Study Says Most 'Green Cleaning Products' Are Actually Toxic - EATOILS™ GREENER-CHOICE™ APPROVED GREEN Products Are Your Best Bet

Julie Deardorff recently reported in the Chicago Tribune - "Study: 'Green' products emit hazardous chemicals".

Here is a reprint of that article:
Chicago - Widely-used scented consumer products that claim to be "green," "organic" or "natural" emit just as many toxic chemicals as other fragranced products, new research shows.

The study analyzed 25 scented products; about half carried green health claims. All the products emitted at least one chemical classified as toxic or hazardous.

More than a third of the samples gave off one chemical classified as a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the research, published in the journal Environmental Impact Assessment Review. The EPA has set no safe exposure level for possible carcinogens.

Overall, the products tested emitted more than 420 chemicals, but virtually none were disclosed to consumers, said the study's lead author, Anne Steinemann, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington.

"Products with 'organic fragrance,' 'natural fragrance,' and 'essential oils' emitted just as many toxic chemicals," she said. "Basically, if it had any kind of fragrance or scent, it emitted toxic chemicals."

A single "fragrance" in a product can be a mixture of up to several hundred ingredients. But since manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in cosmetics, cleaning supplies, air fresheners or laundry products, the majority of the chemicals are not listed on the labels.

The most common emissions the researchers found included limonene, a compound with a citrus scent; apha-pinene and beta-pinene, compounds with a pine scent; ethanol; and acetone, a solvent found in nail polish remover.

Brand names were not included in the data to avoid leaving the impression that products other than the ones reported in the study were safer. "We found potentially hazardous chemicals in all of the fragranced products we tested," said Steinemann.

While the study confirmed the ubiquitous presence of the chemicals, it doesn't look at whether the products are safe to use. Studies conducted by the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials maintain that the ingredients are safe.

But previous research by Steinemann and a colleague showed that nearly 38 percent of Americans report adverse effects when exposed to some kind of fragranced products. Among asthmatics, such complaints were roughly twice as common.

The Household Product Labeling Act, currently being reviewed by the U.S. Senate, would require manufacturers to list ingredients in air fresheners, soaps, laundry supplies and other consumer products.

For consumers who want to avoid the chemicals, Steinemann suggests going back to basics: Cleaning with vinegar and baking soda, opening windows for ventilation instead of using air fresheners and using products without any fragrance.

But she cautioned that products called "fragrance-free" and "unscented" are not necessarily non-toxic. The chemicals identified in the study could have been part of the added fragrance, the product base, or both; product formulations are confidential so the researchers had no way of discerning the source.

Moreover, even if a product doesn't have a scent, it could still contain chemicals that are classified as toxic.

And as counterintuitive as this sounds, "even a 'fragrance-free'' or 'unscented' product can nonetheless be a fragranced product with the addition of a masking fragrance to cover the scent," she said.

For those of you who have been following this blog or our website at www.eatoils.com you will recognize this as another example of 'Greenwashing' - where someone claims to have 'Green' products and makes green claims yet they are only saying all the right words - not delivering the right products.  If the Green product you are looking at does not include a Green APPROVAL - like GREENER-CHOICE™ then it is not Verified Green.

WorldWare Enterprises Ltd., Manufacturer of EATOILS™ GREENER-CHOICE™  APPROVED GREEN Cleaning products does not use any harmful chemicals in the production of its cleaning and treatment products.  "Our Green cleaning and treatment products continue to be the standard in high performance, non toxic GREEN products by which all others are measured.  If you are looking for a safe, green, yet highly effective cleaning product for your household or industrial application you should seriously consider trying EATOILS™ products - They are your Best Bet."

For more information about our EATOILS™ GREENER-CHOICE™ APPROVED GREEN products come to our website at www.eatoils.com or call our North America-Wide toll free number - 1-866-621-8244 - Customer Service Reps are always ready to answer your questions and to serve you - Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, EASTERN time.

Removing Mold & Mildew From Soft Mexican Brick With EATOILS™ BT200™





Old Mexican Brick Chimney With Mold & Mildew - Before

After Cleaning With EATOILS™ BT200™

If you have ever had to clean a home that has Mexican Brick as its exterior siding, you know it can be very challenging to clean in a safe and efficient manner. Mexican Brick is very soft and brittle, not to mention - very porous, so you need to be very careful not to damage it when you try to remove anything from it with traditional pressure washing equipment and chemicals. When cleaning this type of brick one must be very careful and not apply too much pressure. If too much pressure is applied, the brick can literally break in half and disintegrate into dust.

To get Mexican Brick completely clean you must use a non-hazardous, safe solution that can get into the pores of the brick to REMOVE the mold and mildew completely without damaging the surface or trhe integrity of the brick.  If possible, you want to deep clean the surface and, if possible, to prevent future mold growth.

Most traditional mold & mildew removing chemicals contain toxins or dangerous additives and they only clean the surface mold and mildew at the 'moment of contact'. This leaves tiny spores behind in the pores of the brick that will just begin growing again immediately once the moisture builds up to the right level.

EATOILS™' local distributor in Porter, Texas, Clean and Green Solutions LLC, deals with Mexican Brick on a daily basis.  Recently, they were called out to this home (see Before picture above) to clean all the mold and mildew from the brick. The homeowner had received complaint letters from the local neighborhood homeowners association and he needed to get the home cleaned in order to be in compliance with the association guidelines.

Here is how they did it: Using the EATOILS™ BT200™ Certified GREEN degreaser they mixed the product at 5 ounces of EATOILS™ BT200™ to one gallon of water. Using an X-JET applicator, they applied the diluted EATOILS™ BT200™ to the entire surface of all walls and allowed it to sit for 10 minutes. Then they repeated the application and allowed to it to sit for an additional 20 minutes. They used a total of five gallons of diluted solution, which required 25 ounces of EATOILS™ BT200™.  An X-JET applicator is a nozzle for a Pressure Washer that allows the product to be applied directly to the surface with out being diluted any further. Even though the EATOILS™ BT200™ is a degreaser, it is an excellent product for removing mold and mildew on contact, plus it also can prevent the re-infestation of the mold.

After allowing the EATOILS™ BT200™ to dwell for the times stated, they then used the pressure washer (3500PSI/6 GPM) to remove the mold and mildew stains. However, they used the chemical tip. The chemical tip is normally used to apply solution or chemicals at a very low pressure. This tip actually sprays the water onto the surface with less pressure than a garden hose sprayer that is set on “jet” or “full stream”. Using this tip meant that absolutely NO high pressure was used - ANOTHER AMAZING REASON TO USE EATOILS™ BT200™!

As you can see in the pictures above (Before and After), the brick cleaned up perfectly with no damage to the brick whatsoever. Once all areas were cleaned they re-applied the EATOILS™ BT200™ and left it to dry with NO RINSING. This will provide continuing, ongoing cleaning and mold prevention to help to keep the brick cleaner for a longer period of time.

EATOILS™ BT200™ is a Super Concentrated GREEN degreaser and all purpose cleaner. Once diluted at 5 ounces per gallon, our end user product cost was less than $5.00. Compared to the cost of other products that require dangerous chemicals to do the cleaning, and can damage the surface, EATOILS™ BT200™ stands alone as the best and safest cleaner - yet it remains one of the most economical available on the market today.

EATOILS™ BT200™ degreaser can also be used to remove oil and other automotive stains from equipment, concrete, asphalt and soil. It also a great cleaner for canvas and fabric sunshades, umbrellas, tents, etc. EATOILS™ BT200™ will also remove grease, tar, and oil, from clothing, drapes, carpeting, upholstery and just about any other surface. Plus, it is environmentally friendly - GREENER-CHOICE™ APPROVED GREEN and completely safe for you and your family.

If you are ready to try our BT200™ degreaser we can take you directly to our shopping cart where you can buy some online just click here For more information about our EATOILS™  GREEN products come to our website at www.eatoils.com or call our North America-Wide toll free number - 1-866-621-8244 - Customer Service Reps are always ready to answer your questions and to serve you - Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, EASTERN time.