Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner with Bleach, Original - Sodium Hypochlorite - NaClO - and Sodium Hydroxide - NaOH - Don't breathe Sodium Hypochlorite as it produces bronchial irritation.
Formula 409 Lauramine oxide - C14H31NO - is the cleaning agent. While highly toxic to fish, it does biodegrade in 28 days. n-Alkyl (40% C12, 50% C14, 10% C16) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride - is the disinfectant - with 54 ecotoxicity studies in Pub Chem. The database has this for human exposure: "Human data could not be located."
Windex Powerized Isopropyl alcohol - C3H8O - According to Pub Chem ,"It is prepared from propylene, which is obtained in the cracking of petroleum or by the reduction of acetone. And "Toxic effects include central nervous depression, liver, kidney, cardiovascular depression and brain damage."
Mr. Clean Multi-Surface Cleaner - C9-11 Pareth-n - is an alcohol ethoxylate which is generally considered safe. It works by having one end of the molecule that attracts water and one that repulses it. The scent is Tetramethyl Acetyloctahydronaphthalenes - C16H26O - which is highly toxic to aquatic life.
Ajax Ultra Dish Liquid LAURAMIDOPROPYL DIMETHYLAMINE OXIDE - C14H31NO-is not persistent or bioaccumulative so not as bad as some for fish. D-Limonene - C10H16 - used as a fragrance is also registered for pesticide use.
Alberto VO5 Balancing Shampoo, Normal - Ammonium Chloride - ClH4N -Although health injuries are not expected with normal use, this shampoo is considered a hazardous product by OSHA.
Coppertone Sunscreen Lotion, Sport SPF 50 Octocrylene - C24H27NO2 -is less toxic to humans than Oxybenzone but it has long lasting effects on aquatic life. It has been banned in Hawaii.
Tide Simply + OXI Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid- C18H30O3S - is made from Benzene, a hydrocarbon. It is corrosive and is on over 15 different Federal lists for toxic chemicals.
Mop 'N Glo - Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl),alpha-tridecyl-omega-hydroxy- C15H32K3O6P - a skin irritant that the directions tell you to spread it evenly over the floor and leave it there to dry.
Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner 6.8% of the mixture consists of ingredient(s) of unknown toxicity.
In March of 2020, as the Covid lockdown began and it wasn’t clear how the disease spread, I bought disinfectants to clean my apartment. There wasn’t much left on the shelves of my local supermarket. I brought home Clorox Clean-up Cleaner with Bleach and went to work on the countertops and door knobs. I immediately had a nasty, metallic taste in my mouth. I decided I was willing to take my chances with Covid but I did not want to inhale whatever was in that bottle.
Prior to the lockdown I had been working on a project that took me to neighborhoods around the country living with energy and petrochemical production. Stuck in my apartment, I started thinking about the poisonous things I had willingly paid for and brought into my home. And that other people are bringing into their homes. The market for disinfectants alone is $8 billion this year.
Figuring out what is in all those bottles, brightly colored and well-designed, that have accumulated under the sink was not easy. Sometimes, the ingredients are listed in visible type right on the bottle. Sometimes they are not. And even if they are, what do those long names even mean?
I asked my friend, Peter Spellane, a chemist for help. I learned from him that each product must have a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). I started cross checking the MSDS for each product against Pub Chem – https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. If a substance is banned in the EU or regulated by OSHA, I took it as a red flag. If it has dozens of toxicity studies, that is another red flag. And so many of these chemicals while bad for us are toxic for decades for fish, oysters and shrimp.
At the same time, I was exploring food photography with my suddenly online classes. Everyone was stuck at home and food was a common denominator. I learned a lot about the conventions of food photography from another friend, the food stylist, Jill Keller. It is truly an art.
It was a bad taste that focused my attention on household cleaners. In Home Chemistry, I wanted to visualize the chemical soup we live in right in our own homes.