Rosy Dwelling

Harmful chemicals that are found in many household cleaners

If asthma, shortness of breath, itchiness or rashes, allergic reactions, and runny noses are common for you or someone you know, the chemicals below may very well be the cause.

(Underlined text means that you can click it and see the source for the information)

MIPA-Borate - According to the EWG (Environmental Working Group) this chemical may cause harm to fertility, unborn children, and disrupt the endocrine system. This chemical can be found in Lysol's disinfectant spray and is labelled as a corrosion inhibitor.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds or QACs - According to research by the Bellevue/NYU Occupational & Environmental Medicine Clinic QACs can cause asthma in individuals without a prior history of asthma. In addition, QACs coming in contact with open cuts or scratches may cause dermatitis. QACs can be found in Lysol's, Krogers, Zep antibacterial disinfectant and cleaner, and Great Value's disinfectant spray.

Chloroform - According to the New Jersey Department of Health, the buildup of chloroform in the air is caused by bleach. Chloroform is known to cause cancer in animals and is a very likely carcinogen for humans.

Hexyl cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, and Benzyl Salicylate - Hexyl cinnamal, which can be found in Hero Clean and Clorox cleaning products, is known to cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks in individuals with asthma. Benzyl Benzoate and Benzyl Salicylate are also common allergens that can be found in Great Value and Clorox brand disinfectants. If runny noses and sneezing are common in your household, these chemicals may be the culprit.

I greatly suggest that you do your own research on these chemicals. Nothing is more moving than seeing the proof for yourself.

Real incidents

There are many incidents of sickness and even death occurring from accidental misuse or overuse of certain cleaning chemicals. None of these incidents occur in a laboratory or a chemical plant, they are places that you wouldn't think twice about.

Sickness - This incident took place in a spa, where an employee accidentally mixed two unspecified chemicals that filled the room with chlorine fumes. Five people had to receive hospital treatment. Another, where 65 people became sick from a bleach-acid mixture occurred at a water park. This included young children and a pregnant woman. Lastly, during the Covid19 pandemic calls to the poison control center relating to cleaning products were up 20.4%. 37.5% of the total calls during this time were for kids 5 and under coming into contact with said cleaning products.

Death - In this case, a Buffalo Wild Wings employee had accidentally spilled an acidic cleaning solution on the floor. The employee then cleaned it up, however another employee attempted to clean the floor with bleach causing a fatal reaction. Ten were hospitalized, and unfortunately one person passed from the incident.

Since sickness, hospitalization, and death are that easy to accidently cause with common cleaning chemicals, I believe they have no place under your sink or near your family.

Sources I use

Environmental Working Group - I highly recommend the EWGs website since you can look up products and even specific chemicals. It gives a thorough safety report and tells you, for example, if a chemical is known to cause asthma or not. You can find their website here: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Product ingredient websites - While researching I noticed that some products on EWGs website were outdated. This is where websites with individual ingredients come in. You can manually research each chemical on EWGs website and find out how safe they are. For example, here is the ingredient list for Lysols disinfectant spray.

What are your options?

You can always attempt to find better and safer alternatives on your own. Unfortunately some green cleaners are more water than they are disinfectant, not to mention the price! Research is key when it comes to these types of products but it can easily become overwhelming. With brands "greenwashing" and deceptive marketing it can be difficult to figure out who to trust. I'm no authority on this topic but I definitely have my suggestions as who to shop with. If you're interested on who I go with, you can click the button below to find out.

• I want to learn more!

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or any sort of authority on the topic of chemicals or carcinogens. I just do my own research and share my findings on this website to help educate others.

About Me

Hello! My name is Angelica and ever since I was young my parents stressed the dangers of questionable cleaning products such as bleach and sanitizing sprays. As far as I can remember, there were never any dangerous cleaning chemicals at home. I though this was the norm for most households, but I quick to learn that this wasn't the caseThe distinct smell of bleach or strong artificial scents were present whenever I visited a friends house, school, and most other public indoor spaces. I always wondered why I had a runny nose or started sneezing when I went to these locations. I can confidently say that those chemicals were the cause, especially when standing in the cleaning isle at a store too long causes the same symptoms.I eventually looked into these chemicals myself, and I can honestly say I didn't expect them to be so harmful! Especially when they are advertised to be used in your homes. Even worse, some sanitizing sprays are advertised to be used to clean kids toys. No rinsing, just spray and wait for it to dry.I'm glad that I didn't grow up around these chemicals, but I always feel bad when I remember that not everyone is aware of the hidden dangers. That's why I've made this website, to help others realize the dangers before they develop asthma, allergies, or worse.

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