Warning!!!

[Pumpkinpup]

I looked at the Snopes info on this. They can say what they want but I will not dismiss the fact that I did have a friend who's cat did get ill after they started using this product on their floors (vomiting and lethargic). That is enough proof to me that it is at least harmful enough to make animals sick if they are exposed to it often enough whether or not it could kill. The cat was fine when they discontinued use. If I had a indoor pet, I certainly would not be using this product at all!

 

[Nikki28]

Of course the cat got ill as would you if you were 6 inches above the chemical and licked it off your "hands" it is still a chemical and animals should be put away when cleaning regardless of whether the cleaner is "green" or not. Just use common sense and don't believe everything you read especially in e-mails.


edited to add:
gckiddhouse what kind of chick is in your avatar?

 

[PortageGirl]

Snopes is good, and here's some other ones too, lots of times I'll go to one of these to check out some e-mail I get, and wind up stuck on the site reading all the different stories out there. Some are SO believable, some are less so, but when you are worried about your kids or pets or loved ones, it's sometimes easy to get sucked in.

Here's some other sites, I have to say the first one at 'about.com' is pretty much my fav, but they all investigate things pretty well I think.

http://urbanlegends.about.com/

http://www.ask.com/web?q=Urban+Legends&qsrc=6&o=1249&l=dis

http://www.snopes.com/

And this one is a good thing too!!

http://fraud.org/welcome.htm

Not so positive about this one, but it's interesting IMO

http://vmyths.com/

I have to say, one person who sends me the most of these e-mails is a cousin who I love very much, and I have a hard time letting her know kindly that her alarmist e-mails are not really appreciated... they think they're looking out for you after all!!! I just sent these sites back to her, hoping she'll start looking them up for herself. The e-mails have slowed down, so I think it helped a little.

 

[chookchick]

This may be an exaggeration, but there is an element of truth! A lot of the chemicals we put down on our floors and lawns etc... are toxic to animals--including chickens! It behooves us to limit our use and research everything that we use, we are running around in bare feet all day and licking our feet like they do! That is why I don't use anything but vinegar and water on my floors, and organic fertilizers on my lawn. I've lost two cats to kidney failure, and the one I have now has it also--doesn't do any good to subject him to more chems.

 

[speckledhen]

No idea if this is true, but when did we start thinking Snopes is infallible? I've read some stuff on there that I was pretty sure they got completely wrong.

 

[silkiechicken]

Everything is poisonous, even water in large quanities that can throw off your electrolite imbalance enough to kill you. Moderation and care is key.

That said. I don't clean with anything other than water and elbow grease most of the time. If needed, just clorox powder bleach stuff. I don't care if it's "yucky" because you didn't kill 99.7% of germs, since it's that .3 which will hurt you and if you get the grime off the time, the residence time of bacteria to be able to survive greatly reduces.

 

[cozycritters]

OMG thank you for telling me this-- I'm getting rid of mine-- I have two small children and one on the way!

 

[joshplus10]

Quote:

I have one of those steam mops - works great! Even on pet related dirt!

 

[mypicklebird]

Quote:
For sure, nothing is infallible, I think most of what ends up in my inbox as a forwarded WARNING/dangerous this or that-- is a hoax. Snopes is easy to access & good place to start to see if anyone has looked into it. Just another good resource. As is urban legends about.com

My thoughts on it...

Ethylene glycol is in antifreeze, it causes kidney failure, not to be found in any cleaning products that I have heard of.

Propylene glycol is also in many antifreezes, as well as cosmetics, lotions, and medical supplies and medicines. It is all over the place, FDA thinks it is safe, ASPCA thinks it is safe. It is in the swiffer wet jet thing's ingredients along with isopropyl alcohol- another 'ol'

They are very different in their toxicities, but all alcohols.

ASPCA animal poison control is not worried about swiffers. I am not either, other than as with ANY cleaning product- do not eat it, do not drink it, do not clean your feet/paws/hands with your mouth after using it, do not allow pets to walk on recently cleaned areas until the areas have dried.

Acute liver failure in a GSD- infectious diseases like leptospirosis, toxic mushrooms, moldy food, moldy compost eating, human drugs (tylenol), algae from drinking in ponds, sago palms, xylitol in gum (Xylitol---now that is one true e-mail scary forward I received). So many things can cause acute liver failure in pets. Unfortunate for the dog & owner, but shouldn't be blamed on the swiffer use.

Febreze is another product that the rumor mill has gone wild with. I wouldn't spray it on my pets directly or use it around birds period, but I think all of the reports are anecdotal.

I personally don't use febreze air freshener- I open the windows for fresh air, or more directly address the smelly problem. Swiffer mops I think are silly. Things with disposable parts for cleaning make me crazy- I use a sponge mop and plain water most of the time to pick up dust and dirt, and spot clean the bad areas with vinegar or simple green.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

The other site is factcheck.org It is on there too.