Laurel wrote:
>Someone was asking about cleaning for smells; I've found that citrus
>based cleaners... with just a few drops of tea tree oil added in a spray
>bottle works very well... (much safer than bleach, which is highly
>carcinogenic)
 
So I being the "curious George" that I am and having never heard that
bleach would cause cancer, emailed my dad who is, among other things, a
chemist.  I expressed to him my concern that I was so susceptible to cancer
now because I use Clorox to clean everything and I work with young children
also where we use tons of bleach daily.  I sent him Laurel's email and this
was his response:
 
Shell..Peanut Butter is carcinogenic also if injected under the skin..
Limonene-D is a great cleaner,degreaser,odor killer and maybe disinfectant.
Tea Tree oil has a lot of good properties.  It is really turpentine from
the Tea tree.  If taken internally, i would suggest that it will probably
make one sick.
 
The chlorine being released from bleach is what you have to be careful with.
We drink chlorinated water every day and yes something like 20 people per
million over their life time will get kidney cancer..How many people were we
losing to Cholera and etc. before we started using bleach??  I'll take the
trade off percentage.  I heard a person on the radio the other day telling
a caller to use baking soda as a cleaner instead of using some chemical.
Oh well, i guess i'll take a Rolaid for my heartburn rather than some
chemical..
 
BIG, my apologies here for drifting off ferrets somewhat, but my concern
here is that people who may have been using bleach as their disinfectant of
choice might not now because of slightly incorrect information regarding the
proper usage of bleach.  Bleach is safe for cleaning if your ferrets aren't
in the direct path of being bleached and the bleach is wiped up not left
damp or wet.  Bleach is safe if it's not ingested.  I prefer bleach.  I want
to know beyond a shadow of doubt that the bacteria that were in the little
ferret presents in the corners are ALL gone.
 
OK....I'm ready! Flame me :)
 
Shelli
Onyx, Borax, and Mac
[Posted in FML issue 2266]