Could Your Glass Cleaner Make You Sick?

I just read this a few minutes ago and rushed into the pantry to
look at the glass-cleaner container and to my relief it has water,
soap and ammonia. Lucky this time, but we need to go find that list
of cleaning products you can make at home.
Elaine
_________________________

http://living.health.com/2009/07/24/could-your-glass-cleaner-make-you-sick/

Sara Altshul
Content by Health.com editors

Could Your Glass Cleaner Make You Sick?

By Sara Altshul

The other day, my sweet husband, Frank, decided to give our kitchen a
major scrub down. Unasked. I know, I know. I’m a very lucky woman,
and, no, you can’t have his phone number. He was well into the
project when he emerged from the kitchen, pale, nauseated, sweaty, and
dizzy. One glance and I knew he was in some kind of trouble.
Instinctively, I suspected the cleaning supplies.

I asked him what he’d been using and he named two products: Murphy’s
Oil Soap, which we keep in a spray bottle diluted with water to use on
our wooden kitchen table and cabinets, and a non-brand-name window
cleaner in a blue bottle, clearly a famous brand’s copycat.

I didn’t think Murphy’s was the problem, because it’s made from
natural plant oils. The 99-cent-store glass cleaner was another story.
Its label listed that its active ingredient is a chemical called 2-
butoxyethanol (111-76-2). I googled the stuff, and the very first hit
absolutely shocked me. Now I was feeling dizzy.

That’s because the manufacturer’s product sheet said this, in capital
letters: “Danger! Harmful if swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through
the skin. Causes eye irritation. Affects central nervous system, blood
and blood-forming organs, kidneys, liver, and lymphoid system.”
glass-cleaner
(ISTOCKPHOTO)

There was more. On a “health rating” scale with 1 being “slight” and 3
being “severe”, the manufacturer rated 2-butoxyethanol a 2. The
chemical also appears on the National Institutes of Health Household
Products website. More products than I could count contain the stuff.
Although our product didn’t make the list, several other glass
cleaners did; one contained a 50% concentration of 2-butoxyethanol,
for example.

But here’s what really made me crazy: the Centers for Disease Control
says that the principal effect of 2-butoxyethanol is hematotoxicity.
That means that it’s poisonous to the blood. My husband has chronic
myeloid leukemia.

Now, not to worry. He’s fine, just fine. His condition is totally
under control thanks to a miracle drug called Gleevec. He’s been fine
for more than three years now and his doctor tells us he’ll live a
long, normal life as long as he doesn’t walk in front of a bus.

Or, I wonder, use products containing 2-butoxyethanol?

Luckily, as soon as Frank got into fresh air and rested for a little
while, he was totally back to normal.

I know better than to use chemical cleaners—especially in enclosed,
unventilated spaces; I’ve written about their dangers and healthier
alternatives many times. But somehow, window cleaners didn’t worry me,
and so I didn’t yelp when Frank, the household’s penny-pincher,
brought home his bargain brand.

We’ll still be penny-wise: From now on, our exclusive window cleaner
will be white vinegar and water, 50/50.
_________________
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: London Stereo Treasury Warning
    ... Is that what you clean your LPs with - or just the end-result of your ... I make my own cleaner. ... I have soap and water, ...
    (rec.music.classical.recordings)
  • Re: Cleaning your dishwasher? [was; Re: Dishwasher upper spray arm not turning despite water flowing
    ... those 'deep clean' bottles of dishwasher cleaner on as hot/long a cycle ... never used a cleaner. ... Ran it with the hottest water I could get and added extra heat ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Low volume problem
    ... some QD Electronic Cleaner that I bought at Ace Hardware today. ... Avoid getting the stuff into inaccessible dial spaces, water spots are ... electronics at home in sodium hydroxide solution and tap water! ... Washing a board is not necessarily a problem, ...
    (sci.electronics.repair)
  • Re: Adhesive Recommendation; Metal to Mylar?
    ... stainless would corrode at shearing. ... It's stainless steel all the way ... The Phosphoric Acid in the cleaner will "passivate" the metal and re-polish ... "Hard" water. ...
    (rec.crafts.metalworking)
  • Re: Thanks for the help
    ... cleaner as cast iron pans are porous. ... Is it possible to rinse off/out ... be one of the reasons for not using soap. ...
    (rec.food.equipment)