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Swiffer Wet Jet Hoax

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Margaret Fine - 06 May 2004 20:26 GMT
There is apparently a internet letter being circulated saying that the
swiffer wet jet cleaning system uses something similar to atifreeze in
the cleaner and that it can kill dogs and cats.  I did some research
after someone passed the letter on to me and it seems to be a hoax and
the products are safe to use.  I did check my own bottles of cleaner and
no where did it have the supposed warning about the solution being toxic
to kids and pets that is mentioned in the circulating letter.  Also, the
letter mentions the dog died of liver failure when antifreeze causes
kidney failure.

For more information go to:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

The Swiffer people say this:
There is a false Internet rumor circulating rapidly among pet owners
alleging that Swiffer® WetJet® may contain antifreeze and is harmful to
pets.  The Swiffer Wet® cloths and WetJet® liquid solution cleaners do
not contain antifreeze or any ingredient similar to it. In fact, all
Swiffer products are safe to use around pets.

We evaluated the Swiffer Wet cloths and WetJet cleaners to ensure
they're safe—a fact confirmed by the ASPCA, independent veterinarians
and scientists. In fact, for nearly five years, people in over 38
million U.S. homes have safely used Swiffer products on everything from
the kitchen and living room floors to tables and ceiling fans.

We have pets too, and their health and well-being is very important to
us. Please help us stop this rumor by sharing the truth with others. If
you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

xxxx

I thought I'd pass this on before anyone here became concerned about
their animals.  Of course we all need to use common sense when we're
dealing with household cleaners and our kids and pets but the residue
from Swiffer Wet Jets will not kill your furbaby like this letter portrays.

Margaret

Signature

Margaret Fine
mefine@mindspring.com

jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 06 May 2004 22:54 GMT
> Of course we all need to use common sense when we're dealing with
> household cleaners and our kids and pets but the residue from
> Swiffer Wet Jets will not kill your furbaby like this letter portrays.

I saw the letter today, and it claimed that even by walking on a *dry*
floor that had been cleaned with the stuff, and then licking its paws,
a dog could die from it. Also, that eating out of a bowl that sits on
a floor that had been cleaned with it could kill a dog. That is so
far-fetched. If it were that lethal to a dog, I think it would be
pretty dangerous to humans, too.

This is like the Febreeze hoax. Sometimes I think these rumors are
started by competitors.

Joyce
Yoj - 06 May 2004 23:11 GMT
>  > Of course we all need to use common sense when we're dealing with
>  > household cleaners and our kids and pets but the residue from
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Joyce

That could be, although I think this type of hoax is a power trip.  It
can give a certain sick type of person a thrill to know they can scare
and upset so many people.

Joy
Margaret Fine - 06 May 2004 23:31 GMT
>  > Of course we all need to use common sense when we're dealing with
>  > household cleaners and our kids and pets but the residue from
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Joyce

When I started looking into this I was amazed at how many pet sites have
this warning in their web sites.  And when some people tried to point
out that it was a hoax they were blasted by other people.  Obviously a
lot of people never thought it through or bothered to check.  It does
have the ring of authenticity since it is from a "pennsylvania rescue
list" I also think it is interesting that they mention that the cat
owners couldn't start a lawsuit sort of implying that the dog owner
could or did, also lending some authenticity without actually coming out
and saying that they are suing so you can check.  I always think these
things are started by someone who is mad at swiffer for some reason.
Not getting coupons or some other perk they felt entitled to.

Well, I'm off to swiffer my bathroom floor.  I will not lick my feet
when I am done, just in case!  :-)
Signature

Margaret Fine
mefine@mindspring.com

Marina - 07 May 2004 04:39 GMT
"Margaret Fine" <mefine@mindspring.com> wrote

> Well, I'm off to swiffer my bathroom floor.  I will not lick my feet
> when I am done, just in case!  :-)

LOL!

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Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

TBird - 07 May 2004 16:45 GMT
>  Obviously a
> lot of people never thought it through or bothered to check.
> Margaret Fine
> mefine@mindspring.com

And this, in my opinion, is the problem with western society today.  We'll
buy into anything we're told, for the most part, without question.

A while back a friends grandmother saw on the local news station an entire
story about how fake Christmas trees have lead in them and how they can kill
pets and children.  The grandmother was totally freaked out, and it was on a
legitimate news station.

So my friend and I surfed a bit, and found all roads (IE all websites that
covered this) lead back to the same guy at a University in the south, who
was charging $15 to test a bit of your tree for lead.  And the research
showed that lead was in trace amounts if there at all.

Neat way to fund your thesis, eh?

The news writers hadn't even researched their story, they panicked people
all over for no good reason.

It took us 5 minutes to track this down, and we had each done it
independently, and we had eached searched it serveral different ways to be
sure we were seeing what we were seeing.  5 minutes.  That's all it took.

TBird <---- don't get me going on bigger political issues.....
Bobcat - 07 May 2004 00:53 GMT
>  > Of course we all need to use common sense when we're dealing with
>  > household cleaners and our kids and pets but the residue from
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Joyce

This rumour is false, according to the Urban Legends website. It gives
detailed testimony that the product will not kill pets.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp
Julie Snowshoe - 07 May 2004 15:43 GMT
>This rumour is false, according to the Urban Legends website. It gives
>detailed testimony that the product will not kill pets.
>
>http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

Well, I can verify the dangers of the Swiffer floor product having
recently mopped my kitchen floor, not knowing that Selena was sitting
behind the moveable work island.  She was watching the birds and
squirrels from the sliding glass window and when I moved the island and
began mopping near her, she took off like her tail was afire.  She hit
the area of floor recently mopped and all four legs went in four
different directions. She bumped her chin on the floor before managing
to get two feet under her and launched to take off again when those feet
went flying in different directions. Her tail poofed out and she looked
around and hissed at me and gave it another go. All of this took about 5
seconds and she did finally manage to get all of her feet going in the
same direction and I didn't see her again for two hours.

So I concur. Beware the evil Swiffer floor wash.

Julie

(PS: From observations of cats caught in embarrassing situations, I can
be fairly certain that during those two hours she spent a lot of time
grooming the offending feet. She's still alive to tell about it).
TBird - 07 May 2004 16:48 GMT
Owwie owwie owwie

> >This rumour is false, according to the Urban Legends website. It gives
> >detailed testimony that the product will not kill pets.
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> be fairly certain that during those two hours she spent a lot of time
> grooming the offending feet. She's still alive to tell about it).

Oh my god, that was too funny!!!!

TBird<--- although my laughter has not managed to bother Joe Kitty's nap
Marina - 07 May 2004 17:41 GMT
"Julie Snowshoe" <jcook03@emory.edu> wrote

> Well, I can verify the dangers of the Swiffer floor product having
> recently mopped my kitchen floor, not knowing that Selena was sitting
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> be fairly certain that during those two hours she spent a lot of time
> grooming the offending feet. She's still alive to tell about it).

Oh, poor Selena, but ROFL! I hope she has groomed back her dignity by now.

Signature

Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

lrulan - 07 May 2004 01:17 GMT
My daughter called me yesterday almost crying because she has cleaned her
apartment floor with the Swiffer product. She has a cat and she was so
afraid when she got this letter in her email that she had killed her cat.
She finally found out it was a hoax but she was pretty shaken up in the
beginning. What a cruel person it is to do this to anyone.
Jazz & his mama

Signature

Irulan
from the stars we came, to the stars we return
from now until the end of time

> There is apparently a internet letter being circulated saying that the
> swiffer wet jet cleaning system uses something similar to atifreeze in
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>
> Margaret
Tanada - 07 May 2004 04:35 GMT
> There is apparently a internet letter being circulated saying that the
> swiffer wet jet cleaning system uses something similar to atifreeze in
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> letter mentions the dog died of liver failure when antifreeze causes
> kidney failure.

If that was true, my cats would have died two years ago.

Pam S. who has used both swiffer and the Clorox systems without problems
jmcquown - 07 May 2004 14:29 GMT
> There is apparently a internet letter being circulated saying that the
> swiffer wet jet cleaning system uses something similar to atifreeze in
> the cleaner and that it can kill dogs and cats.

That one was also circulated to bird ng's.  Guess this means you shouldn't
clean your floors LOL  Anything can be harmful if it's misused.  I use
ammonia to wash my linoleum kitchen floor - gasp!

Do you not recall something similar being circulated about Febreeze several
years back?  It's amazing to me what people will spend their time making up
stories about.  Unless you (not you, Margaret, the "you" that no one can
seem to locate) provides me with unequivocal proof that something is
harmful, I will not in any way pay attention to what you are saying.

Jill
Bobcat - 07 May 2004 16:42 GMT
> > There is apparently a internet letter being circulated saying that the
> > swiffer wet jet cleaning system uses something similar to atifreeze in
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> years back? [snip]
> Jill

Yes, and the Urban Legends web site debunks that hoax too.

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/febreze.htm
Seanette Blaylock - 08 May 2004 09:33 GMT
"jmcquown" <jmcquown@bellsouth.net> had some very interesting things
to say about Re: Swiffer Wet Jet Hoax:

>Do you not recall something similar being circulated about Febreeze several
>years back?  It's amazing to me what people will spend their time making up
>stories about.  Unless you (not you, Margaret, the "you" that no one can
>seem to locate) provides me with unequivocal proof that something is
>harmful, I will not in any way pay attention to what you are saying.

I've used the WetJet around my boys, also Febreeze. Neither of my
"kids" has ever shown any indication of any problem caused by any
normal household cleaning substance [they weren't even harmed by the
time I burned some polymer clay I was baking].

Signature

"Don't mess with major appliances unless you know what you are doing
(or unless your life insurance policy is up-to-date)." - John, RCFL

 
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