Household Cleaning Products

Objective: Examine household cleaning products and assess one’s susceptibility to risks from such products.

Procedure: Examine household cleaning products at your home and identify their active ingredient(s) as well
as hazardous component(s). You may use other references to fill in the data below. Using your data, make
an inference about your susceptibility to risks from the chemicals. Wear rubber gloves, gas mask, and/or
other protective equipment, if necessary, when examining the products.

Data

Location Number of Brand of Active Hazardous Effects of

Household Representative Ingredient(s) Component(s) Hazardous
Cleaning Cleaning Agent Component(s)
Agents to Humans
Kitchen 2 a) Mr. Muscle a) a) a)
-Benzalkonium -Lactic Acid -Skin corrosion
b) Natural Chloride -Alkildimethyl -May irritate the
Dishwashing -Quaternary -Chlorides eyes and skin
Cleaner Ammonium -May cause
Compound b) abdominal
b) - Fragrance discomfort if
- Triclosan -Formaldehyde ingested.
- Sodium - Sodium Lauryl b)
Laureth Sulfate Sulfate - can cause rashes
- Disodium - Triclosan and allergic
EDTA reactions by the
foam
- can be toxic to
the body/skin and
disrupt endocrine
system
Garage 1 Griots Garage -Propylene - isopropanol - may cause
Window Cleaner glycol irritation to eyes
- pH Neutral and skin
- isopropanol - maybe
susceptible to fire
Bathroom 2 a) Bleach a) a) a)
b) Domex Floor -Sodium -Chlorine -Irritation in the
Cleaner hypochlorite -Calcium eyes, mouth,
hypochlorite lungs, and skin.
-Dioxin -Causes coughing
-Sodium -Breathing
hypochlorite problems
b) -Hydrogen -Burning watery
- Sodium peroxide eyes
Hypochlorite -Runny nose
- Sodium b)
Hydroxide - Hydrochloric b)
acid - may cause minor
- Sodium Lauryl to severe eye, skin
Ether Sulfate and respiratory
- Sodium irritants
Hypochlorite - skin burns
- Sodium
 Hydroxide

Laundry 2 a) Tide Laundry a) a) a)

Detergent - Surfactant - Surfactants - May cause
b) Downy molecules - Fragrance respiratory
-Fluorescent - Ethanol problems in
whitening agent - Sodium inhaled
- Hydrogen hydroxide - can cause
peroxide burning pain in
b) b) mouth/throat
- Diethyl Ester - Ammonium - may cause
- Dimethyl and chloride irritation in the
Dicethyl - Fragrance eyes
Ammonium b)
Chloride - skin
irritation/allergy
- respiratory
effects
Bedroom 2 a) Lysol a) a) a)
Disinfectant -Ethanol - Benzalkonium - can cause
Spray - Ammonium Chloride irritation to the
b) Clorox Saccharinate eyes and nose
Disinfecting b) b) - chronic health
wipes - Ammonium - Ethanol effects
Chloride b)
- irritation to skin

Inference

Common household items such as cleaners, detergents, and other supplies may contain dangerous chemicals
and this potentially chemicals can be found in every room of one’s home. If not properly used, these
products could cause minor to serious life-threatening health problems for the user and may affect one’s
susceptibility of its danger. In conclusion, there remains factors of these cleaning household products to
possible and higher susceptibility to allergy and asthma. Since the length and weight of how one uses a
certain product affect one’s susceptibility to its possible risks, I can say that I am less susceptible in terms of
exposure since I don’t usually use this over time. However, I can be more susceptible in exposure because I
sometimes don’t use protective equipment like masks. Since I am not asthmatic, certain circumstances while
using these products may also expose me to be more susceptible to allergic sensitization or any other effects.
On the final note, we should keep in mind that household cleaning products are reasonably safe when used
as directed, and the length and weight of exposure to the product.

In the kitchen, there are cleaning household agents such as dish washing detergents that contains phosphate
as the main ingredient, and antibacterial cleaners that contains surfactant and fragrance. These usually may
cause allergies, irritation in eyes, skin and throat if swallowed. As for the garage, propylene or ethylene
glycol are usually the main ingredients used to clean the garage or driveway. Thus, protective equipment are
needed when using such products because these are absorbed by the skin and could lead to other major
health problems. In the bathroom, we can have the toilet bowl cleaners that contain the chemicals sodium
hypochlorite, and the floor or drain cleaners that may contain sodium hypochlorite or hydrochloric acid.
Most disinfectant cleaners are very irritating to the eyes, skin, and will burn your throat. As for the laundry,
we may have laundry detergents, and other type of cleaners. These products usually contains enzymes to
loose stains and dirt. Ingestion can cause nausea and poisoning. It can cause irritation to skin and eyes that
can make one sensitive to other chemicals. If exposed to large quantities of detergent, it may cause asthma.
In bedrooms, we usually use disinfectants. The chemicals used are usually ethanol or ammonium chloride. It
may cause headaches, dizziness, irritation to the skin, eyes, and throat.
 PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Objective: Examine personal care products and assess one’s susceptibility to risks from such products.

Procedure: Examine some personal care products you use and identify any of their ingredients that are
considered as allergens, irritants, developmental or reproductive toxins, carcinogens, or neurotoxin. Choose
two products for each category. Using your data, make an inference about your susceptibility to risks from
the chemicals. You may use other references to fill in the data below.

Data

Category Product Allergen(s) Irritant(s) Reproductive Carcinogen(s) Neurotoxin(

Toxins(s) s)
Skin a)Nivea a)Fragrance, a) SD alcohol, a)Parabens, Parabens, a)Fragrance,
(soap and lotion parabens, ammonia, phthalates, polythylene butylated
lotion) b)Dove essential oils, benzalkonium fragrance, glycol, hydroxyanis
Soap benzyl chloride. MIT, formaldehyde, hydroquinone, ole,
alchohol, DMDM polyacrylamid polyacrylamid aluminum
propylene hydantoin, es, dioxane es, dioxane, chlorohydrat
glycol, lanolin, phenoxyethanol b)Sodium mineral oil, e
formaldehyde, b)Triclosan, laureth sulfate aluminum b)Triclosan
MCI sodium chlorohydrate
b)Stearic acid, stearate, citric a) Triclosan,
cocamidoprop acid, alumina, Tetrasodium
yl betaine, fragrance, EDTA
glycerin Sodium laureth
sulfate
Hair a)Pantene a)Fragrance, a)Sodium a) Propylparab a)Parabens , a)Synthetic
(shampoo shampoo cocamidoprop Chloride, en, synthetic formaldehyde, fragrances,
and b)Tresem yl betaine, dimethicone, fragrances synthetic triclosan
condition me formaldehyde, cocamidopropy b)Synthetic fragrances, b)Synthetic
er) condition propylene l betaine, fragrances dyes, fragrances,
er glycol, retinyl triclosan, triclosan,
parabens, MIT, palmitate, retinyl polythylene
ammonium behentrimoniu palmitate glycol
lauryl sulfate, m chloride b)Formaldehy
cocamidoprop b)Cocamidopro de, DMDM
yl betaine pyl betaine, hydantoin,
b)phenoxyetha polysorbates, sodium
nol dimethicone, laureth
behentrimoniu sulfate,
m chloride triclosan,
polythylene
glycol, retinyl
palmitate,
quaternium-15
Mouth a)Colgate a) Cinnamal, a)Propylene a)Artificial a)Triclosan, a) Flouride,
(toothpast b)Listerin spearmint, Gylcol dyes artificial diethanolami
e and e peppermint, b)Eucalyptol, b)Alcohol, sweeteners, ne
mouthwas Mouthwa carvone, menthol, artificial dyes, parabens, b)Flouride
h) sh anethole, thymol, methyl triclosan titanium
sodium lauryl salicylate dioxide
sulphate b)Methyparab
b)Benzoic en, triclosan
 acid, sodium
benzoate,
preservatives,
antibacterial,
hexetidine

Inference

Personal care items may include cosmetics, soaps and shampoos, hair styling products, deodorant,
toothpaste, hair dyes, and so forth. They are considered safe, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t risks
associated with their use, particularly if we don’t use them correctly. The commonly used chemicals that
have been scrutinized are parabens and phthalates. Parabens are preservatives that prevent the growth of
bacteria on personal care products and can cause irritation or an allergic reaction in some people. Since,
personal care products are generally applied to skin, it may cause more human systemic exposure and higher
susceptibility concerns. In terms of susceptibility, I am more susceptible in these personal care products
because I usually use them on my daily basis. Examples of which are toothpaste and soap. However, I
believe that using these personal care products properly may help reduce many risks and susceptibility rate
such as washing off cosmetics before sleeping, and not sharing any of my personal products to prevent the
spread of bacteria.