Cleaners and Fresheners

Large quantities of chemical products are used to clean, freshen, and disinfect homes. Table 11.5 shows a representative list of these products. 

Toxic chemicals contained in cleaning, freshening, and disinfection products are listed in Table 11.6. 

All the chemicals listed in Table 11.6, with the exception of surfactants, are volatile and attack the respiratory system upon inhalation. All readily defeat and attack the skin. It is not implied here that these products are 

Hard surface cleaners Laundry detergents Window cleaners Degreasers Disinfectants Metal polishes Quaternary ammonium salts Spot and stain removers Tile and grout cleaners Waxes 

Aliphatic hydrocarbons Ammonia Chlorine Butanes Glycol ethers Hydrochloric acid Methylene chloride Monoethanol amine Oxalic acid Phosphoric acid Sodium hydroxide Sodium metasilicate Sulfuric acid Surfactants Tetrachloroethylene 1,1,1-Trichloroethane 

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FOUND IN Detergents, disinfectants, carpet cleaners, tub and tile cleaners, and air fresheners... 

Volatile solvent abuse or glue sniffing, is common among teenagers, especially males. The success of the modem chemical industry provides easy access to these substances as adhesives, dry cleaners, air fresheners, deodorants, aerosols and other products. Various techniques of administration are employed viscous products may be inhaled from a plastic bag, liquids from a handkerchief or plastic bottle. The immediate euphoriant and excitatory effects are replaced by confusion, hallucinations and delusions as the dose is increased. Chronic abusers, notably of toluene, develop peripheral neuropathy, cerebellar disease and dementia damage to the kidney, liver, heart and limgs also occurs with solvents. Over 50% of deaths from the practice follow cardiac arrhythmia, probably caused by sensitisation of the myocardium to catecholamines and by vagal inhibition... 

D-Limonene may be inhaled when products such as citrus-scented air fresheners, perfumes and candles, cleaners and paints, are used indoors, especially without adequate ventilation. Terpenes are used in products for their solvent properties and, in some cases, for their odor. Limonene is a commonly identified indoor pollutant with time-averaged indoor concentrations in the range of 5-10 ppb, and much higher concentrations (>80ppb) can occur during the use of limonene-containing products. 

Perfumes can be used in different types of products (Figure 1) such as cosmetics and toiletries (fine fragrances, shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays, shaving creams, makeup, baby care products, deodorants, soaps, feminine products, etc.) and household products (cleaners, air fresheners, bleaches, laundry detergents, fabric softeners, etc.). 

A wide range of perfumes, predominandy based on synthetic ingredients, are used in household products. They are used to make cleaners smell more pleasant than their chemical ingredients. Some of the cleaners that usually contain fragrances in their compositions are softeners and laundry detergents, dishwashing products, floor cleaning products, furniture polish, and bathroom cleaners. Air fresheners also contain perfumes in their formulations. 

Scent is one of the most powerful of senses. This phrase can be read in the website of one of the more remarkable associations related to perfumes, the International Fragrance Association (IFRA), and we are aU aware that this is true. Scent can alter mood, stress, or pain. We are not always aware of them, but odors are around us all the time and affect our daily life. People, food, plants, and everything have a particular odor, and we even add aromatic substances to many other things. Cosmetic products, such as shampoos, deodorants, soaps, and fine fragrances, or household products such as laundry detergents, cleaners, and bleaches contain perfumes (Fig. 107.1) which are responsible for their characteristic odors. Moreover, we sometimes scent the air with air fresheners or fragrance candles. 

A solvent is a substance that can dissolve another substance, and a volatile solvent is a liquid that vaporizes at room temperature. Volatile solvents include adhesives such as airplane glue and rubber cement aerosols such as spray paint, hair spray, and air freshener solvents such as nail polish remover, paint remover, and lighter fluid and cleaners such as dry cleaning fluid, spot remover, and degreasers. 

Sometimes undesirable odors arise during or after a product s use The wet laundry odor in washing machines or the hot hair scent generated by hair driers are typical examples. In personal deodorants and air fresheners, diaper products and toilet cleaners, masking external odors is a primary reason for the products very existence. 

Already the VOC concern is prompting some manufacturers of household products such as air fresheners and window cleaners to change their formulations, thereby creating new challenges with respect to perfume solubility. It is impossible to estimate at this time to what extent in the future this concern will confront the perfumer with additional questions and challenges at the international level. 

Most of the 300+ organic vapors that may be found in indoor pollution are derived from paints, paint strippers and other solvents, wood preservatives, aerosol sprays, cleansers and disinfectants, moth repellents, air fresheners, in addition to fuels and automotive products, and dry-cleaners. Many of these compounds are halogenated hydrocarbons, PAH, ketones and aldehydes, which exhibit different degrees of toxicity. 

Household hard surface cleaners are defined in this discussion as formulations, powder or liquid, used to clean hard surfaces in the home, excluding dishes. Therefore, cleaners used on soft surfaces in the home — upholstery and carpet cleaners, fabric stain cleaners, etc. — are not discussed here. Also excluded from this discussion are household products that are used primarily as treatments rather than cleaners per se — polishes, floor waxes, tarnish removers, and drain cleaners (decloggers). Also not included are air fresheners, which are not... 

The majority of the processes presented in Table 2 involve combustion (e.g., burning candles) or the heating of a surface (e.g., electric element of a stove). The UFP from air fresheners and cleaners are the result of nucleation due to secondary chemical reactions with ozone. These secondary reactions are most commonly observed with pinene and limonene (and other terpenes) containing compounds found in pine and lemon scented cleaning products (Nazaroff and Weschler 2004). 

Uses Detergent, wetting agent, solubilizer, dispersant, micro-emulsifier for laundry prods., hard surf, cleaners, industrial specialties, solid air fresheners, toilet blocks, pesticides/herbicides agric. adjuvant for water disp. systems dispersant for aq. coatings and inks Properties Clear liq. oil-sol. pH 2.5 (10% aq.) surf. tens. 34.5 dynes/cm (0.01%) Ross-Miles foam 105 mm (0.1%, 40 C, initial) anionic 90 3% solids... 

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