorine bleach: Chlorine bleach can cause severe irritation to the eyes and skin, and its vapor or mist can cause damage to the respiratory tract and aggravate asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other respiratory conditions.

Degreasers: Many contain butyl cellosolve, a chemical that irritates mucous membranes. May also cause kidney or liver damage or depress the nervous system. Industrial degreasers are often diluted with kerosene, which can damage lungs and dissolve essential fatty tissue around cells.

Dishwashing liquid: Most include petroleum-based surfactants that stay around in the environment and fragrances stabilized with phthalates.

Disinfectants: May contain any of several toxic chemicals, including formaldehyde, cresols, ammonia, phenols, and chlorine bleach, all of which should be kept away from the skin and some of which can be hazardous to internal organs and the central nervous system. Also may contain triclosan, which may create resistant bacteria.

Drain cleaner: One of the most dangerous products found in the home. Ingredients often include lye and sulfuric acid, both of which are severely caustic and corrosive to skin, airways, and eyes.

Floor and furniture polish: Usually contain cresols and petroleum distillates, which are toxic chemicals that can cause skin and eye irritation, along with damage to the central nervous system. Fragrance includes phthalates. Vapors can contaminate indoor air for days after use.

Glass cleaner: Some contain ammonia, a poison that can irritate skin, eyes, and the respiratory system. Some also contain butyl cellosolve, which is potentially toxic.

Laundry detergent: Many contain synthetic surfactants; fragrances can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions and often contain phthalates.

Mold and mildew removers: Many of these products are essentially a mix of water and bleach, and other chemicals such as butyl cellosolve, with their inherent danger to the respiratory system. Some may also contain pesticides.

Oven cleaners: Like drain cleaners, extremely dangerous because they can contain lye which can cause severe damage to eyes, skin, mucous membranes, mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach. Aerosol versions are easily inhaled. They can be fatal if swallowed.

Scouring cleansers: Many contain butyl cellosolve, which can irritate mucous membranes and cause liver and kidney damage. Many brands also contain chlorine bleach and silica, an abrasive that can be dangerous if inhaled.

Toilet cleaners: Many contain chlorine and hydrochloric acid, among other chemicals, which can be harmful.

Tub, tile, and sink cleaner: Many contain chlorine and may contribute to the formation of organochlorines, a dangerous class of compounds that can cause reproductive, endocrine, and immune system disorders. Many also contain phosphoric acid, which is corrosive and irritates eyes, lungs, and skin.

But hey, you don’t have to believe me about any of this — you can ask the best scientific minds in the country. Go to the Household Products Database at the National Institutes of Health (hpd.nlm.nih.gov), and look up two or three of your favorite cleaning products. Or look up an ingredient, like butyl cellosolve (you can do either at this site). Trust me, you’ll be shocked. And then maybe you’ll understand why, when I give demonstrations about the dangers of cleaning products, I dress like the first astronaut. I wear gloves and a mask, and, after two squirts of tub scrubber or oven cleaner, my head is spinning anyway.

I’m actually not an alarmist by nature, but I find it scary that these products, which I used for years and believed were safe, may not be. It’s even scarier to me that my own government’s policy on these potentially toxic products is that they’re basically innocent until proven guilty. The government won’t demand proof of their safety until something goes terribly wrong.

So what should you, or I, or anyone do? Let me suggest something called the “Precautionary Principle.” This isn’t something I made up. Back in 1998, the Science and Environmental Health Network convened a summit of doctors, scientists, and officials to decide what to do when there was uncertainty or disagreement in the scientific community about the safety of some new product or development. When they were done debating, they adopted this principle, and here it is:

"When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically."

Two years later, the European Commission — the governing body for all the nations in the European Union — adopted this principle. Our own government hasn’t.

Your grandmother would say it more simply: Better safe than sorry.

Okay, time to act:

Step One: Grab a large, heavy-duty garbage bag and go from room to room in your home — the kitchen, the bathroom, the basement, anywhere you store things — and stuff every product we’ve just listed, every product that contains the chemicals we’ve just talked about, into the bag. Use gloves. Better yet, tongs. If that’s too big a step, at least get rid of anything that’s marked “Danger” or “Poison” on the label. Please. And while you’re at it, ditch any cleaner that lists chlorine or ammonia as active ingredients. They can be dangerous, too.

Step Two: Call your local sanitation department, tell them what you’ve got, and ask them how to dispose of these products safely. They’re the experts. It will surprise you to learn that they consider many of these products to be hazardous waste and have special collection sites for them. And by the way, if you don’t throw this stuff out — if you simply stash it someplace — that’s not good enough. It will find a way to seep back into your life. You may reach for one of those bottles when you run out of your new safe and green products. Or worse, your children may.

Then, take a deep breath and say good-bye once and for all to your old life. Say hello to your new green self.

Excerpted from “Green Goes With Everything.” Copyright (c) 2008 by Sloan Barnett. Reprinted with permission from Atria Books, a division of Simon and Schuster.

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