Can household products be dangerous to my family or me?
Paint, cleaning, and cosmetic products all contain chemicals. Chemicals can be released while you are using them, and in some cases, when they are stored. We do not know much about the health effects of chemicals from household products after a person is exposed to them. Many of these products are known to cause cancer in animals and some are thought or known to cause cancer in humans.
To help keep you and your family safe, follow these tips:
- Follow label instructions carefully. Products that can be dangerous often have warnings. For example, if a label says to use the product in a well-ventilated area, use it outdoors or in areas with an exhaust fan, or open up windows to provide as much air as you can.
- Safely throw out containers of old or unneeded products. Gases can even leak from closed containers.
- Store chemicals in well-ventilated areas and safely out of the reach of children.
- Buy only as much as you need. If you use products—such as paints—only once in a while, buy only what you will use right away.
- Properly use paint strippers and other products that contain methylene chloride. Methylene chloride is known to cause cancer in animals. Also, when present in the body, it causes symptoms similar to carbon monoxide poisoning. When you can, only use these products outdoors. When using them indoors, keep the area where they are being used well-ventilated.
- Be careful with your newly dry-cleaned clothes. Percholoroethylene or perc is the chemical most widely used in dry cleaning. It is known to cause cancer in animals. In homes where dry-cleaned clothes are kept and as they are worn, people may breathe in low levels of perc. Don't accept your dry-cleaning if it has a strong chemical odor when you pick it up. Insist that dry-cleaned clothes be properly dried.
