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The Pharma Innovation Journal 2020; 9(1): 196-199
ISSN (E): 2277- 7695
ISSN (P): 2349-8242
NAAS Rating: 5.03
TPI 2020; 9(1): 196-199
© 2020 TPI
www.thepharmajournal.com
Received: 22-11-2019
Accepted: 24-12-2019
Ragini Dubey
Ph.D. Research Scholar,
Department of Family Resource
Management, College of Home
Science, Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana, Punjab,
India
Surinderjit Kaur
Professor, Department of Family
Resource Management, College
of Home Science, Punjab
Agricultural University,
Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Devinder Tiwari
Assistant Professor,
Department of Extension
Education, College of
Agriculture, Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana, Punjab,
India
Preeti Sharma
Assistant Professor,
Extension Education &
Communication Management,
Punjab Agricultural University,
Ludhiana, Punjab, India
Corresponding Author:
Ragini Dubey
Ph.D. Research Scholar,
Department of Family Resource
Management, College of Home
Science, Punjab Agricultural
University, Ludhiana, Punjab,
India
A study on popular floor cleansers and their potential
health risks
Ragini Dubey, Surinderjit Kaur, Devinder Tiwari and Preeti Sharma
Abstract
Cleansers and disinfectants are essential requisites for removal of offensive odour, dirt, contaminants and
to provide sparkling clean looks. Various household cleaning products have been developed to facilitate
the removal of dust and dirt, for surface maintenance and for disinfection of the home. These are the
substances, usually liquid in nature that are used to remove the dirt, including dust, stains, bad smells and
clutter on surfaces. A good cleansing agent must be effective in removing dirt and also in maintaining
low levels of micro-organisms. Different methods of floors cleaning are followed in each household and
accordingly the preference for cleanser varies. The present study was conducted to know the preference
of floor cleansers among respondents, factor affecting and problems experienced and possible health
risks while using these cleansers. The study was conducted on the residents of Punjab Agricultural
University Campus, Ludhiana. College of Community Science and College of Basic Sciences and
Humanities, Punjab Agricultural University, total of 120 respondents comprised the sample of study.
Data were collected through personal interview with the help of interview schedule. The findings
revealed that the majority of the respondent’s i.e 82.50 per cent preferred Harpic, followed by Lysol
(33.33%), Domex (23.33%) and Phenyl (21.67%). However, less than five per cent of the respondents
also showed their preferences for Acid (3.33%), Mr. Muscle (1.67%) and homemade cleansers (4.16%).
Cleansing efficiency, past experience, price and brand were considered at top priority by the respondents
while selecting cleansers. The results regarding the problem experienced while using floor cleansers
revealed that 25.00 per cent of respondents reported the problem of itching followed by 20.83 per cent
who reported breathing problem, 16.67 per cent felt irritation in throat. Problem of red and rough skin
was also reported by 12.5 per cent of the respondents and 4.16 per cent of the respondents complained
that prolonged use of these synthetic products causes crack on skin particularly hands and feet.
Keywords: Commercial cleansers, health hazards, ecofriendly cleansers, disinfectant
Introduction
A beautifully constructed house needs proper care for clean, healthy and comfortable
environment. The purpose of cleanliness includes removal of offensive odour and
dirt/contaminants and to provide sparkling clean looks. Most household surfaces are "hard".
and technically, household cleaning is "hard surface cleaning". which includes ceramic
surfaces, marble, granite and stones etc. Among all these, ceramic and marble tiles are widely
used in kitchens, bathrooms and for flooring. Regular cleaning of floors, especially kitchen
and bathroom is required because without regular cleaning lime scale builds up on tiles and
taps, mold grows in wet areas, toilets smells and cobwebs accumulate in the homes. The
accumulation of the dirt and dust creates lots of health issues especially for children and old
age persons. Now-a-days many synthetic and green tile cleansers are available in market to
facilitate the removal of dust, dirt, and grease from surfaces and to maintain of cleanliness and
disinfection of homes. Tile cleanser are usually liquid in nature which help in removing dirt,
dust, stains, foul smell and clutter from the surface. But many of these contain strong
chemicals and the continuous exposure to such chemicals may lead to various kinds of acute
and chronic ailments right from allergic cold, skin irritation to serious diseases like bronchial
asthma and cancer (IARC, 2010) [3]. Staff (2010) [6] reported that chlorinated phenols found in
toilet bowl cleaners are toxic to respiratory and circulatory systems. Ethylene glycol found in
window cleaners depresses the nervous system. Phenols found in disinfectants are toxic to
respiratory and circulatory systems. Petroleum solvents in floor cleaners damage mucous
membrane. Perchloroethylene, a spot remover causes liver and kidney damage. Butyl cello
solve, common in all-purpose, window and other types of cleaners, damages bone marrow, the
nervous system, kidneys and the liver. Therefore, one need to vigilant in selection and use of
these cleansers.
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Objectives
To determine the most preferred utensils cleansers among
selected respondents and factors affecting their selection
To study the health problem experienced by the
respondents while using these cleansers
To make suggestions for safe use of commercial cleansers
and better alternatives.
Material and Methods
The study was conducted on the residents of Punjab
Agricultural University Campus, Ludhiana. College of
Community Science and College of Basic Sciences and
Humanities, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana were
purposively selected keeping in view the strength of female
staff in both the colleges. Thirty respondents each from
teaching faculty and non-teaching staff were selected from
both the colleges. Thus a total of 120 respondents comprised
the sample of study. Data were collected through personal
interview with the help of interview schedule. The data were
analyzed for meaningful interpretation using Simple
percentages, frequency and mean score
Results and Discussion
Respondents’ preferences for commercially available floor
cleansers
A variety of cleansers for cleaning floors are available in the
market in form of soapy, synthetic and abrasive form. The
data given in Table1 represent the preferences of respondents
for different types of market available floor cleansers.
Table 1: Distribution of respondents according to their preferred
cleanser for floor tiles
S. No
Floor cleanser
Frequency
Percentage
1.
Harpic
99
82.50
2.
Lysol
40
33.33
3.
Domex
34
23.33
4.
Phenyl
32
21.67
5.
Homemade cleansers
5
4.16
6.
Acid
4
3.33
7.
Mr. Muscle
2
1.67
*Multiple Responses
Fig 1: Distribution of respondents according to their preferred cleansers for floors
It is clear from the data in the Table 4.3 that majority of
respondents 82.50 per cent preferred Harpic, followed by
Lysol (33.33%), Domex (23.33%) and Phenyl (21.67%).
However, less than five per cent of the respondents also
showed their preferences for Acid (3.33%), Mr. Muscle
(1.67%) and homemade cleansers (4.16%). The above
findings are supported by the findings of Channalli and
Jadhav (2017) [2] in which majority of homemakers shown
their preferences for Lysol followed by Ozone, Domex and
CIF cream lemon. The above findings corroborate with that of
Dixit (2014) who also reported that the maximum percentage
of respondents (96.60%) preferred commercial liquid
cleansers for floor tiles and toilet bowl cleaning.
Factors affecting selection of cleansers
A large variety of cleansers are available in the market that
calls for intelligent decision making on the part of the
consumers as their decisions are result of their past experience
with the product, price, availability, popularity, ingredients
used, colour and odour of the product etc. The respondents
were asked to rate various factors influencing their decision
making while selecting cleansers for household use. A Likert
type scale was used for this purpose and rating was done for
responses using a score of 1 indicating not at all, 2 very little
extent, 3 little extent, 4 great extent and 5 very great extent.
The average score for each factor was then computed to
determine the index, which was then matched with its Likert
rating. The results regarding factors affecting selection of a
particular cleansing agent are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Distribution of respondents according to the factors
considered while selecting cleanser (n=120)
Sr. No.
Factors
Mean score
Rank
1.
Cleansing efficiency
5.32
I
2.
Past experience
5.19
II
3.
Price
4.75
III
4.
Brand
4.24
IV
5.
Popularity/ advertisement
4.15
V
6.
Special offer
3.97
VIII
7.
Safe to use
3.45
VI
8.
Ingredients
3.36
VII
9.
Odour
2.63
IX
10.
Color
1.49
X
11.
Salesman’s advice
1.35
XI
12.
Packaging
1.20
XII
The findings clearly show that cleansing efficiency, past
experience, price and brand were considered at top priority by
the respondents while selecting cleansers as these factors
obtained I, III, III and IV rank respectively. Advertisement of
the product and special offer were also taken into
consideration before buying the cleansers from the market.
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However safety to use and ingredients of the products were
given lesser importance. Colour, odour, packaging of the
product and salesman advice were the least priority factors
while selecting cleansers. Mwangi (2009) [5] in his study also
found that efficacy, smell and product information were
considered very influential for making choice for the
detergent by the respondents. In contrary above findings
Thirumoorthy and Karthikeyan (2006) [7] found that the
consumers were influenced by brand name, price, quality,
availability, packaging, advertisements, etc. during the
purchase decision.
Fig 2: Factors affecting choices of consumers while selecting cleansers
Health risks experienced while working with cleansers
Cleanliness and hygiene has a strong cultural value and have
utmost importance to women. Performing routine household-
cleaning chores involves the use of variety of synthetic
cleaning agents. Various occupational studies on health risks
indicated that use of these chemicals poses serious threat to
the health of the users in terms of eyes, skin and respiratory
system. Women are more at risk due to their major role in
household cleaning as a primary homemaker. During handling
of such synthetic products including storage, use, and
ignorance to precautionary measures affect women's exposure
to these. In this section of the study post effects of cleansers
were investigated by the researcher.
Health risks experienced after working with selected
commercial floor cleansers
Health risks experienced after working with selected
commercial floor cleansers are depicted in the Table 3.
Table 3: Distribution of respondents according to the health
problems experienced after using floor cleanser (n=120)
Sr. No.
Type of problem
Commercial cleansers
Frequency
Percentage
1.
Itching
30
25.00
2.
Breathing problem
25
20.83
3.
Throat irritation
20
16.67
4.
Rashes
17
14.16
5.
Red & rough skin
15
12.50
6.
Cracks
5
4.16
*Multiple Responses
Fig 3: Distribution of respondents according to the health problems experienced while using floor cleansers
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Table 3 contains data with respect to various health issues
faced by the respondents while using floor cleansers. The data
reveal that 25.00 per cent of respondents reported the problem
of itching followed by 20.83 per cent who reported breathing
problem, 16.67 per cent felt irritation in throat. Problem of red
and rough skin was also reported by 12.5 per cent of the
respondents and 4.16 per cent of the respondents complained
that prolonged use of these synthetic products causes crack on
skin particularly hands and feet. The finding of Marks (2009)
[4] also revealed that allergic reactions, headaches and
respiratory problems were the common side-effects for some
people using commercial cleaning products. So these should
be used carefully.
Suggestions for better alternatives and wise use of
cleansers
Use organic and biodegradable ingredients such as lemon
rind, borax, baking soda and tamarind juice should be
preferred for utensils cleaning. To reduce health risks and
environment pollution.
To prepare cleansers at household level as these are easy
to prepare besides being packet-friendly, health-friendly
and eco-friendly.
While purchasing cleansers, read the label carefully and
use it according to direction given on package especially
the direction for dilution ratios.
To reduce packaging waste, chose bulk size and
concentrated formula.
Conclusion
The findings of the present study revealed that the maximum
percentage of respondents’ i.e 82.50 per cent preferred
Harpic, followed by Lysol (33.33%), Domex (23.33%) and
Phenyl (21.67%). However, less than five per cent of the
respondents also showed their preferences for Acid (3.33%),
Mr. Muscle (1.67%) and homemade cleansers (4.16%). The
findings clearly show that cleansing efficiency, past
experience, price and brand were considered at top priority by
the respondents while selecting cleansers as these factors
obtained I, III, III and IV rank respectively. Advertisement of
the product and special offer were also taken into
consideration before buying the cleansers from the market.
However safe to use and ingredients of the products were
given importance. Colour, odour, packaging of the product
and sales man’s advice were the least priority factors while
selecting cleansers. 25.00 per cent of respondents reported the
problem of itching followed by 20.83 per cent who reported
breathing problem, 16.67 per cent felt irritation in throat.
Problem of red and rough skin was also reported by 12.5 per
cent of the respondents and 4.16 per cent of the respondents
complained that prolonged use of these synthetic products
causes crack on skin particularly hands and feet. There are
varieties of common household ingredients that can be used to
keep our house clean and fresh. Because they are homemade
products, and made from natural ingredients, they will not
contain strong-smelling perfumes and chemicals. When we
create our own cleansing mixtures, we control the chemicals
we use. There are many inexpensive, easy-to-use natural
alternatives which can safely be used in place of commercial
household cleansing products. Borax, baking soda, vinegar
and washing soda are some of the easily available natural
products. These are safe alternatives that can clean/disinfect
the surfaces and are much cheaper than the branded cleaners.
Combinations of these basic products can provide less
harmful substitutions for many commercial products. In most
cases they are also less expensive. The cleansing agents
having such ingredients need to be evaluated and promoted
for wide spread use.
References
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3. International Agency for research on cancer. National
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