Season Vol

Msds Sheet – Today And Tomorrow

Visiting my favorite computer support website, I didn’t expect to find information about a common household product like Bounce brand dryer sheets. However, as with many successful internet communities, the function sometimes exceeds its original ambitions. There was a post from September 12th that caught my eye, “Bounce this around” filed in “The Doctor’s Lounge,” (usually reserved for birthday announcements or other off-topic remarks). I was surprised to find the post was written like ad copy for Bounce brand dryer sheets:

Are carpets a source of chemical and biological emissions that contribute to poor indoor air quality. Does carpeting in schools contribute to an increase in respiratory problems, allergies and asthma in schools? Should schools and preschools make use of carpets or kids area rugs in classrooms?

Use them all the time when playing baseball and soccer. It really works. The yellow jackets just veer around you.

The safety and health of our kids are of the utmost importance and therefore the valid concerns raised with regard to the health issues around the use of carpets in schools should be addressed. In this article we will review select studies in order to answer some of the health concerns that are raised concerning the use of carpets in schools.

Carpet Related Findings:
• Studies found that carpet in schools, when properly maintained, did not contribute negatively to indoor air quality (The Case of Charles Young Elementary School Washington).
• Indoor air quality readings tended to be higher over hard surfaces than over carpet (The Case of Charles Young Elementary School Washington).
• Concerns that carpeting in schools is contributing to an increase in respiratory problems, allergies and asthma in schools were found to be unfounded (Hedge, A., 2001.Carpets in schools does not compromise indoor air quality. Cornell Chronicle Vol. 32, No. 28).
• Carpets were found to improve indoor air quality because it captures and holds dirt, contaminants and allergens that would otherwise become airborne (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) Draft Guideline For Environmental Infection Control In Healthcare Facilities, 2003).
• When carpets were banned from schools in Sweden during the late 80′s, asthma rates in children skyrocketed (Shishoo, R.L., A Börjesson, Claims in Sweden that Textile Floor coverings Cause Allergic Reactions In Some People Have Not Been Adequately Proved, Swedish Institute of Fibre and Polymer Research, Carpet and Floor covering Review).
• Carpets accumulate a diverse population of bacteria and fungi that are temporarily reduced following cleaning only to accumulate to a steady level between cleanings.

1. All this time you’ve just been putting Bounce in the dryer! It also repels mice.

2. Spread sheets around foundation areas, or in trailers, or cars that are sitting and it keeps mice from entering your vehicle.

3.

4. It repels mosquitoes.

Cleaning and Hygiene Related Findings:
• The primary objective of all cleaning in schools should be to guard the health of the kids.
• Cleaning should compliment, not replace, basic hygiene practices such as frequent hand washing, surface disinfection, effective waste disposal and management of communicable disease.
• Walk off mats should be placed at entrances to trap pollutants.
• Non-toxic cleaning agents should be used.
• Carpets should be properly cared for and cleaned within regular intervals.
• Clean carpets with daily vacuuming with a high efficiency particulate (HEPA) filter, and monthly hot water extraction.
• Do not use chemicals or soap if possible, as residues of these can be very irritating when airborne.

Benefits of using Carpets in Classrooms:
• Carpets reduce slips and falls.
• Carpets improve acoustics within classrooms thereby improving communication and learning.
• Glare is reduced resulting in improved sight.
• Classrooms fitted with carpets tend to improve student morale and school pride.

Money couldn’t buy advertising like this! My first thought was “What’s in these dryer sheets anyway?” Surely if they repelled insects they must be toxic. So I turned to the chief resource abut the dangers of any household consumable, the Material Safety Data Sheet. Hoping to find something carcinogenic (or at least environmentally unfriendly); I was disappointed when the most serious health warning read: “ingestion of used or unused sheet by a young child or household pet may lead to impaction of the gastrointestinal tract. A physician or veterinarian should be contacted.” So they could potentially cause constipation but obviously the manufacturers weren’t worried about what might happen if you actually digested it.

“Biodegradable fabric softening agents”, whatever those are, are the active chemicals on the sheets. According to the MSDS sheet, if you feed enough of it to rats (more than 1% of their body weight) it will kill them.

By now I was thinking the 21 claims were a bit more dubious. Surely there must be official claims at BounceEverywhere.com, the website for this product. While Procter and Gamble, the owner of the Bounce brand, makes no claim of extraordinary insect fighting ability, some of the posters on the Bounce message boards have. “When in an outdoor area where wasps are a problem, just rub a fresh bounce sheet on your hair, clothing and exposed skin. As I dug further into the posts I found a trend. Dissolve a sheet in water and use it to remove tough burned-on grease in pans, or even wallpaper from the walls! Yes, that’s right, someone posting on BounceEverywhere.com claims to have used bounce to remove wallpaper. Bounce’s official stance on the postings is “We do not edit your comments and therefore are not responsible for the content, or its accuracy.” Having read enough of these outlandish claims, my research took a cynical turn. Surely there must be an unbiased resource for analyzing these claims. So I checked my favorite authority for confirming and debunking modern myths, snopes.com.

You also can study more on Cement Msds and also Solder Msds.

Best of Solid Gold: Season 1 – Vol. 1