Many over-neutralized soaps, and certainly vinegar, are more acutely toxic than a few % of 2-butoxyethanol. The chronic exposure attendant with occupational usage is regulated by OSHA and reportable on the MSDSheet.

The listing of hazardous ingredients for household cleaners is indeed required by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. To be sure, enforcement is minimal here.

Back to the larger point, EGBE has been a target of detractors for several decades and ranks high among the most toxicologically tested chemicals. Laboratory animal studies of astronomically exagerated exposure levels indicate a plethora of toxic effects. But real world exposure by humans has yet to cause known significant injury.

Seems like every dozen years or so, a "non-toxic" cleaners kick takes hold...til folx get tired of wimpy products again.

The year before I retired (and the main reason I retired a year early) was that I had a bad reaction to antibiotics. It left me with what the allergist termed "adult onset multiple allergy symdrone". I was allergic to everything - pollen, mold, my cat, dust. Like most allergists, he dismissed my claim that I was also having problems with my detergent, soap, cleaners, etc.

After making the rounds of doctors and numerous drugs, I finally went to a health food store for advice. They were helpful.

Along with recommendations in general for allergies, they suggested a book "Home, Safe Home" by Debra Lynn Dadd. It lists the contents of many cleaners, etc. as well as their dangers.

My allergies have almost disappeared. At 71, I'm healthier now than what I was 7 years ago when all of this started.

If you think you have problems with detergents or cleaners, there are other options. I use Seventh Generation products - laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, and cleaners. Most public libraries have the book mentioned above. You may want to look at it.

Even if you don't end up like me with chemical sensitivities, many of the ingredients in the cleaners are not healthy. Since there are options, it's best to err on the side of caution.

BAKING SODA & VINEGAR: all you need to clean just about everything- try it, and don't "wuss out", because of the vinegar (added to water) smell- it completely vanishes once it dries, and my, oh my, how everything does sparkle! Vinegar cleans bathroom, kitchen and tiled surfaces, even windows and mirrors. Need to scrub? Use baking soda. Just do a google search for natural cleaning supplies.

"Seems like every dozen years or so, a "non-toxic" cleaners kick takes hold…til folx get tired of wimpy products again."

Boy, I guess it is flatteing to see industry shills watching CD so closely.

Sorry, but my expperience has been that products like 409 or simple green work no better than ordinary detergent or soap. And, teflon works even more poorly than old-fashoned seasoned cast iron, and recently I found out, at the age of 50, that ordinary Castile coap, whipped for 20 seconds to a lather with an old-fashoned shaving brush, works far better than any canned shaving cream. All these prodcts were developed only because big chemical corporations were frustrated with the fact that they couldn't get a patent these ordinary effective products, so they developed some fancy, toxic or potentially toxic chemical, patented it, then through massive PR, convinced all manufacturers and consuners that they HAD to use this product.

It's just a big a racket, then again capitalism is just a big racket.

jumperpin:

Interesting to see that the industry reads Common Dreams.

Green Cleaning Recipes

I cleaned houses for many years. I became very ill after a while. It became very clear the illness started with over exposure to even small amounts of cleaners. I got all my clients to switch to nothing but vinegar, baking soda and I occassionally used olive oil to clean and brighten counter tops [with elbow grease] which was also good on sticky messes and grease.

I had to give up cleaning all together because when I wasn't there some of the owners still used Windex and other cleaners and as soon as I was exposed to them I'd get ill.

I ended up with Fibromyalgia and hyper-sensitivity to any and all cleaners but for those that are truly, truly non-toxic. I cannot spend much time in grocery stores, museums, theaters where cleaning has happened anytime within a few hours.

My clients were thrilled with the results of my work when all I used was vinegar, baking soda and olive oil.

In some instances, hydrogen peroxide can be used as a disinfectant when it is absolutely necessary.

I gave up my work cleaning [which I did to be home for my kids after school] and went into yet another toxic career....politics in Maine.

CD ...take a good look folks, CD is a watched site and ya can dig into the shore long before the wave arrives.

Thanks to all above posters, for their insights & links.
I'm convinced to try the vinegar & baking soda - get a clean house for pennies!

Wilo Keets, may I ask the meaning of the proverb you quoted?

Several years ago I was given a can of Bon Ami aerosol glass cleaner. I tried it on my bathroom mirror with the window open. Within seconds I couldn't breathe. I rushed outdoors coughing, and coughed for three days periodically, expectorating phlegm. Since that time I cannot tolerate any strong odours of any type (even candles). I begin to cough right away upon exposure. I had no problem whatsoever before that incident. We assume that our products are tested & safe. They aren't. I use vinegar, bakingsoda, & Nature Clean products now.

Now I know what was up with the metal taste in my mouth. Last week. No, really, I was wondering if it was a cleaner or something else. Well damn.

Glad I'm not having any more kids. Glad they can all read, write and do math, can walk and run and hopefully won't develop any more serious digestive disorders than they've already dealt with.

sigh.

METHOD products should be boycotted completely, because they do not disclose the specifics of their ingredients.

jumperpin:

"Tired of wimpy products" ???
Chemicals that have MSDS that say that the are benign will in fact eat holes in your liver! Vinegar is safe enough to drink.
The industry tries to pretend that irritants are as harmful as mutagens and carcinogens.

A number of years ago, I test drove an auto which interior had been cleaned with a Simple Green product (I had, until later told what the cleaner was, never heard of it). I became violently ill, Nauseous, dizzy, asthema, palpitations, blurred vision and shortness of breath. I had to call the dealer and have them pick me up, could not drive the vehicle. I subsequently spent more than an hour trying to recuperate before I felt well enough to drive home.

Two years later despite notifying my own car dealership not to use anything like that product, a worker who did not speak English after servicing the auto cleaned it with Simple Green, unbeknownst to us and I and my wife became ill driviung it home. We had to trade the car in because after several washings they could not make it safe for either of us to drive.

Corporations are making billions of dollars off us, while polluting and poisoning our lives, our families' lives, our animal companions, and our environment. Also, by using fossil fuels, they contribute more to global warming. Thanks, greedy corporations!

We've been using baking soda and vinegar for a while now - it works great, is very safe, and is inexpensive. Sad to say, though, it doesn't produce as much profits for the corps!

Consumable chemical products for your household, auto, etc. enjoy very slim margins.

Hi, I'm your "corporate shill/spy" - back to extol the joys and profits of mutation and asphyxiation.

From our mega-corporate palace (actually, my teeny home) am an historic advocate of deploying (or onsite mixing) still less profitable commodity chemicals wherever possible.

Vinegar (more noxious to many than ammonia) is great for cleaning water marks from window exteriors.

50% rubbing alcohol (some 40% isopropanol) works great/safely on LCD screens.

Baking soda works perfectly on auto battery terminals and for absorbing odors in the frig. Otherwise, not much use.

BTW, mixing baking soda w/ vinegar is quite useless. They just neutralize each other.

For truly restorative cleaning, subject to personal allergies/comfort/precautions, caustic-like high pH and/or polar solvent(s) can't be beat. Industrial cleaning operations fully understand as much. They're not subject to "white tornados" hype or fashionable "environmental" claims.

My fondness for EGBE originates in its unique and total solubility in, say, motor oil as well as in water.

If your personal situation requires totally nonhazardous chemistry, be prepared for more scrubbing and/or less cleanliness.

BTW, most MSDS for baking soda recommend rubber gloves and/or goggles for handling. Also, vinegar (3% acetic acid) is OSHA as well as CPSC hazardous.

Good luck to all!

There are actually two companies that make household cleaners without harmful ingredients, and have been for years. They're not commonly known because they don't use traditional distribution channels. Check out products at Shaklee and Neways (www.ineways.com/kraig)

Recommending this book again, "The Hundred-Year Lie," by Randall Fitzgerald. It's about chemicals and drugs, their synergy and their bad effects on living beings, us specifically. It's a real eye-opener!

As a non-toxic cleaner, I like to recommend QuickNBrite, a pink gel that can be diluted or used full strength. No fragrances or toxics. I've washed my car with it, cleaned the shower stall, used it to spot clean the rug and then diluted, put it in the rug shampooer. Did a rinse run afterward and it turned out great...no fumes, no chemicals to attract dirt again.

By the way, baking soda is a good thing to brush your teeth with or use as a mouthwash...totally non harmful: 1/2 tsp. per 4 ozs. water, dissolve and swish several times after thoroughly brushing and flossing. Bacteria that cause mouth odor, decay, etc. are killed by the PH change, but no harmful chemicals are needed to do this. The bacteria always grow back naturally. Also, rinse your toothbrush in the leftover solution...those bacteria love to proliferate there...not good! If you have a window in your bathroom that gets sunshine, prop your toothbrush in a glass or (?) and let the ultraviolet light kill bacteria.

Everyone seems to assume that vinegar is this pure product. It's 3-8% acetic acid diluted with water.

Have you every seen the dangers associated with 100% acetic acid? Yet at 3% it's completley safe to consume.

So why the double standard? 100% EGBE has shown problems in rats. Testing on a whole product that contains less than 10% shows absolutely no problems with humans or rats, yet that doesn't seem to matter.

It's the dose that makes the poison. Drink enough of your 3% acetic acid and I guarantee it's won't be as "safe" as you think it is. Better yet, put it in your eyes to prove just how safe it is.

Furthermore the EPA sets up very strict standards for disinfecting. Which involve thorough testing with each specific strain of bacteria or virus claimed. If it was as simple as killing the bacteria in your mouth with baking soda or using hydrogen peroxide to disinfect, then why doesn't the box of baking soda have any kill claims on it? Why isn't there a 100% baking soda product that is marketed as a mouth disinfectant, or why don't hospitals just use hydrogen peroxide? There's more than one type of bacteria or virus in the world, and they are all different - including in your mouth or on your kitchen counter.

I'd like to see your testing to verifty that simply leaving your toothbrush on your windowsill will kill all the bacteria on it.

The EPA/FIFRA pretty much defers to FDA for regulating drugs, cosmetics, toothpastes and their efficacies.

The HAP delisting of EGBE doesn't affect it's status as an OSHA or CPSC hazard. The original article is plain wrong in stating: "manufacturers aren't required to list it on the label"

CPSC (and several states) clearly mandates listing all hazardous components on the label. CPSC even specifies certain type sizes for warnings vs. product size. OSHA requires listing EGBE (over 1%) on MSDS on all untested mixtures entering the workplace; but doesn't explicitly require it's listing on workplace labels. Ironically, we're more likely to see EGBE listed on labels in the workplace than on consumer products. As noted earlier, CPSC has a miserable enforcement record.

Perhaps more to the original point, the HAP list only affects facilities handling several tons/year of a given HAP. The governing statute, Title I, section 112(c) of the CAA was never intended to directly regulate consumer or workplace products at all.

...but my fav quote from this article (nowhere near CD's normal standards):

"Check labels and pick cleaners that contain green alcohol instead of other solvents".

Jane Kay's obviously had too much "green alcohol".