Ever Wonder What’s In Windex and Pledge and …

Published on November 25th, 2009

Could you imagine if these companies were required to disclose health risks in their advertising? They’d become like all the pill ads on now. “Don’t spray Pledge into your mouth if you are pregnant, taking Viagra or have a brain.

The dirty little secrets of Glade, Pledge and Windex are all coming clean courtesy of venerable consumer products company SC Johnson. The Racine, Wis. outfit said last week it had launched a new website that lists the ingredients of more than 200 of its products. The WhatsInsideSCJohnson site represents the most significant disclosure to date of the ingredients found in household cleaning products.

Lack of disclosure has been a key complaint of green activists who have often alleged that many household cleaners contain toxic ingredients. Equally important, these environmental do-gooders have charged that some supposedly green products contain ingredients that are either unsafe or suspected of having strong health effects on people.

SC Johnson becomes the second major consumer products company to take this step. Clorox (CLX) actually began disclosing ingredients last year. The latest move puts huge pressure on Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and Procter-Gamble (PG) to make similar information available online to consumers.
[...]
Current U.S. laws do not mandate full transparency on ingredients of cleaning products. Manufacturers have long claimed that revealing ingredients would release key trade secrets and make it easy to ascertain chemical formulas for these products. Environmental groups have long claims that this exclusion for products that are used in so many homes has allowed cleaning and beauty products companies, in particular, to foist unhealthy products on unsuspecting Americans.

32 users responded in " Ever Wonder What’s In Windex and Pledge and … "

Subscribe to this post comment rss or trackback url

# 1 pedro said, on November 25th, 2009 at 6:57 am

I’m glad and proud to see how much foot PC has taken in America.

Me? I just want my bathrooms, kitchen & the whole house as dirty as possible.

I say take these companies down!

# 2 Dallas said, on November 25th, 2009 at 7:01 am

#1 Pedrito, we appreciate you coming clean (no pun intended) as to your desire for filthy surroundings.

However, I always say “To each his own” !

# 3 pedro said, on November 25th, 2009 at 7:36 am

#2 Indeed. That’s why I love PC. Next up, they should push for full disclosure of sausages.

# 4 pedro said, on November 25th, 2009 at 7:41 am

#2 BTW, you should want your home as dirty as mine, since all those cleaners are full of harmful substances. Thank god for PC, otherwise we would’ve never known

# 5 Bob said, on November 25th, 2009 at 7:42 am

#3, thats right. I for one wonder what big sausage is trying to hide from us, the unknowing, and pure public.

# 6 Anonymous said, on November 25th, 2009 at 7:56 am

“Put a little Windex on it.”

Ever see the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Could it be that this recent change in policy to reveal product ingredients is simply a proactive “CYA” move made to appease the lawyers? I mean, now that Hollywood has suggested (in a movie) that Windex is some sort of magic elixir, I’m sure a few idiots have and will continue to believe it. After all, Hollywood knows best (if you’re an idiot, that is).

# 7 meetsy said, on November 25th, 2009 at 8:23 am

Why exactly are we supporting these greedy companies?
They’re overcharging, and there is no cleaning product that is better than simple ingredients.
Windex…meh, use ammonia and cold water, or vinegar and water, or even, straight grain alcohol to wash windows, clean counters.
laundry detergent…make your own
http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/
Floor cleaner? Vinegar and water, or ammonia and water work amazingly well. Simple Fels Naptha (grated and dissolved in water) works well. TSP (with or without bleach) is great for heavily stained, dirty floors.
Rug cleaner. The BEST rug cleaner is a scrub brush, and a bar of Fels Naptha….for stubborn stains. Rinse with a rug cleaner.
The “driveway, roof and, patio” cleaners pushed by the big chain hardware stores is nothing other than TSP and bleach. The liquid pre-mixed stuff costs about 10x as much as it costs to mix up your own.
I see no reason to buy ANY of the overpriced cleaning products — and this move to disclose what is in them has come far too late to impress me (it’s been asked for since the mid 1970’s). They were probably reluctant because then everyone could see what a total rip-off they are!

# 8 pedro said, on November 25th, 2009 at 8:42 am

#7 I love it that you like your house as dirty as mine. Long live PC.

# 9 bobbo, "consumer" means flim-flam said, on November 25th, 2009 at 8:43 am

I have always been certain the reason ingredients are not shown in CONSUMER products is to keep hidden the fact they are all 95% water and easy enough to make yourself for 10% of the cost.

“As a Hobby” I have for a few years been making as much “stuff” as I can at home.

Given how many pancakes and waffles we eat, my biggest save has been on Syrup. Mostly water, then sugar, then flavoring agents as desired. I use Plain, Honey, and Black Berry and always have all three on hand depending on mood. 30 cents a bottle, Not 3 to 7 dollars.

Meetsy has the cleaning agents down. Good info increases every year thru google.

Your mileage may vary.

# 10 Mr. Fusion said, on November 25th, 2009 at 8:49 am

#7, Meetsy

Good post. The only problem I can see is now pedro doesn’t have a good excuse for his dirty house.

Question:

Does your home made cleaners come with fancy labels and expensive TV ads?

# 11 bobbo, "consumer" means flim-flam said, on November 25th, 2009 at 8:55 am

#8–Pedro==I know its a cultural thing “but” is your house DIRTY or hopefully just CLUTTERED????

I clean my house just once per year except for the kitchen which is cleaned every other day.

Clutter is impossible. Too many hobbies require my stuff to be out in the open. Clutter gets organized when the piles get so high I can’t find what I’m looking for. I usually organize completely and the corner looks fine until the next project.

Dirt is not good, but an engaged life does have higher priorities. Pedro is a role model for all us self actualizers.

# 12 pedro said, on November 25th, 2009 at 9:08 am

#10 People always run out of excuses. I ran out of excuses as to why my house is dirty. You… you just repeat the same drivel as to why you’re so conFused.

#11 It’s dirty because the PC crowd has shown me the light. Too much bad stuff around. Thank god PC people have begun to shed the light.

# 13 BigBoyBC said, on November 25th, 2009 at 9:09 am

I always thought is was full of magical pixy juice that makes everything clean and shinny…

# 14 WmDE said, on November 25th, 2009 at 9:20 am

Go to your favorite search engine and type MSDS and the name of a product. You will probably find out most of what you need to know.

There was the a story about a teacher using acetic acid in a classroom with having the proper MSDS information available. The school was found to be in violation of OSHA standards for a small bottle of acetic acid while the cafeteria had gallons of the exact same product without MSDS info. No problem there because they called it vinegar. (Google MSDS vinegar)

MSDS = Material Safety Data Sheets.

WEHT OSHA?

# 15 WmDE said, on November 25th, 2009 at 9:28 am

First sentence in 14(maybe) should have read “withOUT having the proper”

# 16 bobbo, "consumer" means flim-flam said, on November 25th, 2009 at 9:35 am

#15–Now William===you are being very INCONSISTENT for someone with anal retention syndrome.

If you are going to correct your own post you should at least get the correct sentence referenced and not be equivocating about it.

Sybil?

# 17 Dr. D said, on November 25th, 2009 at 9:58 am

I don’t care what’s in Windex, but it sure kills the shit out of ants and makes the clean-up easy.

# 18 JimR said, on November 25th, 2009 at 10:10 am

Recipe #9, powdered soap recipe…

12 cups Borax: $6
8 cups Baking Soda: $5
8 cups Washing Soda: $5
8 cups Bar soap (grated): $6
+ time, plus buying 4 different boxes

TOTAL: $22, Yield roughly 16 lbs.

….or you can buy 2 handy 8lb boxes
Arm & Hammer with Oxi-Clean: $20

It’s simply usually not worth the time/effort for an inferior home-made product if you buy a similar amount in bulk.

# 19 spsffan said, on November 25th, 2009 at 10:16 am

#17

And Lysol works great on annoying moths that hang around lights in summer. Sure smells better than RAID or such.

# 20 sargasso said, on November 25th, 2009 at 10:19 am

Shoppers are reading the labels, and Googling the big words.

# 21 bobbo, "consumer" means flim-flam said, on November 25th, 2009 at 10:32 am

#18–Jim==I haven’t done soap yet but I wonder if you have the “volume” comparison correct but the equivalency wrong??

Most home made soaps only use 1-2 Tablespoons per load whereas CONSUMER products use cups at a time.

Just wondering.

REPEAT: Try making some of your own stuff for the fun/knowledge/hobby of the thing. I LIKE knowing what is in the syrup I make and its not as sweet as store bought which I like. Its not “just” the money, but that certainly helps.

# 22 WmDE said, on November 25th, 2009 at 10:32 am

#16 Yes I was going to do a correction to the correction, but I called my therapist. He said that anyone that commented on it would be a bigger jackass than I was and to stop calling him at home.

# 23 JimR said, on November 25th, 2009 at 10:50 am

#21, Bobbo, actually I liked your idea about syrup and I am definitely going to try it. (I should have mentioned that in my other post) I love too cook and rarely eat out… “mixing” your own food definitely has it’s advantages, bulk or not.

Re: my other post… I did just estimate how many cups were in a 55 oz box of Borax, etc., so I may be off somewhat… but I figured ‘eh’… close enough to illustrate a point.

# 24 bobbo, international pastry chef and home made advocate said, on November 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am

#22–Wm==excellent. I think, you, me, and your therapist are all on the same page.

#23–Jim==my point was that the CONSUMER flim-flam is used at a PER CUP rate whereas the home made is used at the PER TABLESPOON rate–so given equal volumes of material costing the same, the home made is actually 16 times cheaper. I don’t KNOW THIS, I’m just asking.

CONSUMER flim-flam syrup is TOO SWEET for my taste so I have been cutting back on the sugar in my syrup but then it got too thin/watery–the viscosity was not like store bought which I actually like. So, I’ve been experimenting with gelatin, tapioca, pectin. They work good and don’t affect taste, but the cost is prohibitive given it doesn’t affect the taste??? Let us know what you come up with????

# 25 gigwave said, on November 25th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

My friend wanted to run through the park naked so I sprayed him with Windex. It stopped him from streaking.

# 26 pedro said, on November 25th, 2009 at 1:27 pm

#25 Good one!

# 27 JimR said, on November 25th, 2009 at 2:21 pm

Re:#24, Bobbo…
The reason I chose the powder recipe is because I have some knowledge (from a guy I knew who manufactured detergents) of manufacturing tricks to make it seem that some products are more of a bargain. Some consumer brands fluff up their powder with air to increase volume… huge boxes that don’t weigh as much as small boxes. So the appearance is that you get more for less. There are no inert fillers in laundry detergent, so the only way to measure relative value is by weight, since all the ingredients are similar from brand to brand. I’m talking about standard laundry detergent without extra high tech ingredients… apples to apples. So that’s why I used weight.

BTW, most Laundry detergents don’t use soap as a surfactant because it can build up in the fibers of clothes and eventually ruin them.

# 28 Rick Cain said, on November 26th, 2009 at 1:05 am

The only thing I know about windex is that it leaves a nasty smell behind and doesn’t clean very well.

# 29 Buffet said, on November 26th, 2009 at 1:41 am

My house HAS TO be clean when chics come over – which is often. I buy my detergents, bleach, glass and surface, kitchen, and bathroom cleaners, as well as air fresheners, and the like at Big Lots. I don’t care what’s in ‘em and I’m certainly noy afraid of ‘em. When you’re eo the point of paranoia over what’s in glass cleaner, it’s time to get a life.

# 30 Puke Green said, on November 26th, 2009 at 6:24 am

They should ban the sale of all of these household chemicals. They all end up in our water supplies.

# 31 pedro said, on November 26th, 2009 at 7:37 am

#30 Oh, a fellow dirty houser. Keep fighting the PC fight.

# 32 pedro said, on November 26th, 2009 at 4:22 pm

Question of the post: “Ever Wonder What’s In Windex and Pledge and …”

Errr, no.

Leave Your Reply Below...

Comment Moderation is Active, so if your comment doesn't
show up immediately, please don't submit it again.

Special Deals 4U

25% off eHarmony subscription with code EHTECH
12-percent discount forever with code TECH
10-percent discount and free month using TECH10
10-percent or 30 dollars off weekly car rental!
Get 10-percent discount on car rental!
Get 10% off rental cars!
Get 10% off Dollar rentals!
Discounts on domain names!