Household Chemicals

Chemical Laboratory Found In House

By Jo-Lene Lee

Household chemicals have been proven to be dangerous if used incorrectly. The effect of ingesting, inhaling or direct exposure to some household chemicals have been shown to cause temporary or in severe cases, permanent chemical injuries. The most common household chemicals found in ten different houses from a conducted survey are; bleach, toilet bowl cleaners and disinfectant products. It is strongly believed that household chemicals are not safe because of several safety concerns. These concerns include; common chemicals in household products are also found in cosmetic products, children are more likely to poison themselves with household chemicals in reach, household products are promoted by looking appealing and attractive, chemicals in these products cause long-term illnesses and household chemicals have the potential to ignite and cause an explosion.

An article by Maureen Rice in the Daily Mail Australia on the 21st November 2009 revealed that women put an average of five hundred and fifteen different chemicals in their body on a daily basis. These chemicals, which are also found in household cleaning products, are found in cosmetics such as; make up, hair products, skin lotions and perfumes. The most concerning chemical found in both household chemicals and cosmetics is formaldehyde (also known as methanol). Formaldehyde is recognized by the National Cancer Institute as a carcinogen, a cancer-causing agent. Although formaldehyde-containing products only contain a small and ‘safe’ amount of active chemicals, scientists are concerned with the increased exposure levels (Global Healing Center, 2009).  

Household chemicals are easily accessed by children if not stored properly. The New South Wales Fire and Rescue Department recorded an estimate of 140,000 calls each year from concerned parents regarding poison information of young children and a concerning estimate of 3500 children under the age of five are also hospitalized annually as the result of chemical poisoning (New South Wales Fire and Rescue Department, 2014).  To promote their products to consumers, cleaning product companies have designed their packing to look more appealing by using bright colours. This not only attracts the attention of consumers in supermarkets, but also small children at home. This has become an increasingly concerning issue that in March 2015, Global Awareness created a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of household products and in particular, laundry detergent packets (European Commission, 2015).

It has been reported that exposure to common household chemicals lead to long-term developing health conditions. The main active ingredients in the three most common household products include chemicals such as; sodium hypochlorite, ammonia and sodium hydroxide (Cleveland Clinic, 2014). The active ingredients in household products are corrosive and can cause temporary irritation in skin, the respiratory system and aggravate allergies (Think Before You Buy, 2015). Exposure to these chemicals have also been shown to develop long-term health conditions such as; cancer, diabetes, obesity, fertility impairment and neurological problems (Body and Soul, 2015).