The cleaning industry was experiencing a boom during the first years of the epidemic. COVID 19 cleaning protocols in schools, stores and other public spaces ratcheted up, with a spray and a wipe-down becoming de rigueur on every surface after every use. Consumer spending on cleaning products increased by 12 per cent between 2019 and 2021 because of the coronaviruses and prompted people to use more disinfectant wipes and sprays in their homes. The New York Times admitted to having contributed to the disinfecting frenzy. We now know that the extra cleaning was unlikely to have helped limit the spread of COVID 19 but it did increase exposure to the chemicals used in those products, some of which may be hazardous to health. Experts say repeated inhalation or skin contact can be harmful over time. During the epidemic, calls to poison control centers about cleaning chemicals increased, mainly for accidental or intentional ingestion.
Like the start of a new and mysterious pandemic, the immediate risk of infection is pre-eminent and outweighs any potential consequences from chemical exposure. Since we now know that disinfecting isn't likely to protect us from COVID 19, it is worth taking stock of whether the risks of using certain cleaning products are greater than the rewards. The experts we spoke to said simple soap and water is sufficient for regular cleaning.
Here are the safety risks of the most common antimicrobial chemicals and how to reduce exposure while keeping your home hygienic.
Disinfectants are commonly found in all-purpose surface cleaners marketed for use in kitchens or bathrooms. Think 409, Lysol sprays, Clorox wipes or anything else that kills 99.9 per cent of germs on the label.
The most common disinfectant chemicals are quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as quats or QACs. Their chemical names usually end in a variation of ammonium chloride, such as the alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride or the snappier benzalkonium chloride.
The other main types of disinfecting chemicals are chlorine-based products, namely bleach sometimes labeled sodium hypochlorite different types of acids, like citric acid, hydrochloric acid or lactic acid, and hydrogen peroxide.
The federal government doesn't require companies to list chemicals on labels, so it can be tricky to know what's in a cleaning product. In 2017, California passed legislation that required clearer product listings, and the American Cleaning Institute, representing the US cleaning products industry, told The Times it was lobbying for legislation to regulate labelling nationally. You may have to look up ingredient lists online using brand websites or resources like SmartLabel or the Environmental Working Group's product guide.
Many of the common conditions like asthma, cancer and infertility take years to develop because the health risks cleaning chemicals pose are hard to pin down because they are hard to quantify. Some of the research done in professional fields has been done to determine whether certain health problems are more prevalent in people with higher exposure levels, like janitors and nurses. Other studies on mice aim to test whether certain chemicals cause negative health outcomes, but findings in animals don't always apply to humans.