Julia University of Alabama
These are all of my household cleaning products. I don’t know their exact scores, but I am willing to bet that they are all really, really bad for human health and the environment. Their brands and names are as follows:
Clorox Disinfecting Wipes Swiffer Sweeper Wet Mopping Refills Swiffer Sweeper Dry Sweeping Cloths Clorox Tilex Daily Shower Cleaner Glass Plus Glass and Multi-Surface Cleaner Reckitt Benckiser Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
The product I’m going to focus on is the Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner. It costs about $3.00 and this is how the ingredients are listed on the package:
So, according to the package, this product contains an extremely hazardous corrosive that can damage the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract and some other stuff. Very informative. I am surprised that I never paid attention to the label before. When I use hydrochloric acid in the chemistry lab, I wear gloves, eye protection, long pants, closed toed shoes, and am very careful about getting it on me. I never wear half that much protection when I clean my bathroom and, yet, it’s the same chemical.
The EWG gives Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner an F rating. They reveal that, in addition to hydrochloric acid, this product contains alcohol ethoxylates and PEG-8 tallow amine. Both these chemicals are aquatic toxins, carcinogens, and developmental toxins, and they cause harm to the respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system, skin, and eyes. In the Whole Foods Market Eco-Scale, this would be considered a “red cleaner.”
Seventh Generation Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner is a green alternative to common toilet bowl cleaners. It costs around $3.00 and received an A rating on EWG scale, meaning it has is a “green cleaner” on the WFM Eco-Scale. It contains many more ingredients than the Lysol cleaner, but each is much less harmful than hydrochloric acid, alcohol ethoxylates, and PEG-8 tallow amine.
I will definitely make the switch to greener cleaning products! Learning that such harmful chemicals are in common products is shocking and actually makes me fear for my safety. The prices of the two products are about the same, so switching to an eco-friendly option is a no-brainer!
