Nowadays, there are a number of cleaning agents you can purchase from stores to clean your house with – laundry detergents, oven cleaners, floor cleaners, toilet cleaners, etc.
While these might be useful, as a dog parent, you need to always put the health of your pup first. Your pup can often swallow these harmful chemicals and the results can be disastrous to their health. Even if he doesn’t orally ingest the chemicals, he can still be affected by them externally.
Here is a list of commonly found cleaning agents that are not dog safe and that you should avoid purchasing at all cost.
Ammonia is one of the most popular household cleaning agents. In fact, it is the single most commonly produced chemicals in all of the United States.
Ammonia is one of the most toxic chemicals for your dog. For starters, it can irritate your pup’s respiratory system, causing breathing difficulties. It can also cause your pup’s throat to burn severely, as well as irritation in your pup’s nose.
Furthermore, close exposure to the chemical can make your dog’s eyes and skin burn as well. If on the perchance, your pup licks it, his mouth, stomach and throat will all burn.
The best thing you can do for your furry friend is to avoid using cleaning agents that contain ammonia. Typically, hardwood floor cleaners, window cleaners, oven cleaners, and steel cleaners tend to comprise of a high ammonia composition.
If you use any of these products to clean your house regularly, your dog is most likely being exposed to these harmful chemicals, in some form or the other. Let’s say you cleaned your floor with a hardwood floor cleaner. When your pup sleeps on the wooden floor, his skin will be exposed to all of these harmful chemicals.
So the next time, before you purchase any cleaning products, make sure that you carefully read the ingredient list, to make sure they do not contain ammonia.
Certain cleaning products claim to be ‘all-natural’ but do in fact contain harmful chemicals, so you need to be extra careful. Remember, your dog’s sense of smell is far stronger than yours, so if you can smell the ammonia from your wooden floor, rest assured, your pup can smell it far stronger than you, and is most likely being affected by the smell in more ways than you can imagine.
Bleach (chlorine)
Another commonly found chemical in most household products is bleach, also known as chlorine.
Bleach is known for its disinfectant properties and is either used by itself, or as an ingredient in some other cleaning product. Useful as it may be, bleach can also be very dangerous for both your and your pup’s health.
If your pup swallows bleach, or a product comprising of bleach, he can get suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, burning mouth and throat, and in more severe cases (in cases of a large quantity ingested), even shock and seizures.
If your pup inhales the hazardous bleach fumes, it can even lead to an illness of the respiratory tract. Bleach is a chemical that can be found commonly in toilet cleaners, dishwashing liquids, laundry detergents etc.
This is yet another chemical that can be found commonly in household products. Glycol ethers are another toxic chemical found in many household products.
Studies have shown that glycol ethers can cause digestive damage, nerve damage and even liver damage in your dog. In fact, this chemical is not only toxic for your pup but also for you. Glycol Ethers have been linked with signs of anemia, kidney damage, and lung damage in humans and animals alike.
This harmful chemical can usually be found in liquid soaps, carpet cleaners, spot removers, and glass cleaners, among other such products.
These are disruptive chemicals that are typically sued in household cleaning products in order to make them ‘smell nice’.
In fact, phthalates are synonymous with fragrance. So if the label on your cleaning product contains ‘fragrance’ on the list, it typically refers to phthalates. Studies have shown that this harmful chemicals contain carcinogenic properties, that is, they can cause cancer in both humans and animals.
Certain animal studies have discovered that phthalates can cause testicular, liver, and pancreatic cancer. Phthalates can be found in abundance in various ‘all-purpose cleaners,’ and in deodorizers. Dog products such as dog crates, beds, mats and toys often, also contain these toxic chemicals, so you need to be very careful when purchasing any of these.
Dioxane is a toxic chemical, and is a byproduct of manufacturing. While most companies have been barred from continuing to use this chemical in their cleaning products, some still do.
According to research, Dioxane can be extremely harmful if swallowed by your dog or if your dog’s skin comes into contact with it. So make sure to keep this chemical far away from your pup’s bedding. Dioxane can be found in many laundry detergents, paints, cosmetics etc.
Formaldehyde is a toxic chemical, popular in many household cleaning products. At room temperature, this toxic chemical’s particles hang in the air, are ingested by your dog and absorb into his vulnerable skin.
This chemical can severely irritate your pup’s skin and eyes, can decrease his respiratory rate and even his nerve response rate. Formaldehyde is typically found in paper towels, hand soap, general cleaners, pet shampoos, etc.
In fact, often brand new carpets and furniture are also treated with formaldehyde, so as a pet parent, you need to be very careful about these things before you bring home any of these things.
This was a comprehensive list of cleaning agents that are not dog-safe. So the next time you purchase any household cleaning products, make sure to check the labels!
by Bobby J Davidson || You can’t buy love, but you can rescue it™ .
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