Dangerous cleaning!

[Hedda Garland]

I just found this in my hovawart newsletter and I will just quote it:

"Dangerous Cleaning!
...FeBreze has also been found to be fatal to animals. Most home cleaning products have anti-freeze in them (listed as propylene glycol) and/or engine-degreaser. Yet another reason to consider using more healthy cleaning solutions..." 

This was based on the following:

" A fiend had to put down their 5-year old German shepherd dog due to liver failure. The dog was completely healthy until a few weeks ago. They had a necropsy done to see what the cause was.
The liver levels were unbelievable, as if the dog had ingested poison of some kind. The dog is kept inside, and when he's outside, someone's with him, so the idea of him getting into something unknown was hard to believe.
My neighbor started going through oll the items in the house. When he got to the Swiffer Wetjet, he niticed, in very tiny print, a waring which stated "May be harmful to small children and animal". He called the company to ask what the contents of the cleaning agent are and was astounded to find out that antifreeze is one of the ingredients. (Actually he was told it's a compound which is one molcule! abway from antifreeze.)
Therefore, just by the dog walking on the floor cleaned with the solution, then licking its own paws, it ingested enough of the solution to destroy its liver.
Soon after his dog's death, his housekeepers two cats also died of liver failure. They both used the Swiffer Wetjet for quick cleanups on their floors. Neocropsies weren't done on the cats, so they couldn't file a lawsuit, but he asked that we spread the word to as many people as possible."

I hope that no animal here will be affected by this kind of liver failure.

[Anakalia]

OMG!! I'm freakin' out right now.  I JUST looked up the info on Febreze, came to BPO and found this post!  It contains ethanol and can cause respiratory issues as well.  Scary!!

[Leah-n-boy-os]

This myth was debunked.

See here: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/febreze.asp

and the WetJet: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

It's all good to keep an eye out for things that are harmful to our precious babies, but at this point, I would suggest looking into any of these kinds of "warning" so as not to spread unnecessary panic.

[Anakalia]

Thanks for the links!!
I couldn't find anywhere, where it said antifreeze was in Febreze.  Here's what I found for the ingredient list.

Fragrance(s)/perfume(s)
Deodorizers (unspecified)
Ethanol/SD Alcohol 40
Water

The only thing I wonder about is what kind of chemicals are in the fragrance and deoderizers. 

Edited to add:  The government does not have a law stating EVERY single ingredient has to be on an ingredient label.  I think some companies get away with using a lot of crappy stuff and we don't know anything about it.
 
 
 

[Newf Lover]

The less chemicals on the floor, the better.  We spray a very small amount of hardwood floor cleaner on our floors and mostly use water.  It might not shine as brightly, but we don't have to worry about poisoning Drake.  Just a thought...

[lins_saving_grace]

OMG!! I'm freakin' out right now.  I JUST looked up the info on Febreze, came to BPO and found this post!  It contains ethanol and can cause respiratory issues as well.  Scary!!

I've found that it just doesn't work.  It wears off too quickly for my taste. 

[greek4]

P & G is a huge multi million dollar company, a household name.  I don't believe that they would create, market, and sell a product that is to be used in direct contact with household pets if it harmed them.  P & G owns Iams, therefore they have access to millions of dollars of animal research.  As for Febreeze containing ethanol, quite a few products contain ethanol, that is what helps it dry so fast.  I think any chemicals are harmful in large portions but as long as you don't flood your stuff with Febreeze or spray excessively in an enclosed space you will be safe.

I personally don't like the smell either.  I like the Downy kind or just using a disinfectant spray which is probably worse for everyone's health.

[brandon]

The swifter wetjet contains propylene glycol or propylene glycol n-propyl ether, an FDA-approved food, medicine, and cosmetics additive, that is also considered a safe alternative to antifreeze for pet owners, it does not contain ethylene glycol, which is the really bad antifreeze stuff.

[brandon]

Some reason , this reminds me of how people are injecting the botulism toxin into their faces to have younger looking faces It's a strange world.

[nostaw]

If it helps at all, when Bell was a puppy she attacked the floor mop whilst I was cleaning the floor (being a man I hate to admit doing this). She disappeared with the wipe and ate it!! She's still here over 18 months later though it might explain some of her zany behaviour. 

[Senghe]

How on earth did we all manage to keep our homes clean and fresh smelling before the lovely people at P&G invented Swiffers and Febreeze?  I'm allergic to so much stuff, I dare only use washing up liquid and bleach, both well diluted. As for air freshners, you can easily make oyur own very cheaply and they are 100% safe and natural - so safe you can spray them on the dogs to freshen them up. Here's a random link to explain - http://www.soapmeister.com/natural_air_freshner.html

If you want to get your floors nice and clean, then shiny afterwards, look out for microfibre cloths. Use a wet one to clean and a dry one to buff. They are FANTASTIC and unless the floor is really grimy, they'll clean without detergents of any sort. If you're worried about hygiene, buy a cheap little steam cleaner as they'll clean your floors, windows and even sanitize your toilet bowl with no chemicals.

p.s. Don't tell P&G I told you or they might send the boys round to break my knees! 

[brandon]

On a good note... We got one of those swiffer Vacuums for Christmas..... That thing rocks for picking up newf hair in the kitchen! It's rechargable. So you just grab it and go.

[Svnt4God]

This myth was debunked.

See here: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/febreze.asp

and the WetJet: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

It's all good to keep an eye out for things that are harmful to our precious babies, but at this point, I would suggest looking into any of these kinds of "warning" so as not to spread unnecessary panic.

I'm just curious ... not disagreeing in any way ... but what makes Snopes.com correct in their analysis?

[Leah-n-boy-os]

I'm just curious ... not disagreeing in any way ... but what makes Snopes.com correct in their analysis?

From here: http://www.snopes.com/info/faq.asp


Q: How do I know the information you've presented is accurate?

A: We don't expect anyone to accept us as the ultimate authority on any topic, which is why our site's name indicates that it contains reference pages. Unlike the plethora of anonymous individuals who create and send the unsigned, unsourced e-mail messages that are forwarded all over the Internet, we show our work. The research materials we've used in the preparation of any particular page are listed in the bibliography displayed at the bottom of that page so that readers who wish to verify the validity of our information may check those sources for themselves.

If you read all the way down to the bottom of the pages, you can backtrack their work and read all of the basis for their opinion. I'm more inclined to trust the analysis of someone whose actually looked into "the story" and has the proof to back it up or debunk it.

Just putting logical spin to it, I'd look askance at an anonomous "email" that claims that these products are "so deadly". How many news reports have we seen lately claiming that animals are dropping like flies from Liver malfunctions? Any credible links to P&G products? Nope, zip. I mean c'mon folks, people all over this country use these products on a daily basis, and as yet, I've heard of no raging pandemic of liver issues, or any other product-related catastrophies. Even in the Diamond Dog Food issue, there were news reports on it.

Is this stuff likely good to use to *excessive* amounts....pro bably not. I agree with Senghe in regards to what we use today versus what we used to use to clean our homes. However, posting stuff that is aimed merely to frighten the populace doesn't sound like a very nice/good thing to do.

I'm not saying/implying/endorsing that snopes is correct everytime, but hey, these people do this "for a living" (so to speak, they don't get paid for it, but I betcha there's money coming from somewhere!) so I'm more inclined to invest the time and faith in their synopsis of the facts, than spin out on a panic attack that most of these types of rumors seem to create.

[NoDogNow]

We have a small steam cleaner for small surfaces

I got one of these for Christmas.

I don't even HAVE a dog yet, and I LOVE IT.   I've already saved almost $30 that I didn't spend on horrible cleaners that make me sneeze and cough!