When you think floor cleaners, the image of brightly coloured bottles with varying germ-kill claims on their labels pop up right away, don't they? Over the years, disinfectant floor cleaner brands have become a household name and are hugely popular.

The cleaning performance of these is made possible by chemicals. We are usually oblivious to the fact that these disinfectant floor cleaners can have chemicals that are really harmful to us because we don’t consider that to be a possibility. After all, these cleaning products are being sold several big brands. But unfortunately, that is not the case.

The ingredient in these cleaners:

Now let’s find out some facts about our favourite floor cleaner.

The active ingredient is often Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC). It is an ammonium compound for cleansers and detergents. Effective as it may be for cleaning purposes, it can be highly toxic.

It can cause various health concerns in humans as well as animals.

Prolonged exposure to BAC has been known to cause allergen contact dermatitis (ACD), skin irritation and other skin problems. It can also lead to respiratory disorders. As per research, BAC is linked to pulmonary toxicity and inflammation in various animal studies because the lungs can act as a reservoir of BAC and so, a target organ for BAC toxicity.

What raises concern when using this product is the fact that it does a highly important job in keeping our homes clean. Mopping the floor is a daily routine for most everyone. It has become even more crucial post COVID. Non-rinse formulas can leave residue on the surfaces. Even if direct contact is avoided, it can still affect you.

Infants and kids are most at risk because they’re likely to be all over the floor after it has been ‘cleaned’. And pets, whom we often forget about. BAC can be harmful to pets just the same.

By coming in contact with their bare skin when rolling on the floor and going into the body when they sneakily eat something off the floor, this ingredient can easily be ingested.

Synthetic dyes are dangerous too

We love our brightly coloured floor cleaners so much that there is now a natural association between the colour and the fragrance which most of us can easily recall. But this bright colour is a big thumbs down for safety. 

The colour in these floor cleaners comes from synthetic dyes. They don’t serve any other purpose in the cleaner apart from giving it a distinctive colour. While it is great for increasing the attractiveness of the product so that people buy it off the shelves, these synthetic dyes are very harmful for our health. Various synthetic dyes have been linked to cancer, heavy metals in them can harm the nervous system. The worst part about this is that the colour adds nothing to its effectiveness!

How to be safe

One way of avoiding exposure to BAC is the use of protective wear, like gloves, while cleaning. But, as already mentioned, it does not guarantee anything as once the floor cleaner is left on the floor there still remains a high risk of getting in contact with the harmful chemicals.

The best way to go would be to adopt a floor cleaner that’s not full of toxic chemicals. And there are options out there!

Koparo Floor Cleaner is plant powered and hence doesn’t have any harmful chemicals like ammonia, bleach or phosphates. It is BAC free and uses no artificial dyes. Opt for a gentler floor cleaner that cleans just as well without the toxic chemicals.

Source:

1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319558791_Benzalkonium_Chloride_An_Irritant_and_Sensitizer

2. https://particleandfibretoxicology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12989-020-0339-8#:~:text=Some%20studies%20have%20reported%20respiratory,3%2C%2021%2C%2022%5D

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6594094/