Disinfecting 101
28/05/2020
Q&A with Joe Phala – Biodx Sales Consultant
29/06/2020

How Safe is Safe? Not Every Household Cleaner/Disinfectant is Equal

Go back to March 5th 2020 when the first case of Covid-19 hit our shores and the first thing that happened was an avalanche of shoppers hitting the supermarkets and clearing the shelves of disinfecting and cleaning products and for some reason toilet rolls. Did they care about the brands – no. Did they take time to read the labels – probably not.

Not Every Household Cleaner/Disinfectant is Equal

If you saw the raw ingredients that go into your cleaning products they would almost likely be in containers with a hazardous chemical sign on the front. But by the time they reach the shelves the packaging looks anything but dangerous. And just to throw you off the scent (literally) they probably smell pretty good also. Who knew that products with added fragrances should definitely to be avoided.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) ‘Toolkit for Early Care and Education – Fact Sheet for Families’ lays out in clear language just what to look out for when choosing common household cleaning products, particularly when it comes to the health of you and your family. It covers everything from effects on your health to how you can educate yourself on reading labels. In South Africa you shouldn’t touch products that don’t have both the SABS Mark permit and the NRCS (National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications) approval and labelling clearly visible. This is your assurance the product has been thoroughly tested and 100% effective against Covid-19 and specific viruses.

What no one tells you

That you should rather buy products that come in pump-spray bottles and not aerosol cans and which disclose ALL the ingredients on the label. As it says in the Fact Sheet become a label reader. Although manufacturers don’t have to list of all ingredients on household products just knowing the difference between the words DANGER and WARNING will give you a gauge of just where the product lies in the hazardous zone.

Knowledge is power

According to Burt Rodrigues, CEO of Biodx, “People never question what’s in these products. For decades we have been using cleaning products such as bleach, with some perhaps complaining of headaches. For others it might be a runny nose when getting out of the shower which has been cleaned using products containing chlorine. It needs people to start linking these ailments to the products we’re using and becoming aware of what affects us.”

View the DPR Fact Sheet here: