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"Virus Hoax:
Urband Legend Example"
Virus Hoax Warnings: Page 55
of 57
Swiffer Wetjet Kills Dogs Warning
May 2004
This one claims that the cleaning solution in Swiffer Wetjets contains
antifreeze and kills your pets if they walk on a cleaned floor. If you
check the ingredients in the material safety datasheet at the Proctor
and Gamble website, you see that it does contain 1% to 4% percent
Propylene Glycol n-Propyl Ether. Now Propylene Glycol is one chemical
used to make antifreeze, the other is Ethylene Glycol, however the
concentrations in antifreeze found in your car is around 50% not 4%.
According to the ASPCA, while Ethylene Glycol is known to cause liver
damage in animals, Propylene Glycol in the concentrations used in the
Swiffer Wetjet cleaning fluid is not a hazard for animals.
See also the Swiffer comments on this hoax.
I recently had a neighbor who had to have their 5-year old German
Shepherd dog put down due to liver failure. The dog was completely
healthy until a few weeks ago, so they had a necropsy done to see what
the cause was. The liver levels were unbelievable, as if the dog had
ingested poison of some kind. The dog is kept inside, and when he's
outside, someone's with him, so the idea of him getting into something
unknown was hard to believe. My neighbor started going through all the
items in the house. When he got to the Swiffer Wetjet, he noticed, in
very tiny print, a warning which stated "may be harmful to small
children and animals." He called the company to ask what the contents of
the cleaning agent are and was astounded to find out that anitfreeze is
one of the ingredients. (actually he was told it's a compound which is
one molecule away from anitfreeze).
Therefore, just by the dog walking on the floor cleaned with the
solution, then licking it's own paws, and the dog eating from its dishes
which were kept on the kitchen floor cleaned with this product, it
ingested enough of the solution to destroy its liver.
Soon after his dog's death, his housekeepers' two cats also died of
liver failure. They both used the Swiffer Wetjet for quick cleanups on
their floors. Necropsies weren't done on the cats, so they couldn't file
a lawsuit, but he asked that we spread the word to as many people as
possible so they don't lose their animals.
Copyright 2004 by Jay Jennings
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