Misconceptions About Common Household Products

Misconceptions About Common Household Products

In today's high tech world, many consumers rely on the Internet as a main source of information. The latest information on virtually any topic can be accessed with a click of a button, which creates the Internet's appeal. However, not all information on the Internet is reliable. Anyone with Internet access has probably come across some type of e-mail hoax or chain letter, as well as urban legends. E-mail hoaxes and chain letters consist of anything from supposed missing child alerts to surveys where you input your responses to a variety of questions and pass it along to see what everyone else's responses are. Urban legends are stories about our fears that are passed along by people who believe them to be true. Urban legends are shared from person to person by both word of mouth and electronically through the Internet. The main basis for such tales is that they make us question our world and what terrible dangers may be lurking out there. A lot of people find it necessary to pass every tidbit of this information along to their family and friends, who then pass it along to their family and friends, and so the "chain mail" begins. While it's never a bad idea to pass along information to loved ones about product recalls and safety alerts, most people never question the validity of the information they've received. They just assume that if the information is out there, and a friend or relative passed it on to them, then it must be true and this only fuels the fire for an urban legend to be continued. People believe the stories they hear from family and close friends because of trust. Increasing the credit behind the story is the events being reputed to have happened to some acquaintance of the story teller. Some urban legends have been passed along for many years and are just modified to fit the current times. While most urban legends are indeed false, there are some that are true, or at least based on actual events. In this essay, we'll examine two common misconceptions about popular household products and their potential dangers.

In 2004 an anonymous e-mail began circulating about the Swiffer Wet Jet being harmful to household pets. The author of the e-mail claimed their neighbor had to have their otherwise healthy dog put to sleep due to liver failure and the only plausible connection was the use of a Swiffer Wet Jet. This neighbor supposedly called the manufacturer, Procter & Gamble, and was told the cleaning solution used in the product contained a compound that was only one molecule away from antifreeze. The e-mail goes on to claim that this neighbor's housekeepers' cats also died of liver failure. The assumption was that the pets had walked on a floor cleaned with the solution and then licked their paws, ingesting the toxin. The claims in this anonymous e-mail were easily debunked. There are no identifying factors about the author or the neighbor who owned the dog, therefore no one can inquire to verify its validity. The allegation that the cleaning solution used in the Swiffer Wet Jet contained a compound similar to antifreeze was also proven to be false. Swiffer's cleaning solution contains mostly water, with propylene glycol n-propyl ether and isopropyl alcohol, along with some other minor ingredients, according to Procter & Gamble's Material Safety Data Sheets. Antifreeze consists of the compounds ethylene glycol and propylene glycol, with the latter being classified by the Food and Drug Administration as being safe for use in food, as well as cosmetics and medicines. While ethylene glycol is very toxic, it is not one of the ingredients in any Swiffer product. Propylene glycol n-propyl ether may sound very similar, but it is actually a completely different compound. It is also found in numerous other household cleaning products. Moreover, antifreeze (ethylene glycol) causes renal failure in animals, not liver failure as the e-mail has claimed. The writer said he had read the Swiffer Wet Jet warning label, which stated the product may be harmful to children and pets. In reality, the warning label states, "AVOID ACCIDENTS: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND PETS." Procter & Gamble has posted a rebuttal on their website in direct response to this e-mail claim. It states, "The Wet cloths and Wet Jet liquid solution cleaners do not contain antifreeze or any ingredient similar to it. In fact, all Swiffer products are safe to use around pets." The ASPCA also conducted tests at its Animal Poison Control Center that have proved this myth to be false. The results of their tests have concluded that the Swiffer ingredients are "safe to use around pets when used according to label directions and would