These potentially toxic chemicals can be found in many household cleaners. For a safer way to clean your home, check out the post Spring Cleaning with Eco-Friendly Cleaners.
Photo By Les Cunliffe/Fotolia
Chlorine Bleach
Usually found in scouring powder and dishwashing detergent. Contains:
• Chlorine: Fumes can cause stomach disorders and irritation to eyes and respiratory tract; may cause reddening of the skin
Ammonia
Usually found in window/glass and all-purpose cleaners. Fumes can irritate eyes, lungs; can cause burns or rashes on skin; if mixed with chlorine, creates chloramine gas, which can cause coughing, loss of voice, feeling of burning and suffocation
Drain Cleaners
Contains:
•Lye: caustic; can cause burns to skin and in severe cases, blindness
•Sulfuric acid: can cause severe skin burns and blindness
Floor Cleaners
Contains:
•Pine oil: irritates eyes and mucous membranes
•Petroleum distillates: irritate skin, eyes, respiratory tract; may cause fatal pulmonary edema, the swelling of soft tissues due to water accumulation
•Naphthas: can cause drowsiness, headache, coma and cardiac arrest if inhaled; can irritate eyes, throat and skin
Furniture Cleaner
Contains:
•Petroleum distillates: irritate skin, eyes, respiratory tract; may cause fatal pulmonary edema, the swelling of soft tissues due to water accumulation
•Oil of cedar: central nervous system depressant; may cause miscarriages
Toilet Bowl Cleaners
Contains:
•Sodium bisulfate: forms sulfuric acid, can burn skin
•Oxalic acid: damages kidney and liver; irritates eyes and respiratory tract; corrodes mouth and stomach
•5-dimethyldantoin: forms hypochlorite in water, which can corrode skin and mucous membranes
•Hydrochloric acid: fumes are caustic; can burn skin
•Phenol: can depress central nervous system and adversely affect circulatory system; corrosive to skin
Disinfectants
Contains:
•Ammonia: Fumes can irritate eyes, lungs; can cause burns or rashes on skin; if mixed with chlorine, creates chloramine gas, which can cause coughing, loss of voice, feeling of burning and suffocation
•Cresol: damages tissue, liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas and spleen
•Lye: caustic; can cause burns to skin and in severe cases, blindness.
•Phenol: can depress central nervous system and adversely affect circulatory system; corrosive to skin
•Pine oil: irritates eyes and mucous membranes
Carpet Cleaner
Contains:
•Perchloroethylene: fumes are carcinogenic; can cause dizziness, sleepiness, nausea, loss of appetite and disorientation
•Naphthalene: damages liver; prolonged vapor exposure can lead to cataract formation
Air Fresheners
Contains:
•Formaldehyde: a suspected carcinogen; can irritate eyes, throat, skin and lungs
•Petroleum distillates: irritate skin, eyes, respiratory tract; may cause fatal pulmonary edema, the swelling of soft tissues due to water accumulation
•P-dichlorobenzene: irritates skin, eyes and throat, can cause liver damage in animal studies
•Aerosol propellants: either associated with brain damage or highly flammable
All Purpose Cleaners
Contains:
•Ammonia: Fumes can irritate eyes, lungs; can cause burns or rashes on skin; if mixed with chlorine, creates chloramine gas, which can cause coughing, loss of voice, feeling of burning and suffocation
•Ethylene glycol monobutyl acetate: can poison animals and cause damage to internal organs through skin absorption; inhalation can cause dizziness
•Sodium hyperchlorite: corrosive to skin and mucous membranes; fumes irritating
Oven Cleaners
Contains:
•Sodium hydroxide: burns skin and eyes
•Potassium hydroxide: burns skin and eyes
•Lye: caustic; can cause burns to skin and in severe cases, blindness
Laundry Detergents
Contains:
• Enzymes: can cause asthma and dermatitis from large amounts of exposure.
Sources: The EPA; dishwasherdetergentphosphate.com
Lorraine Halsted is a freelance writer who lives in Winchester, Virginia, and enjoys writing about environmental issues and natural living. She is an herb grower and a member of the Shenandoah Herbal Society.
