Household Cleaning

1,4-Dioxane is an unintentional manufacturing contaminant generated during the ethoxylation process used to make surfactants in foaming cleaning products and shampoos. It is not an added ingredient and will not appear…

Ammonia is a pungent alkaline gas used as a cleaning agent in glass cleaners, multi-purpose sprays, floor polishes, and oven cleaners. While effective at cutting through grease and leaving streak-free glass surfaces, …

Household chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is one of the most widely used domestic cleaning agents. While bleach itself is a highly reactive oxidiser, the greater long-term concern lies in the volatile byproducts…

Chlorinated solvents — primarily dichloromethane (DCM, methylene chloride), trichloroethylene (TCE), and perchloroethylene (PERC) — are powerful degreasers used in paint strippers, oven cleaners, stain removers, and e…

Schools are cleaned daily using commercial-grade products that differ significantly from domestic equivalents in both concentration and application volume. Caretaking staff apply disinfectants, floor cleaners, toilet …

D-Limonene is a naturally occurring terpene derived from citrus peel, widely used in "natural" and "eco" cleaning products as a solvent, fragrance, and degreaser. Despite its natural origin and pleasant smell, it is a…

Diethanolamine (DEA) is a viscous liquid used as a pH adjuster, emulsifier, and foam booster in liquid cleaning products and personal care items. DEA itself has low acute toxicity, but reacts with nitrite-containing p…

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is a biocide — not a dye or plastic additive — that was used as an anti-mould preservative in small sachets placed inside furniture and shoe packaging to prevent mould growth during long sea sh…

Ethanolamines — primarily monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), and triethanolamine (TEA) — are a family of alkanolamines used as pH adjusters, emulsifiers, and surfactant components across a wide range of hou…

Crease-resistant, easy-care, wrinkle-free, and permanent-press cotton textiles owe their performance to N-methylol resin finishes — compounds that cross-link cellulose fibres to prevent wrinkle formation. These resins…

Galaxolide is a polycyclic synthetic musk — one of the most widely used fragrance compounds in the world. It has documented estrogenic activity, bioaccumulates in human tissue, and has been detected in breast milk and…

Glycol ethers are a family of solvents widely used in cleaning products, paints, varnishes, inks, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical formulations. They fall into two groups: the E-series (ethylene glycol-based, including 2…

Methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and its chlorinated analogue methylchloroisothiazolinone (CMIT) are synthetic biocide preservatives that became ubiquitous in cleaning products, cosmetics, and wet wipes during the 2000s an…

Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are nonionic surfactants widely used in textile manufacturing as wetting agents, detergents, and emulsifiers during dyeing, scouring, and finishing processes. Though banned from use in E…

Optical brighteners — also called fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) — are synthetic UV-absorbing compounds added to laundry detergents to make white fabrics appear brighter and whiter by converting ultraviolet light…

Optical brightening agents (OBAs), also called fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs), are synthetic compounds added to white and light-coloured textiles, laundry detergents, and paper to make them appear whiter and brig…

Phosphates — primarily sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) — were the backbone of dishwasher and laundry detergent formulations for decades, acting as water softeners, builders, and food-soil dispersants. They were banned …

Every washing machine cycle involving synthetic clothing releases hundreds of thousands of microplastic fibres into wastewater — a single synthetic garment can shed more than 700,000 fibres per wash. These fibres — pr…

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or "quats") are a large family of synthetic antimicrobial chemicals used as disinfectants, preservatives, and surfactants. They are found in kitchen sprays, bathroom disinfectants, …

Fabric conditioners (softeners) achieve their softening effect by depositing a thin layer of quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) onto fibre surfaces during the rinse cycle — these positively charged molecules adsorb…

Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) is the most widely used synthetic surfactant in foaming consumer products — dish soaps, washing-up liquids, laundry detergents, shampoos, and toothpastes. It is an anionic surfactant that …

The ingredient declaration "fragrance" or "parfum" is a legally protected trade secret that can conceal up to several hundred individual chemicals under a single listing. The EU requires disclosure of 26 known allerge…

Synthetic musks are a diverse group of fragrance chemicals used to impart a lasting musky scent to fabric softeners, laundry detergents, cleaning products, and personal care items. The older nitromusk class (including…

When terpene compounds from scented cleaning products, air fresheners, and essential oil diffusers react with ozone inside the home, they generate a cocktail of secondary pollutants including formaldehyde, acetaldehyd…

Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent once ubiquitous in soaps, toothpastes and kitchen products. It was banned from rinse-off products in the US in 2016 and from most EU cosmetics in 2014, but remains in …

Hotel rooms are a concentrated source of indoor VOC exposure — they are routinely cleaned with multiple chemical products, sprayed with room fresheners and fabric disinfectants between guests, and contain furniture, c…