02 Nov, 2006
Posted by andrea tomkins in: Misc. life
In the commercial they show a mother using these kinds of products to clean crayon off a wall. I’ve always wondered about how this product worked, and whether it was safe to use around children.
If you use this product, or know anyone who does, you might want to read this.
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ETA: here’s an interesting update on the subject by the author of the link above.
1 | Miche
Omigosh. That poor boy! (And how horrible the mother must feel.)
Thank for the public service!
3 | Lala
I didn’t read the link but I saw Wendy Mesley’s documentary on cancer and those things are filled with formaldehyde. Please use gloves if you’re going to use them in your house.
4 | andrea
*stares blankly at kerflop*
*touches head*
Did I lose my hair? Converting to WordPress you mean? No, okay, almost. I lost 11 months worth of entries and comments. I’m still rebuilding, sans comments, from scratch. :(
5 | liss76
Yeah, I’d read about the chemicals in them a long time ago. That said, nothing gets crayon off the wall as well and my boys can find a crayon anywhere, no matter how thoroughlly we’ve picked up–they both channel ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ on a weekly basis.
I never let them use cleaning supplies, though, and wash the wall after using them. There seem to be quite a range of cleaning products that do not carry the ‘Keep of of reach of children’ labelling, but I always assume that they are unsuitable for little hands. The only time they get to help hands-on is when I am using vinegar or baking soda, which I should quite honestly try to use more often than other products.
That poor mom. My brother received a horrible facial burn as a child. The culprit? Ground cinnamon rubbed all over his face as though it were some sort of skin powder. She had to give him the same bathtub treatment.
6 | BeachMama
Andrea, thank you so much for sharing this with us, although I have yet to let J use real products in his cleaning, I would have never thought those erasers would have burned the skin.
Thanks
7 | Jen
That is really scary. The sponge is the only non-tox thing in my house because I’ve been deluding myself that it was just some sort of super sponge, not super chemical laden sponge. Thanks for the tip. Into the garbage they go!
8 | melissa
We’ve had these sponges in the house for so long we’d forgotten about them. I just used one for the first time 2 weeks ago when our 2 year old doodled all over our White iBook with a black Sharpie (not on the monitor thankfully). I have to say, it did work to remove the sharpie, but they’ve always been stored way high up on the shelf, and given that we’ve only now used them once since they came out, I think I’ll just pitch them – and keep Leanne away from sharpies and laptops.
My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.
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