Cleaning Products

There are cleaning products explicitly designed for toilet bowls, drains, showers, carpets, glass, tables, computers, toys, hard/soft surface floors, and appliances, just to mention a few. The range of uses for cleaning products is wide and their specificity is remarkable. They come in virtually any size and presentation as wipes, liquids, polishes, aerosols, and foams, and with or without disinfectant. Products meant to ease the daily duties of keeping households tidy are ubiquitous.

Most cleaning products are available for sale to the general public without any restrictions. As asserted by researcher Janice Hughes, detergents, degreasers, stain removers, and pesticides have made homes miniature chemical factories, since chemical levels can be up to 70 times higher inside the home than out. In fact, women who work only in the home have a 55 percent higher risk of getting cancer than do women working outside the home. Information regarding actual or potential risks to health or the environment is not necessarily on the label. Some manufacturers avoid publishing the risks by arguing that they have the right to keep their formulas a competitive secret. This commercial practice of not revealing some ingredients entails the possibility of concealing potential dangers to individual health and the environment. Concerned users can ask the manufacturers for Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) that contain detailed information about the ingredients used.

There are a number of polluting substances involved in the production, use, and disposal of cleaning products that imply some sort of environmental or health risk. For example, a recent study reported that about 200 xenobiotic organic compounds (chemicals not produced naturally by organisms) were found in grey wastewater from bathrooms. Those chemicals included fragrances, preservatives, phthalates, pharmaceuticals, and flame retardants. Several of those compounds could be associated with cleaning products consumed in the households.

Risks

Risks associated with substances included as ingredients of cleaning products are diverse. Some of the substances present in cleaning products that pose risks for users are not even active ingredients. For example, phthalates, which are suspected to have adverse hormonal effects, help to make dyes and fragrances more fluid. Other chemicals simply keep a product stable on the shelf, and others, such as glycols, act like antifreeze agents.

For most users, the risk of cancer or the ability of certain compounds to disturb the growth and development of an embryo or fetus (teratogenicity) are the biggest concerns, but some products are potentially harmful in different ways. Denatured alcohol is commonly used as a degreasing agent as an alternative to soap, detergent, or other degreasers. Denatured alcohol is also a popular disinfectant not listed as carcinogenic by regulatory bodies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Toxicology Program (NTP), or the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Nonetheless, it poses a fire hazard, particularly if poured onto electrical appliances. There is also a risk of toxicity if denatured alcohol is used in closed environments.

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The range of uses for cleaning products is wide and their specificity is remarkable. They come in virtually any size and presentation as wipes, liquids, polishes, aerosols, and foams, and with or without disinfectant. However, this variety comes with risks. For example, phthalates, which are used to make dyes and fragrances more fluid, may have adverse hormonal effects. Many other household cleaning products contain harsh solvents and chemicals that destroy the natural processes involved in wastewater treatment.

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