I'm on chapter 13 of Silent Spring, so I am officially paranoid! The last few weeks has been a constant battle; what exactly is in the food I am ingesting? Is the air I am breathing safe? Is the washing detergent safe or am I absorbing several chemicals that will lead to a premature death?!?! I am somewhat of a neat/clean freak. I clean on a regular/daily basis. Honestly, I had never put much thought into the chemical toxicity of the products I use until now. For this part of the module, I went to my pantry and picked out two products that I use on a frequent basis.
The first product, Lysol, is an all purpose cleaner and I assume to be a staple of most homes! The label promises that is "cuts tough grease" and "kills 99.9% of virus and bacteria". I use this product to clean most of my kitchen including my stove, counters, sink, cabinets and refrigerator. I looked up this cleaner on the Household Products Database website and I am happy to report that this product is rated at only a "slight" hazard to humans. The database sites both ingesting the liquid cleaner and eye or skin contact as being potentially harmful. These warnings are displayed on the back of the bottle as well as the poison control number in the event of ingestion. This Lysol product does not contain any known carcinogens. Based on the above findings, I am going to continue to use the product for cleaning purposes. I also learned that you should not reuse an empty container. From now on, I will dispose of the container appropriately.
My second product is laundry detergent. For the last eight months, I have been suffering from a severe rash that I really could not identify the source of. The doctor ran all the autoimmune disease lab work and everything was negative, so the source had to be environmental. I decided to switch detergents to see if the rash would subside. The detergent I chose is Arm & Hammer brand and is "clinically tested for sensitive skin". The product is listed as having a "moderate" risk to health but the product is practically nontoxic if ingested because it is heavily diluted in water. Ironically, the biggest risk of the product is skin and eye irritation. This product also has a recommendation of disposing of the container and not reusing it when its empty. There are no known carcinogens found is this detergent. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services does recommend that the detergent be stored at room temperature and to avoid extremes of hot and cold. I have been in the habit of just leaving the detergent on top of the washer, so I will remedy that and put it in the cabinet!
Based on the above findings, I will continue to use my current detergent. While I still have rash outbreaks, they are not as severe, and I believe the rash could be related to my beauty product use. It is funny to note though, the detergent that is "for sensitive skin" has a risk of skin irritation. I think once I have finished the bottle of detergent, I will investigate utilizing detergent that has no scent and perhaps is less irritating to the skin.
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