Thursday, February 12, 2009

Swiffer?

Hi everyone, pug Momma here. I wanted to let you all know that Dixie cannot WAIT to post, since she got goodies from her boyfriend last night!!! Look forward to that soon. Also, I wanted to ask anyone if they'd gotten this e-mail too- Brian got it and forwarded it to me. Does anyone know if there is any truth to it? Thanks for the comments everyone. Now I'm worried about using my Swiffer Wetjet! Hopefully someone will know if this is true or not.

Warning for parents and pet owners!

I found this interesting and wanted to pass it along.

Recently someone had to have their 5-year old German Shepherd dog put down due to liver failure. The dog was completely healthy until a few weeks ago, so they had a necropsy done to see what the cause was. The liver levels were unbelievable, as if the dog had ingested poison of some kind. The dog is kept inside, and when he's outside, someone's with him, so the idea of him getting into something unknown was hard to believe.

My neighbor started going through all the items in the house. When he got to the Swiffer Wetjet, he noticed, in very tiny print, a warning which stated 'may be harmful to small children and animals.' He called the company to ask what the contents of the cleaning agent are and was astounded to find out that antifreeze is one of the ingredients (actually, he was told it's a compound which is one molecule away from antifreeze). Therefore, just by the dog walking on the floor cleaned with the solution, then licking its own paws, it ingested enough of the solution to destroy its liver.

Soon after his dog's death, his housekeepers' two cats also died of liver failure. They both used the Swiffer Wetjet for quick cleanups on their floors. Necropsies weren't done on the cats, so they couldn't file a lawsuit, but he asked that we spread the word to as many people as possible so they don't lose their animals.

This is equally harmful to babies and small children that play on the floor a lot and put their fingers in their mouths a lot.

UPDATE 2:22pm- Nevis sent me this article on Snopes proving it's not true. HOORAY!

9 comments:

Nevis said...

This is not true. Check out snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

Pug(s) and Bugg said...

THANK GOODNESS!!!! I was hoping someone would find something like this so I can continue Swiffer-ing happily.

Kelly said...

I have wondered about this too!!!!! YAY for it being safe!!

Sandra y Coco Pug said...

safe and clean! (I hate to clean but that swiffer thing sounds ease to use!)

Pug Posse said...

It sounds just like the Febreze warning e-mail which also turned out to be false. It amazes me that some people don't have anything better to do than send out e-mails to make people panic!
Pug hugs and kisses!
The Pug Posse

Nibbles Treats said...

Although this email was not true, I do urge you to pay attention to what products you use to clean with. Remember, our dogs paws walk on the carpet, floor, touch clothing/items washed in the washer, etc. THEN, they lick their paws, ingesting cleaning products. Try to go green when using products. One of my favorite blogs is http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com

Tinkerbell, Oscar and Tucker

Unknown said...

Hey Kelly - glad its not true, but also some advice.....I use a wet jet type thing on my floors also, but instead of purchasing the clorox cleaning agent, I rinse out the container that fits into the handle and fill it with a cleaning agent I buy from a local health food store - I mix it about 1 parts cleaner to 10 parts water. The name of the product is "Ecover" all purpose cleaner. The back of the bottle says "plant based ingredients, not based on petrochemical ingredients" - it's better for the environment and I feel safer about putting it on a floor that Clementine licks the entire surface of daily.
It also works - it gets the floor clean and is more economical than big brand cleaners since you have to use so little of it.

Murphy Dogg said...

My Mama swiffers too, but she does the same thing that Rachel does. She fills the bottle with some other stuff, but I think she does it less to save the earth or whatever and more cause she's cheap.
Don't tell her I said that.
C-ya,
Murphy Dogg
P.S. Can't wait to see how my Dixie likes her V-Day prezzies!

Puglette said...

hooray for nevis! we use a wet jet too and have not had any troubles.
hugs,
puglette
:o)