mixed greens

Safer ways to clean house

By CAROL ROIG
Posted 9/9/20

When I was a kid, one of my mother’s close friends was hospitalized after accidentally mixing bleach and ammonia while cleaning a shower stall. It was such a horrific incident that I’ve …

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mixed greens

Safer ways to clean house

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When I was a kid, one of my mother’s close friends was hospitalized after accidentally mixing bleach and ammonia while cleaning a shower stall. It was such a horrific incident that I’ve been hyper-conscious about mixing cleaning products ever since. My mother grew up believing that exposure to a few germs helped us build up our immunity—a bit of folk wisdom that has been validated by medical research. My own very unscientific pre-adolescent reasoning was that anything that smelled as bad as bleach or ammonia couldn’t possibly be good for you. It didn’t surprise me later to learn that both bleach and ammonia are powerful respiratory, eye and skin irritants that can cause serious health damage.

COVID-19 has brought all of this into a new focus. I guess I’ve always been a diligent hand washer. I don’t think I’m obsessive, but I do like to clean up first thing upon arrival at home and immediately before handling food while cooking and before sitting down to eat. But these days, I’m feeling a heightened awareness of all the surfaces I touch in the normal course of the day—doorknobs and cabinet handles, touch screens, packaging, mail, my computer keyboard and telephone, remote control devices, controls and touch screens in the car—and concern about how to disinfect these surfaces safely and whether it is necessary at all.

At the same time, I’ve been reading a lot recently about potential overexposure to disinfectant chemicals found in many everyday household cleaners and personal care products. It’s not a new issue: Researchers have been warning for some time about potential health damage from overuse of antimicrobial chemicals. For one thing, antimicrobials kill good bacteria—the kind that benefits our gut and skin biomes—as well as bad. For another, there can be unintended side effects, especially with chronic exposure. A case in point is the decision of the FDA in 2016 to ban the antibiotic triclosan and triclocarban and 17 other antimicrobial ingredients from over-the-counter consumer products like antiseptic hand washes, body washes and solid soaps (excluding products used in hospital settings, for first aid and in the food service industry). Citing concerns about antibiotic resistance and potential hormonal effects, the FDA had given manufacturers three years to present evidence that these antimicrobial additives could meet the standard Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) or Generally Recognized as Effective (GRAE), evidence manufacturers were unable to provide. The final rule found that washing with ordinary soap and water was as effective as using the banned antimicrobial ingredients and avoided potential health and environmental hazards.

Today there is a similar concern about the chemical compounds that replaced triclosan, triclocarban and other banned antimicrobials in a range of consumer products. These new ingredients are categorized as quaternary ammonium compounds (QACS) and, among them, alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium (BACs) compounds pose a growing concern. They are found in hand soaps, dishwashing liquids, window cleaners, floor cleaning products, all-purpose cleaners, baby care products, disinfectant sprays and wipes, and air fresheners. QACs leave a solid residue that can persist on surfaces that could become airborne and be inhaled. Researchers at institutions such as the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, the University of Washington and Virginia Tech are examining how these compounds may affect fertility, cause contact dermatitis, trigger asthma attacks or cause new onsets of asthma, and irritate the eyes and mucous membrane. Researchers at the University of California at Davis are investigating a potential connection to mitochondrial dysfunction—disruption of the cells’ ability to produce energy, a factor in a number of diseases. While they might be beneficial in health care settings, cleaning products containing QACs are explicitly not recommended for routine cleaning of homes and offices except at the direction of a health care professional. Safer everyday alternatives include products containing hydrogen peroxide, citric acid, lactic acid, and isopropyl or ethanol alcohol.

The EPA’s “Safer Choice” program provides information on safe ingredients and an extensive product listing (www.epa.gov/saferchoice). The Toxic Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell (www.turi.org/Our_Work/Cleaning_Laboratory) has a wealth of information and guidance documents about safe cleaning practices that are effective in addressing COVID-19.

If you feel you must use bleach for home disinfection, the experts at UMASS recommend that you clean first with a non-toxic product to remove dirt. Never mix other cleaning products, especially vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol or toilet bowl cleaner, with bleach. Use a five-percent solution of bleach in water on surfaces you want to disinfect and rinse afterward. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection, open the windows and use exhaust fans, and don’t let children come in contact with surfaces that have been cleaned with bleach. The EPA recommends that households with family members who have asthma or other respiratory conditions consult their healthcare provider about safer options and consider using use wipes or dampened towels instead of sprays to reduce the chances of inhalation.

Further reading

Ban on triclosan: www.bit.ly/fdatriclosanban 
Consumer product information database: www.whatsinproducts.com, www.whatsinproducts.com/brands/index/1/green_brands 
UMASS Lowell – Toxic Use Reduction Institute: www.bit.ly/covidsafeclean
EPA guidance for families that include members with asthma or other respiratory conditions: www.bit.ly/epacovidsafeclean
EPA infographic: www.bit.ly/epasafeinfographic

cleaning products, COVID-19, health, EPA

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  • 12787jss

    The Environmental Working Group is another great resource for determining the safety of cleaning products - https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/

    Sunday, September 13, 2020 Report this