Swiffer cleaning fluids=toxic

[uforgot]

And from my favorite site for urban legends...

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/swiffer.htm

[badger]

I used to use Swiffer Wetjet but stopped after thinking about the chemicals that are left on the floor. I see my cats licking their paws and figured it can't be good for them, even if they claim the stuff's non-toxic.

So, after much research, I decided to get a steam mop. I opted for the Bissel steam mop

While I can't say I LOVE it, because it does leave the floor wet, I feel much better knowing it's only water that's on the floor. It was a godsend when my dog was around; he'd drool a lot in the summer and I would be mopping at least twice a week.

[tulip]

Since I have all wood floors in my house (except the bathroom), I only use the dry Swiffer thingies--are they okay? For my wood floors I use 1 c. white vinegar to one gallon of water on a damp mop. Works great, even on dog pawprints, of which there are many.

[michelem]

It appears to me that Dogmama said that this was being touted as an urban legend, but her science-buff friend begs to differ. For some reason, I think I'd go with the PhD in Chem's opinion over the biased opinion of Swiffer . . . but, that's just me.

[Blueberry]

My attitude is why chance it? And I've found Snopes to be mostly, but not wholly accurate. I was tempted by the convenience - but we do usually use natural cleaning products in our home. No good reason to make an exception.

[Tokie]

White vinegar in water here too. Our world is filled with so many chemical exposures already....bleach and antibacterial products. I think sometimes chemical "clean" is overkill. How "clean" do you need things to be? Tokie

[OakLeaf]

After my health scare this summer I'm eliminating as much of that kind of stuff from my life as possible. I know one's personal health is not a very good reason to do so compared to everyone else's in the waste stream... but anyway. Just thought I'd reiterate that where some people use vinegar for cleaning, I use food grade citric acid. You can mix the acid stronger as needed, plus it doesn't have an odor. Vinegar smells like gym shoes to me (or maybe my shoes smell like yeast fermentation... more likely ) - in either case it's not a "clean" smell to my nose.

[TsPoet]

It appears to me that Dogmama said that this was being touted as an urban legend, but her science-buff friend begs to differ. For some reason, I think I'd go with the PhD in Chem's opinion over the biased opinion of Swiffer . . . but, that's just me.

How 'bout going with a PhD in Toxicology?
It's an urban legend. One of many (like Bisphenol A, fluoride...)
I could ramble on forever. But, basically it comes down to the quote by Paracelsus, the Godfather of Toxicology - to paraphrase "The dose makes the poison". The Chemist friend is correct, but almost everything is poisonous, at the right dose. There are even stories of water being poisonous to individuals who drink to much of it.
The dose isn't left on the floor. I wouldn't let my dogs eat the cloths, though.

[OakLeaf]

"The dose makes the poison".

Which goes back to what I said about one's personal health (or the health of one's pets or family) being the wrong reason. Workers in manufacturing, those who live near the plants, and those who live down the waste stream are exposed to horrific doses of these poisons. Maybe you caught the story a couple of years ago where DuPont had to buy a whole town in my area because they contaminated it with C8. Last year it came out that they'd contaminated the water supplies of a whole region. And yes, there's epidemiological as well as hydrologic data. When we buy that stuff, we're poisoning the workers.

[Dogmama]

How 'bout going with a PhD in Toxicology?
It's an urban legend. One of many (like Bisphenol A, fluoride...)
I could ramble on forever. But, basically it comes down to the quote by Paracelsus, the Godfather of Toxicology - to paraphrase "The dose makes the poison". The Chemist friend is correct, but almost everything is poisonous, at the right dose. There are even stories of water being poisonous to individuals who drink to much of it.
The dose isn't left on the floor. I wouldn't let my dogs eat the cloths, though.

Exactly my point. The propylene glycol within the solution is probably OK because it is a very small percent of the total solution. The problem starts when the accompanying ingredients (water & alcohol) evaporate, thus leaving a strong residue of propylene glycol on the floor. It can be absorbed through paws and/or licked off of the floor. Remember that dogs & cats are smaller than humans, so are potentially affected more adversely by toxic substances.

Hills (Science Diet folks) use ethoxyquin as a preservative in their kibble. Ethoxyquin is a potent carcinogen. Hills claims that the minute amount used won't harm animals. Oddly enough, ethoxyquin is also used in their prescription diets - foods used for sick animals. Now, why would you add a carcinogen to a food & feed it to a dog with a compromised immune system or other organic problems...? I digress....

Regarding Snopes, etc., I cannot believe most of those websites. Unfortunately, the internet is full of misinformation. That's why I went directly to a guy who knows his chemicals.

Bottom line - why chance it? There are natural cleaners available that are not harmful to animals or the environment. I have a German Shepherd whose paws bring in more dirt than a front loading tractor. I find that vacuuming & wet mopping with water only (I have tile) works just fine. I'd rather have slightly discolored grout and a healthy dog & cat. Just my opinion.

[malkin]

This malkin loves the steamer to clean the floors, the tile, the ...porcelain conveniences..., the grimy places, and pretty much everything else that needs cleaning.

[Di bear]

Don't forget that the individual ingredients most likely do not maintain their individual properties when mixed together. Mixing them together produces a chemical reaction (constantly going - usually two-way reactions), so the amount put into the mixture is most likely not the amount of solution actually present in the mixture. Of course, I don't know how they measure the contents of cleaning products (chemical analysis versus recipe). Chemistry is fascinating.

Water is a good example. A glass of H2O isn't pure H20 (minus the minerals). It is actually H2O with trace amounts of HO, and H30+, yet you don't see "hydronium ions" and "hydroxide ions" on the ingredients label in a bottle of water.

[Eden]

How 'bout going with a PhD in Toxicology?
It's an urban legend. One of many (like Bisphenol A, fluoride...)
I could ramble on forever. But, basically it comes down to the quote by Paracelsus, the Godfather of Toxicology - to paraphrase "The dose makes the poison". The Chemist friend is correct, but almost everything is poisonous, at the right dose. There are even stories of water being poisonous to individuals who drink to much of it.
The dose isn't left on the floor. I wouldn't let my dogs eat the cloths, though.

I've seen an MSDS for coffee

and one that wasn't a joke.... an MSDS for Prismacolor markers.... it listed amount you would have to ingest to get sick... If you could sit down and eat 100 magic markers hats off to you...

One thing I have heard, I'm not sure if this is true either though- if you have sanded something to varnish it do not use a swiffer cloth to clean up the dust before sanding. The varnish won't stick and you'll have to do the sanding all over again.

[malkin]

Our laminate floors are fine with the steamer and we have not-very-nice-at-all wood floor in the kitchen and I use it there too. I have a couple of the cover cloths for the floor attachment thingy.

I use it on everything in the bathroom. They mfr. cautions about glass, but I just hold it a little further away so I don't crack the glass and haven't had a problem in 3 years. The little squeegee attachment was cute, but for glass or mirrors that matter, I wipe it with a cloth.

Sometimes I spray random rug spots and wipe at them with a cloth.

I like that it doesn't require any special chemicals or consumables.

It is so dry here that the humidity that it adds is welcome and the little film of wet dries in seconds. I'm not sure I'd like it so much if I lived in a humid place.

Oh- my husband also brews beer which we dispense out of taps on a chest freezer. Every now and then there is a dramatic event where a spray of beer flies majestically. Using the steamer after that happens is good too.