Dangerous Household Chemicals
Do Your Household Cleaners Have Dangerous Chemicals?
Potentially dangerous chemicals can be found in every room in your home. If not properly stored or used, these products could end up in you or your child’s body or on you or your child’s skin and cause minor to serious and even life-threatening health problems. What are these every day household chemicals? Let’s take a tour of the rooms of your home and discover what some of these chemicals are and what health harms they may cause.
Keep in mind that most household cleaning products and pesticides are reasonably safe when used as directed, and that the level of toxicity of a product is dependent on the dose of the product used (never use more than the amount listed on the label) and the length of exposure to the product.
| Product | Hazardous Ingredient | Possible Effects |
|---|---|---|
| In your garage | ||
| Antifreeze | Ethylene glycol | Poisonous if swallowed -- can cause severe damage to heart, kidneys, brain. Inhalation can cause dizziness. |
| Keep your pets away from spilled antifreeze. Its sweet smell is attractive to animals, but licking or drinking the fluid can kill your pet. Before purchasing antifreeze, look at the label for products containing propylene glycol. This is a much safer alternative. | ||
| Motor oil | Heavy metals | Can cause nerve and kidney damage; is thought to cause cancer |
| Hydrocarbons | Some forms thought to cause cancer. | |
| Batteries (car, boat, tractor) | Sulfuric acid | Can cause severe skin burns, and blindness |
| Lead | Can cause nerve and kidney damage; is thought to cause cancer | |
| Windshield washer fluid | Methanol | Can damage the nervous system, liver, kidneys; inhalation can lead to lung disease; ingestion can cause blindness |
| Ethylene glycol | Poisonous if swallowed -- can cause severe damage to heart, kidneys, brain. Inhalation can cause dizziness. | |
| Isopropanol | Can irritates mucous membranes; ingestion results in drowsiness, unconsciousness and death | |
| Paint | Organic solvents | Can irritate eyes and skin; cause cracking of skin. Inhaling paint fumes can result in headaches, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue |
| In your laundry room/utility room | ||
| Laundry detergent | Cationic, anionic, or non- ionic solutions | If swallowed, cationic detergents can cause nausea, vomiting, shock, convulsions, and coma. Non-ionic detergents can irritate skin and eyes |
| All-purpose cleaners | Ammonia | Fumes can irritate eyes and lungs; can cause burns or rashes on skin; can produce deadly chloramine gas if mixed with chlorine containing products |
| NEVER mix ammonia with chlorine (bleach). This mixture produces a gas that can cause serious breathing problems and be potentially fatal | ||
| Ethylene glycol monobutyl acetate | Poisonous if swallowed -- can cause severe damage to heart, kidneys, brain. Inhalation can cause dizziness. | |
| Sodium hypochlorite | Corrosive to skin and lining of nose mouth and throat; fumes irritating to eyes and respiratory tract | |
| Bleach | Sodium hypochlorite solution | Corrosive to skin and lining of nose mouth and throat; fumes irritating to eyes and respiratory tract |
| NEVER mix bleach with other cleaners – especially ammonia – and also toilet bowl cleaners and drain cleaners. A gas can be produced that can cause serious breathing problems and even death | ||
| Pet flea and tick treatments | Organophosphates and carbamates | Can cause headache, dizziness, twitching, nausea; shown to cause cancer in animals |
| Insecticides | Organophosphates and carbamates | Can cause headache, dizziness, twitching, nausea; shown to cause cancer in animals |
| In your kitchen | ||
| Dishwashing detergents | Cationic, anionic, or non- ionic solutions plus phosphates (automatic dishwasher detergents) | Automatic products can cause skin irritation or burns; hand dishwashing products are milder, though can cause irritation to mouth, throat, and GI tract |
| Oven cleaners | Lye (consisting of either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) | Extremely corrosive, burns skin and eyes; can be fatal if swallowed; aerosols disperse chemicals, increasing inhalation dangers |
| Non-toxic oven cleaners without lye are available. Look at the label and select a product that does not contain lye. | ||
| Antibacterial cleaner | Ammonia, Detergents, Lye | see descriptions above |
| Cresol | Can be corrosive to tissue; damages liver, kidneys, lungs, pancreas and spleen | |
| Phenol | Can cause central nervous system depression; severely affect circulatory system; corrosive to skin; suspected of causing cancer | |
| Pine oil | Can irritate eyes and lining of nose mouth and throat | |
| Window and glass cleaner | Ammonia | Fumes can irritate eyes and lungs; can cause burns or rashes on skin; can produce deadly chloramine gas if mixed with chlorine containing products |
| isopropanol | Can irritates mucous membranes; ingestion results in drowsiness, unconsciousness and death | |
| Insect bait traps | Organophosphates and carbamates | Can cause headache, dizziness, twitching, nausea; shown to cause cancer in animals |
| In your bathroom | ||
| Toilet bowel cleaners | Sodium bisulfate | Forms sulfuric acid, which is corrosive, burns skin |
| Oxalic acid | Can damage kidney and liver; irritate eyes and respiratory tract; corrodes mouth and stomach | |
| 5-dimethyldantoin | Forms hypochlorite in water, which is corrosive to skin and mucous membranes | |
| Hydrochloric acid | Fumes are extremely corrosive; burns skin | |
| Phenol | Can cause central nervous system depression; severely affect circulatory system; corrosive to skin; suspected of causing cancer | |
| Mold and mildew removers | Chlorine and alkyl ammonium chlorides | Can cause breathing problems; if swallowed, can burn throat |
| Drain cleaners | Lye and sulfuric acid | Can cause burns to skin and in severe cases, blindness if splashed in eye |
| In your living room | ||
| Rug, carpet, upholstery cleaners | Perchloroethylene | Fumes cause dizziness, sleepiness, nausea, loss of appetite and disorientation; can cause cancer with long-term exposure |
| Naphthalene | Can damage liver; prolonged vapor exposure has led to cataract formation | |
| Furniture polish | Ammonia, naphtha, nitrobenzene, petroleum distillates, and phenol | Can irritate your skin, eyes, throat, lungs and windpipe; if swallowed, furniture polish can cause nausea and vomiting |
| Air fresheners | Formaldehyde | A strong irritant to the eyes, throat, skin and lungs; thought to cause cancer |
| Petroleum distillates | Can irritate skin, eyes, respiratory tract; may cause fatal pulmonary edema; flammable | |
| P-Dichlorobenzene | Fumes can be irritating to skin, eyes and throat | |
| Aerosol propellants | Fumes associated with brain damage or highly flammable | |
| Household foggers | Pyrethrins | Can cause severe allergic dermatitis, systemic allergic reactions. Large amounts may cause nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, headache, & other CNS disturbances |
| Permethrin | Can cause itching and burning of the skin and eyes; irritate the upper respiratory tract | |
| Methoprene | Can irritate the skin and eyes | |
| In your bedroom | ||
| Mothballs | Naphthalene, P-Dichlorobenzene | Can cause headaches, dizziness, and irritate the skin, eyes, and throat; cataract formation and liver damage can results from prolonged exposure |
| In the backyard, pool and garden shed | ||
| Swimming pool chloride tablets | Sodium (or calcium) hypochlorite | Corrosive to skin and lining of nose mouth and throat; fumes irritating to eyes and respiratory tract |
| Insect repellents | Butopyronoxyl | Can cause mild necrosis in liver and kidney –in animals |
| Cimethyl phthalate | Can cause central nervous system depression if swallowed | |
| Diethyltoluamide (DEET) | Can irritate sensitive skin and respiratory tract tissues as well as loss of coordination, anxiety, behavioral changes, and mental confusion | |
| Weed killers | diquat, 2,4-D, and glyphosate | Can irritate the eyes and skin; can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea |
| Rodent control | warfarin | Causes internal bleeding if ingested in large amounts |