Household cleaning "erasers" may cause chemical burns
Categories: Just for moms, Kids 5-7, Health & safety, Playground bureau
In an email exchange of gross blog posts between my blogging buddies, the topic changed to the "You should know this" category. I was directed to one of my favourite bloggers, Ms. Kerflop, or the blogger formerly known as Very Mom.
Now before I explain the photo on the right, I don't want anyone making Ms. Kerflop feel bad. Please put yourself in her shoes and acknowledge that something similar has probably happened on your watch. Glass houses, stones and all that. I'm merely sharing this because it's a public safety issue. So behave.
Her adorable five-year-old son likes to help clean up. My Nate, at 22 months, has the same tendency. He will grab a wet cloth and try to wipe off marker stains from his mini Ikea desk and chairs. Ms. Kerflop's son, like many of us who like to get things really clean, has a penchant for Scotchbrite Easy Eraser or Mr. Clean Magic Erase cleaning pads. His mum was probably overjoyed that her son had fun cleaning. Who wouldn't be?
He knew not to eat them. He knew to keep them away from his younger siblings. What Ms. Kerflop, and I suspect most of the general population, did not know was how severe the chemicals in the sponge-type erasers were. There were no warnings of skin irritations on the packaging.
What followed after her son rubbed the pad on his face and chin sounds traumatic. Enough to turn any kid off cleaning ever again. Read her full account of the mishap here.
Mr. Clean is now putting an advisory on their product, and 3M should be looking into it since Ms. Kerflop contacted them about her case.
Have any of you had a similar experience with this type of cleaning product?
Now before I explain the photo on the right, I don't want anyone making Ms. Kerflop feel bad. Please put yourself in her shoes and acknowledge that something similar has probably happened on your watch. Glass houses, stones and all that. I'm merely sharing this because it's a public safety issue. So behave.
Her adorable five-year-old son likes to help clean up. My Nate, at 22 months, has the same tendency. He will grab a wet cloth and try to wipe off marker stains from his mini Ikea desk and chairs. Ms. Kerflop's son, like many of us who like to get things really clean, has a penchant for Scotchbrite Easy Eraser or Mr. Clean Magic Erase cleaning pads. His mum was probably overjoyed that her son had fun cleaning. Who wouldn't be?
He knew not to eat them. He knew to keep them away from his younger siblings. What Ms. Kerflop, and I suspect most of the general population, did not know was how severe the chemicals in the sponge-type erasers were. There were no warnings of skin irritations on the packaging.
What followed after her son rubbed the pad on his face and chin sounds traumatic. Enough to turn any kid off cleaning ever again. Read her full account of the mishap here.
Mr. Clean is now putting an advisory on their product, and 3M should be looking into it since Ms. Kerflop contacted them about her case.
Have any of you had a similar experience with this type of cleaning product?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ethel 11-03-2006 @ 4:09PM
That is NOT a chemical burn! Idiots.
The poor child erased his skin... that is what the melamine sponges do, scour off the top layers of whatever material they are applied to, skin is relatively soft in comparison to tile or counter tops so it gave easily. Plus since it feels soft he didn't stop.
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LB 11-03-2006 @ 4:44PM
Poor things! I am terrified of those erasers. I totally thought they were made of some asbestos-like material or silcone or something. I have used them but they freak me out. I vaccum after use..I mean what IS IT? where does it go?? I would never let my kids use one.
Also with inflamation like that I suggest Motrin instead of Tylenol, should anyone find themselves in a similar situation.
Speedy recovery to the little dude-
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Tina 11-03-2006 @ 5:22PM
So many things seem harmless when they are not. The lesson learned here is that we should never assume anything when it comes to our kids. My ex used to let my son "help" him pump gas when my son was about 6 or 7. I freaked out because the vapors are huge carcinogens! Now, most gas pumps have warnings about kids not using the pumps- but this was a decade ago. As far as this stuff- shame on the company for not having any warnings. They should pay big for that!
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Sharon 11-03-2006 @ 5:35PM
I've used those erasers many times. I've looked for an ingredient list, but have never found one! Who knows what's in those (tho they do work like "Magic").
I've been reading a book about environmentally safe cleaning methods - its really scary how dangerous household cleaning products are. Even when not in use and locked away, the chemical fumes can emanate thru the plastic bottles & get in the air in the house, and be absorbed by our bodies. Much less what they do directly to the environment when they go down the drain.
Hope the kid's okay now!
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Uncle Roger 11-03-2006 @ 5:35PM
Might be worth contacting the CPSC (http://www.cpsc.gov/) to let them know about it. They can look into it and make sure that even less conscientious mfrs label their products appropriately.
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Uncle Roger 11-03-2006 @ 5:35PM
Gee, Ethel, it sure is nice to have a resident pediatrician-slash-chemist-slash-psychic diagnostician on hand!
From what I read in the linked article, it sure as heck sounds like a chemical burn to me. Apparently it did to the poison control people too.
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Amber 11-03-2006 @ 9:53PM
Sad to read so many folks blindly brought these products into their home without researching what the product contained. The old adage applies, if it's too good to be true, then it probably is. Glad to see Ms. Kerflop enlightening folks.
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Eden 11-03-2006 @ 11:31PM
I love the Magic Eraser and Magic Eraser mop. I store them with all my cleaning products, in a locked cabinet. The mop hangs out of reach on a hook. Naturally kids are going to get into exactly what you try to keep them away from but it's really not the fault of the product for doing what it's supposed to.
And there is no ingredient info on Magic Eraser products. Believe me I've looked. So there's no way the parent would have been able to guess what the "magic" was. Most people wouldn't even think about how it was working. I agree with Ethel.
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Christine 11-03-2006 @ 11:31PM
This is not a chemical burn. There are no chemicals in the magic eraser type products. I have read the package over and over because I got burns too. They're just really, really, really, really abrasive. That's why you're not supposed to use them on certain surfaces. I myself have had similar "burns" on my hands after overusing a magic eraser, but it is not chemical, it's like an extremely painful exfoliation. It was developed in Europe and licensed to the US companies, so it's a very new concept and yes, does seem too good to be true, but it is true, there are no chemicals in here. I hate to see this product get a bad reputation from the wrong information, because I think if properly used it's one of the better, safer products out there precisely because there are no chemicals needed to quickly wipe up hard to clean stains.
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kerflop 11-04-2006 @ 12:27PM
Ethel & others - from what I've been told and researched, the pads are abrasive, we can see from the scabbing the wounds now look more like skinned knees than they did at the get go (red, raw, with small blisters and swelling). But there is a chemical burn factor as well. The products are an 8 - 10 alkaline or "base" which certainly can cause a chemical burn on the skin. So I think it's a combination of both. Abrasiveness and a burn. Either way, not pleasant.
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thordora 11-05-2006 @ 9:49PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_eraser
http://corporate.basf.com/en/stories/wipo/fruehjahrsputz/story.htm?id=V00-Rk1tq9Vohbcp1Go
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mama-beans 11-06-2006 @ 2:46AM
Hmmm. when you go to the Mr.Clean webiste it says this:
Question
Does Mr. Clean Magic Eraser contain a cleaning solution?
Answer
No, it doesn't. That's what's so great about it! It's made of a soft material that cleans with just water alone. Pretty neat, even if we do say so ourselves.
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Serena 11-07-2006 @ 11:08AM
*Snip*
At first, I thought he was being dramatic. I picked him up, put him on the counter top and washed his face with soap and water. He was screaming in pain. I put some lotion on his face - more agony. I had used a Magic Eraser to remove magic marker from my own knuckles a while back and I couldn’t understand why he was suddenly in pain. Then, almost immediately, the large, shiny, blistering red marks started to spread across his cheeks and chin.
Comments:
The mother states that when her child complained of irritation she washed his face with soap and water. Soap would make the irritated skin sting in it's own right...but then she went on to add "Lotion" to the mix. I can pretty much guarentee that the soap and the lotion had some sort of chemical in them. At the very least they sting when placed in an abrasion.
The mother also states that the redness and "blistery appearance" didn't occur until after she had cleaned and lotioned.
My conclusion: The eraser may have scoured the skin but I'm fairly certain that it was the products used afterwards that lead to the final, shocking visual outcome.
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kerflop 11-09-2006 @ 10:59PM
Serena,
It's an interesting thought, but the Poison Control also suggested first washing with soap and water, then beginning the irrigation process.
I have received over 80 e-mails from individuals who either used an Eraser product on themselves (adults), used the eraser on their child (not knowing it was harmful), or having their child use it on themselves. All have experienced these burns/abrasions without using soap and water right after or applying lotion though many tried different antibiotic creams or ointments, some called Poison Control immediately and went right to the water hydration.
I'm not saying the soap and lotion didn't exacerbate the problem, but I certainly don't think it was the entire problem by any means.
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kerflop 11-09-2006 @ 11:06PM
thodora - the wikipedia article says "no added chemicals" a foam product, from what I understand, can still be an acid, neutral, or an alkaline - and the Scotchbrite Easy Erasing Pad I used had an alkaline of an 8 - 10. Even water is technically a chemical. I'm not claiming to be an expert, I'm learning about this as I go, trying to understand what happened to my son's skin.
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kerflop 11-10-2006 @ 5:06PM
There has been an update to the original story, you can find it here: http://kerflop.com/2006/11/10/chemical-burn-abrasion-update/
It discusses some of the oft asked questions about the chemical nature of the Easy Erasing Pads (and Magic Eraser) your readers may be interested in.
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Smitty 11-17-2006 @ 5:41PM
I'd like to add a little clarification to all of this. Almost all materials on earth have a measurable PH. PH is the measure of an objects acidity/alkalinity or neutrality. The sponge needn't contain any additional cleaning chemicals to have an overly alkalinic PH, the melamine foam itself has an 8-10 PH. 8 being more to the neutral side of the scale and 10 being more alkaline. Even your tap water can be more acidic or alkalinic than a typically "neutral" level. As with acids (lower PH levels), products that have PHs higher on the scale (alkaline) can cause severe burns. These burns are no doubt intensified as the alkaline material can affect the flesh below the skin once the melamine abrades the outer layer of skin, and at a microscopic level is HIGHLY abrasive. This incident is not isolated by any measure and should certainly be addressed by the companies marketing these sponges. Ms. Kerflop, thank you sincerely for taking the time to post what happened to your son for the benefit of our children. As a father of 3 my heart goes out to you and him and I hope all is well now.
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Julie 11-20-2007 @ 5:33PM
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/calgary/features/health_beat/story.html?id=58c8e1e1-3cf6-48b5-b3ee-c3c97e93ba5a
Don't be worried about your magic erasers people. Although I wouldn't dare let my child use one cuz after all, as they say, it is a household cleaner and SHOULD be TREATED like one!
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Lisa 11-23-2007 @ 5:26PM
Dear Kerflop,
As a mother all I can say is I'm so sorry that your little one has gone through what he has over something the manufacturer should have put a warning on. After having read your story I no longer use the product "I don't care how well it works or that they claim it to be safe!" It is not even allowed in my house. And to those who have something negative to say...Are you people even parents????? Cause if you were you wouldn'tbe siding with the people who make these products!
I pray that your son has no long standing effects of this!
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Lisa 11-23-2007 @ 5:28PM
I forgot to mention Hey Ethel I'm going to lower myself to your "level" and say SHUT UP!
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