Product Review Friday: Formula 409 Antibacterial All-Purpose Cleaner

Up until today, the products I’ve reviewed on Fridays have been on the green side: Burt’s Bees, Trader Joe’s, Method. Today I decided to review something that can be found in thousands of homes: Formula 409. I found this product in the cabinet of my new apartment, and, not being one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I’ve been using it. However, since I use it to wipe down my counter tops, and since I prepare food on those same counter tops, I thought it would be a good idea to find out exactly what I’m spraying around the house.

Formula 409 comes in a plastic #2 HDPE spray bottle, one that is easily recycled. The nozzle is a different plastic, but you can hang onto that and buy a Formula 409 refill for the spray bottle if you wish.

My first impression upon looking at the bottle is that this is a serious product, one that I don’t want to mess with. A big “Caution” statement is right on the front, referring me to the back for more information. The front also warns me to keep the product out of reach of children. The back continues with the warnings:

1. It is a violation of Federal law to use the product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.
2. For surfaces that may come in contact with food, a potable water rinse is required.
3. Hazards to Humans and Domestic Animals.
4. Causes moderate eye irritation.
5. Avoid contact with eyes, skin, or clothing.

In addition, Clorox (the makers of Formula 409) recommends that you not use this product on soft vinyl, varnishes, or aluminum, and that you test a small area before using it on a painted surface. If you get Formula 409 in your eyes, the bottle directs you to rinse them for 15 – 20 minutes (if you have contacts, take them out after the first 5 minutes of rinsing), and the same if you get it on your skin. If you get it on your clothes, it says to take the clothes off, though it gives no information about what to do with them. There’s no info about what to do if you or your kid or your dog swallows the stuff.

About using the product, here’s a straw poll: if you use an all-purpose cleaner around the house, how do you use it? I asked around and everyone I asked uses this kind of product the same way I do: spray some on the counter, and wipe it off with a damp cloth or sponge. People! If you are using Formula 409 like this, you are breaking Federal law!!! Here’s how you are supposed to use it:

General cleaning: Spray it onto “soils” and wipe clean with a dry paper towel or lint-free cloth. Repeat if you are cleaning up something heavily soiled.

To disinfect: Spray until thoroughly wet. Let stand for 10 minutes, then wipe. Pre-clean if heavily soiled.

To sanitize non-food contact surfaces and deodorize: Same instructions as for disinfecting, but wait for 30 minutes before wiping.

And again, if you do use it to clean something that comes into contact with food, rinse the surface with water. I’m not sure if a damp sponge counts as rinsing, but I’m not about to flood my counter top with a bucket full of water.

Other than all the fear-inducing warnings, I don’t have any complaints about the way Formula 409 works. It’s easy to clean up oil splatters on my stove, and I haven’t yet become sick from salmonella or some other bacterial funk in my kitchen (though I never did using a natural all-purpose cleaner, either). The smell is both clinical and perfume-y. I can’t say I really like the smell, but it dissipates quickly and it doesn’t bother me a lot either, though I don’t have asthma nor do I normally suffer from allergies. My husband, however, suffers from both allergies and asthma, so I do try to avoid products that can cause respiratory irritation.

So the big question becomes, what’s in this stuff, and is there anything to worry about? Finding out what is in Formula 409 took some work. According to the label, Formula 409 contains Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride and “other ingredients.” The Formula 409 web site says that the Antibacterial All-Purpose Cleaner contains nonionic and cationic surfactants, solvents, and dye. It does not contain phosphorus according to the label, nor does it contain ammonia or bleach according to the web site. I often look up products’ Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to see if there is anything else I should know; you can sometimes find other ingredients not listed on labels there. Clorox’s web site has the MSDS for this product in PDF format, and here I found out that the product also contains n-Propoxypropanol and Monoethanolamine. I also frequently refer to the Household Products Database put together by the NIH and the National Library of Medicine. This database had an MSDS for Formula 409 Antibacterial Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner, and showed 2-Butoxyethynol as an ingredient. The MSDSs also explain what to do if you ingest this product: drink a glass of water and call a doctor. Also, if you have trouble breathing, get some fresh air.

Here’s what I found out about the ingredients:

Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride -This chemical is used for disinfectants, biocides, and pesticides. It cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation.

Dye - I don’t know what specific dye Formula 409 contains, so for all I know it is a perfectly safe dye. However, some dyes are known to cause allergies, irritations, and possibly cancer.

Nonionic and cationic surfactants – Surfactants are widely used in cleaners and detergents, and are used to lower water tension thus allowing cleaning chemicals to do their job more easily. There are many kinds of surfactants; some are safe and some are not. One nonionic surfactant that is of particular concern is alcohol ethoxylate, which releases 1,4 dioxane, a probably carcinogen.

Solvents - Again, this is another vague ingredient, so I can’t comment on the safety or environmental friendliness Formula 409’s solvents.

n-Propoxypropanol – This solvent causes eye and skin irritations, and is found to be a central nervous system depressant in animal studies.

Monoethanolamine - MEA is used in detergents, personal care products, textile finishing and weed treating. It can cause burns to eyes and skin, and also cause respiratory irritation. Overexposure can cause damage to the liver and kidneys.

2-Butoxyethynol – This is also known as ethylene glycol butyl ether or EGBE. It is on California’s list of toxic air contaminants, and is linked with reproductive problems, such as testicular damage, reduced fertility, death of embryos, and birth defects in animal studies. It also causes nose and eye irritation and headaches.

Bottom line: I stand by my initial impression that this is a serious product that I don’t want to mess with. Indoor air pollution is a problem, and this is just one more product that decreases air quality around the home. I’ve always been happy using green all-purpose cleaners, and have never missed the extra “ooomph” of a product like Formula 409 — in most situations, I really don’t need a powerful cleaner like this and it would not be worth it to me to buy it for use on a regular basis.

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