| There are several products available for carpet | | | | used. The use of chemicals like butane, isobutane, or |
| cleaning. These products range from mild to strong, | | | | propane (aerosol propellants), ethanolamine, glycol |
| and have varied combinations of different ingredients. | | | | ethers such as butoxyethanol, quaternary ammonium |
| Some of these cleaning products have harmful | | | | chloride, sodium bisulfate, sodium carbonate and |
| chemicals. | | | | sodium hydroxide may pose a health risk to the user. |
| Most cleaning chemicals are relatively safe to use, | | | | The guidelines published by the government classify |
| however it would be judicious to wear gloves and | | | | some chemicals as substances to be avoided if |
| goggles while using them. It is important to | | | | possible because of their potential harm to the |
| remember that some chemical combinations are so | | | | environment. These are dibutyl phthalate CFC-22 and |
| risky that you should not use them. And there is one | | | | HCFC-141 both of which are illegal for janitorial use. A |
| class of chemicals that are safe to the user but | | | | few other chemicals of this type are nonyl phenol |
| harmful to the environment, which should be a | | | | ethoxylate and octyl phenol ethoxylate. |
| consideration, especially around children and pets. | | | | It makes practical sense to read the product labels |
| Guidelines on safety mention certain chemicals as | | | | carefully and follow the directions it gives for safe |
| very unsafe and prohibited from use. Nonetheless, | | | | use. Use of protective gear should not be taken |
| some of these chemicals find their way into cleaning | | | | lightly. Use goggles to protect your eyes from |
| products. A few of these prohibited chemicals are | | | | corrosive chemicals. When using products containing |
| hydrofluoric acid, nitrilotriacetate / nitrilotriacetic acid, | | | | glycol ethers or ethanolamines it is advisable to wear |
| perchloroethylene / tetrachloroethylene and tributyl | | | | gloves as some chemicals tend to get absorbed |
| tin. | | | | through the skin. One should always avoid mixing |
| Then there are certain chemicals that are rated as | | | | different cleaning products. This can lead to unknown |
| usable but require extreme care and caution when | | | | chemical reactions that may turn out to be harmful. |