What Are Some Fabric Softener Hazards - The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

Dangers of Fabric Softener - Airing the Dirty Laundry
frequently asked questions and answers about Downy Fabric Softener dangers. A visitor to Home Air Purifier Expert.com wrote: "I'm very happy to have run across your website as I was trying to find out what chemicals are in Downy fabric softener sheets and what the potential damage of these chemicals is. Our next-door neighbor does laundry EVERY day and uses Downy. The sickening sweet stench from this product suffuses our yard and patio and drives us in the house where we have to keep the doors closed. The stink is nauseating but the worst consequence is that our grand-daughter, who has multiple chemical sensitivities, cannot come over. So far our neighbors are continuing to use it daily despite our requests. It would help our argument a great deal if I could give them some evidence that the chemicals might also damage them. Thank you for any help."

Fabric Softener making your Laundry Room Hazardous?

Thank you for your question about the dangers of fabric softeners and dryer sheets. Indeed, there is much evidence of people having a reaction to fabric softener such as rash and respiratory difficulty.

I did some research using the NIH's Household Products Database to try and find out any specific harmful ingredients in Downey Fabric Softener Sheets which are manufactured by Procter & Gamble.

Below is an excerpt from the Material Safety Data Sheet for Downy Fabric Softener.

Manufacturer: Procter & Gamble Co.
Address: P.O. Box 599
City: Cincinnati
State: OH
Zip Code: 45201
Telephone Number: 513-983-1100
Fax Number: 513-562-4500
Toll Free Number: 800-543-7270

Warning from Product Label: None
Acute Health Effects: From MSDS
Inhalation: None given Eye Contact: Mild eye irritant. Instillation into the eye may result in transient superficial effects similar to those produced by mild toilet soap. Skin Contact: Mild skin irritant. Prolonged skin contact may result in transient superficial effects similar to those produced by mild toilet soap. Ingestion: Oral ingestion may result in mild gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. 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. Medical Conditions Generally Aggravated by Exposure: None known.
Chronic Health Effects: MSDS: None given
Carcinogenicity: The manufacturer's Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) provides no information about carcinogenicity.
Health Rating: N
Flammability Rating: N
Reactivity Rating: N
HMIS Rating Scale: 0 = Minimal; 1 = Slight; 2 = Moderate; 3 = Serious; 4 = Severe; N = No information provided by manufacturer; * = Chronic Health Hazard MSDS Date: 1995-07-01

Here is the Downy liquid fabric softener website contact page by Procter and Gamble Co. in case you'd like to contact them directly with any questions about their Downy products.

There is nothing really alarming that jumps out at me. It's all pretty generic. Often times specific ingredients are not listed for household products, as seems to be the case here. Many times chemical ingredients fall under the broad umbrella of the "trade secret" classification, thus you will be hard pressed to identify them specifically. "Biodegradeable Fabric Softening Agents", "frangrances", and "perfumed" are terms general in nature and usually indicate a cocktail of specific chemical compounds. Here is the full Downey liquid fabric softener MSDS - All Varieties: (Mountain Spring, April Fresh, Clean Breeze, Simple Pleasures � Vanilla and Lavender, Simple Pleasures - Water Lily and Jasmine, Simple Pleasures - Rose and Violet).

I did not find any really alarming warnings in the full Downey liquid fabric softener MSDS either. However, some harmful "trade secret protected" ingredients in other household products containing fragrances and perfumes may include the following potentially toxic chemicals. These chemicals may contribute to dangers of fabric softener and dryer sheets ...

Alpha-TERPINEOL -- Causes CNS disorders ... "highly irritating to mucous membranes"... "Aspiration into the lungs can produce pneumonitis or even fatal edema." Can also cause "excitement, ataxia (loss of muscular coordination), hypothermia, CNS and respiratory depression, and headache." "Prevent repeated or prolonged skin contact."

BENZYL ACETATE -- Carcinogenic (linked to pancreatic cancer). "From vapors: irritating to eyes and respiratory passages, exciting cough." "In mice: hyperaemia of the lungs." "Can be absorbed through the skin causing systemic effects." "Do not flush to sewer."

BENZYL ALCOHOL -- Causes CNS disorders. "...irritating to the upper respiratory tract" ... "headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drop in blood pressure, CNS depression, and death in severe cases due to respiratory failure."

CAMPHOR -- Causes CNS disorders. On EPA's Hazardous Waste list. Symptoms: "local irritant and CNS stimulant" ..."readily absorbed through body tissues" ..."irritation of eyes, nose and throat" ..."dizziness, confusion, nausea, twitching muscles and convulsions." "Avoid inhalation of vapors."

CHLOROFORM -- Neurotoxic. Anesthetic. Carcinogenic. On EPA's Hazardous Waste list. "Avoid contact with eyes, skin, clothing. Do not breathe vapors ... Inhalation of vapors may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, irritation of respiratory tract and loss of consciousness." "Inhalation can be fatal." "Chronic effects of overexposure may include kidney and/or liver damage." "Medical conditions generally aggravated by exposure: kidney disorders, liver disorders, heart disorders, skin disorders." "Conditions to avoid: HEAT..." Listed on California's Propostion 65.

ETHYL ACETATE -- Narcotic. On EPA's Hazardous Waste list. "...irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract" ..."may cause headache and narcosis (stupor)" ..."may cause anemia with leukocytosis and damage to liver and kidneys" "Wash thoroughly after handling."

LIMONENE -- Carcinogenic. "Prevent its contact with skin or eyes because it is an irritant and sensitizer." "Always wash thoroughly after using this material and before eating, drinking, ...applying cosmetics. Do not inhale limonene vapor."

LINALOOL -- Narcotic. Causes CNS disorders. ..."respiratory disturbances" ... "Attracts bees." "In animal tests: ataxic gait, reduced spontaneous motor activity and depression ... depressed heart activity ... development of respiratory disturbances leading to death."

PENTANE -- "Danger -- Harmful if inhaled; extremely flammable. Keep away from heat and Avoid breathing vapor." "Inhalation of vapors may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, drowsiness, irritation of respiratory tract and loss of consciousness. Repeated inhalation of vapors may cause central nervous system depression. Contact can cause eye irritation. Prolonged exposure may cause dermatitis (skin rash)."

As far as the actual product package labeling goes, the United States of America Federal Code of Regulations (USA FCR: Section 1910.1200C, Title 29, Section 1500.82 2Q1A) exempts manufacturers from full labeling of products if used for personal, family or household care. So keep that in mind when trying to determine the hazards of other household products as well. They often don't make it easy.

Bottom line though, no matter what a corporation tells you (or doesn't because they don't have too), I've learned to err on the side of caution by elliminating potentially toxic store-bought products and replacing them with safer natural alternatives. Here is an extensive list of home made recipes for common household products.

Home made fabric softener and dryer sheets can be easily and cheaply made from basic safe building blocks like vinegar and natural scented oils. Unfortunately, I suspect you'd have a tough time convincing your laundry zealous neighbors to change to a natural fabric softener or a homemade fabric softener sheet. But just in case here's some ideas that others have found cheap, safe, and effective as homemade fabric softner and dryer sheet substitutes...

Home Made Fabric Softener Recipes and Substitutes

A few balls of aluminum foil put in the dryer with clothes will remove static cling (the metal disappates the charges which build up from the friction between fabrics as they tumble in the dryer). Home Physics, you gotta love it! It really works.

You can also add some vinegar to the final rinse cycle. No the clothes will not smell like vinegar when done washing. But for extra scent you can also add 10-20 drops of essential oils like eucalyptus, frankincense, lemon, or lavender. The vinegar will greatly reduce leftover soap residues in clothes after washing, thus making them softer.

Use a cup of vinegar in the rinse and a 1/2 cup of baking soda in the wash with detergent. It makes the clothes soft and more absorbant because they don't have the soap residues that cause fabrics to be stiffer. Also abscent will be the wax residues from store-bought fabric softener that usually ends up coating fibers.

Yet another homemade fabric softener recipe: In a recycled gallon sized vinegar Jug combine 2 cups baking soda and 2 cups distilled white vinegar. When mixture finishes foaming add 4 cups of hot water and essential oils to desired strength - 20 drops each of lavender and lemon works well. Shake before each use and add about 1 cup for large loads in the rinse cycle.

Chemical substitution and ellimination is particularly recommended considering that Scientists are now discovering much evidence to suggest that synergistic toxicological effects may result when the complex Biochemical pathways of the human metabolism are combined with even trace levels of multitudes of man-made chemical compounds found in many common household products. By "synergy" I mean that the longterm harmful effects may be worse than the sum of the effects of the parts. A good example - the mysterious modern-day epidemics of Autism in children, or breast cancer in women, and prostate cancer in men. All of these chronic diseases are increasingly being linked to environmental causes such as multiple chemical exposures and the complex interactions (such as endocrine disruption) they produce in the human body.

It's too bad most people (your neighbors included) have not yet caught on to how important it is to elliminate all potentially toxic man-made chemical "convenience products" whenever practical. And that means most store-bought household chemical products in my opinion. Downy Fabric Softener Sheets is an excellant example of a product that is not needed - a chemical-based convenience product that can and I believe should be elliminated to save money and help create a healthy home environment. However, it's always a difficult situation when you share air with others who are ambivalent about the chemicals they may be introducing into the environment. In the world of corporations this is called "externalizing costs" and is often not done quite so mindlessly or innocently by those corporations - especially given an intent focus on the bottom line and an existance solely for profit. Don't get me started! LOL

Two of my pet peaves on a local level are trash burning and pesticides used liberally by most homeowners for their lawns and gardens. I once got a very serious case of chemical-induced Bronchitis (the sickest I've ever been in my whole life) as a result of my neighbors burning a large pile of plastic Halloween decorations and other trash during a particularly stagnant weather pattern (foggy with no wind) which filled the neighborhood air (including that in my home) with a putride chemical odor likely laden with Benzene, Styrene Oxide, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Formaldehyde, Furans, Carbon Monoxide, and worst of all Dioxins (one of the most toxic substances known to science) to name but a few of the highly poisonous air pollutants given off when plastics are burned.

Often local ordinances don't offer much protection from such "small-scale", non-industrial point of source emmisions. However, regulations have in the last several years been strengthened in some areas because studies have shown that emmisions from common household products is often second only to tail-pipe emmisions for contributing to urban smog formation. The main culprits are fluorocarbons, ethanol, butane, acetone, phenols and xylene.

As far as your neighbors' chemical use goes, you can be sure there is nothing in this or any other cleaning, laundry, ect product that will benefit you if you breath the fumes from them - as your grand daughter can attest based on the fabric softener effects on her. Any reaction to Downy fabric softener is likely an indication of a sensitivity to one or more of its chemical ingredients - whether the MSDS verifies it's there or not, or hazardous or not. You should ask your neighbors if they have ever suffered from symptoms like burning eyes, dry cough, sinus irritation, or headache that seems to go away when they leave their house. If so they may be suffering from Sick Building Syndrome, possibly one of the dangers of fabric softeners and dryer sheets being extensively used by them.

There is very little toxicological testing done on new chemicals in household products - so who knows what hazards may truelly exist? I would not want to breathe these fumes at all, especially on a daily basis. I try not to be a human guinea pig whenever possible;^) I don't blame you for your frustration especially given your grand daughter's Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. People with MCS are like chemical Mine Canaries and react to much lower levels of harmful chemicals in the air than most people.

If you want assistance in mitigating the airborne fumes I would consider contacting your local DHEC or local EPA offic. The EPA can determine if an environmental violation was made, and give you contacts for more information about the other routes of action you may be able to take. If your neighbors are conducting unpermitted industrial activity the EPA will help. There may also be local ordinances or zoning regulations that may offer protection if they are trying to run a laundry business in a residential neighborhood for example.

A complaint can also be filed with your loacl Air Quality Management or Air Resources agencies in your area.

I am curious to know why they are washing clothes every day? They are either living a very wasteful lifestyle or they are operating a laundering business out the home. Either way, the dryer exhaust may be a problem for more than just your family. There is power in numbers so another suggestion might be to find others in the area who have complaints about those same dryer fumes and fragrance odors. Form a coalition of those who may help to "air their dirty laundry".

To report what you feel may be an unsafe product based on any symptoms, I also encourage you to file a statement at the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website. The CPSC is interested to know about the public's complaints about fabric softeners and may also direct you to helpful resources.

PERC (Perchloroethylene, used in dry cleaning), petroleum derived cleaning chemicals, and household chemical fragrances from laundry mats and dry cleaning facilities has become a growing public health concern. The dryer exhaust from laundrymats, dry cleaning businesses, and local laundry cleaners has been known to permeate entire neighborhoods causing health problems for those with respiratory illnesses, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, fragrance allergies, and Asthma. Your family is not alone.

One last tip. If a fabric softening product is sold as "Green", it MUST NOT CONTAIN PETROCHEMICAL-DERIVED FRAGRANCE. So maybe you could drop your neighbors a eco-freindly hint or get them a sample of "green fabric softener" to show how serious you are about this problem.

I hope this information helps you reduce the fabric softener dangers so your grand daughter and others can breathe easier. Don't hesitate to let me know if you need any further assistance.

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