Urban legend on Swiffer and pets

[Catty1]

Got this in my Scambusters.org email this morning:

--- Begin Urban Legend ---

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
antifreeze is one of the ingredients. (He actually was
told it's a compound which is one molecule away from
anti-freeze.)

Therefore, just by the dog walking on the floor cleaned
with the solution, then licking its 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.

--- End Urban Legend ---

Is this true?

Editors Note: No, it is false. Variations of this email have
been going around for at least three years. Every version
we've seen is a hoax.

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Which of these practices are true about Target?
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There are four very popular emails going around right now about
the Target Corporation. Here they are:

- The Target Corporation does not contribute to the U.S.
Marines 'Toys for Tots' program.

- The Target Corporation does not allow reservists called to
active duty to continue their health benefits.

- The Target Corporation does not contribute to veterans'
causes.

- The Target Corporation is French-owned.

True or false?

Editors Note: All of these statements are false -- but they are
definitely getting a lot of distribution. And there are other
false statements going around about Target as well.

[Dorothy39]

I've noticed that this has been moved to the General Forum. I just posted a reply in Dog General

My Goodness, Miss Catty1, you sure get around!!!

[moosmom]

Catty1,

I've read about those urban legends many times.

When I was in Michigan, I volunteered at the Grosse Ile Animal Shelter. They had an article about the Swiffer Wet Jet on the bulletin board. It did say that the whole thing about the Swiffer Wet Jet was false.

However, there are certain cleaners that should be used with extreme caution. Any cleaner that has "Sol", such as Pinesol, Lysol, etc., does have a chemical in it that will cause liver failure in animals if ingest (by the way you described - walking on the floor then licking their paws). They say to make sure you wash and rinse the area very carefully and let it dry.

[DrKym]

not everything with sol in it is bad, We use all melaleuca cleaners www.melaleuca.com and I couldn't live with out their solu-mel cleaner, safe enough that if a pet or child drank it straight no more than an upset tummy would arise! It is a marvelous cleaner degreaser laundy additive flea killer and at least 1000 more uses I haven't mentioned. and yes I am guilty of using a syringe to refill my swiffer canister with this LOL