Edited to add:
The subject of whether or not Magic Erasers can cause chemical burns has been addressed on Urban Legends.
In any case, we oughtn’t to assume the accuracy of the title of this message, “Chemical Burns to Children,” nor any statements in the body of the text implying the same, because it has not been established that chemicals played any role at all.
Can children harm themselves by misusing these products? The answer is clearly yes…”
Edited to add:
This entry was one of my most read entries for the week ending Saturday, June 9, 2007. Internet searches looking for information about the Magic Eraser accounted for 15% of my blog traffic. This entry first posted on my homeschool blog and when I moved the post here, I was unable to move the comments too. I have summarized the main points that were brought up by commenters in what has become my most controversial post ever. Seeing how this blog discusses religion and worldview, that fact alone just floors me. If you are interested in my notes, link to My Two Cents (Part 1) and scroll to the bottom of the post.
… What separates scientific proof from anecdotal evidence? I think as homeschoolers, we should be clear on what constitutes science. After all, we have committed to educating our children at home and education includes the study of science. Since that is the case, shouldn’t we have a clear understanding of the scientific process?
Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It is on faith that I accept God and creation. It is on faith that “scientists” accept evolution too. But, rejecting evolution does not mean I have to reject science. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines science as, “the comprehension or understanding of truth or facts by the mind.” Science is all about facts. Did you know that Christians first undertook the study of science? Believing that God was a God of order and not disorder, early Christian scientists began studying their world. They assumed that everything in the world would react predictably to certain stimuli and that the reaction could be repeatedly observed and measured.
I have watched with fascination over the last week as blog after blog has linked to the story of a young boy who had an unfortunate encounter with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. In all the stories, I have not seen even one person question this story. I am not saying that this mother lied, I am saying that one story on the internet does not equate to scientific proof and will not cause me to throw out my favorite cleaning product.
So… I tried to check the story out. As the mother in the story did, I went to google.com and searched “Magic Eraser Burn.” I did get a lot of responses, but many of the responses directed me to her original blog entry. I found one other entry of a topical reaction or blistering in response to the Magic Eraser. Most of the rest of my hits were for Photoshop. Apparently this software has a tool that you can use to erase part of your picture that is called a “Magic Eraser” too.
Then, I checked my favorite Internet hoax site and found that there has been a false e-mail circulated that speaks concerning the dangerous chemicals found in the Magic Eraser. Magic Erasers are comprised entirely of melamine foam. According the the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the Magic Eraser, there are no other added chemicals. The structure of the melamine foam is described as similar to fiberglass. The sponge is a very fine abrasive. I would not use a fiberglass-like fine abrasive sponge to clean my child’s skin. Nor am I going to try to recreate this “experiment” so I can prove through experimentation that indeed rubbing such a sponge over the skin will create microscopic scratches in the skin and lead to an inflammatory response. But I contend that this child has an abrasion (kind of like a “rug burn”), and not a chemical burn.
I use the Magic Eraser almost daily. Chemicals burn on contact. If the sponge contained an acid or base that was strong enough to create a chemical burn, when I touched the damp sponge, I would have experienced one already. Even the mom in the story admitted that she had used a Magic Eraser on her own skin. [I had used a Magic Eraser to remove magic marker from my own knuckles a while back and I couldn’t understand why he was suddenly in pain.] I have white counters in my kitchen. I used to have to use bleach on them to remove stains. The Magic Eraser and water is more effective than bleach and bleach is much more reactive and has a much worse health rating than the Magic Eraser. We should all teach our children to use cleaning products as described on the package and only for their intended purpose. Additionally, when the sponge starts to disintegrate and tiny particles are falling off everywhere, it should be thrown out. These smaller particles could be accidentally inhaled or ingested.
So, why the rant? Why not just let you all throw out your Magic Erasers; blissfully unaware that you have just thrown out your best cleaning supply? Because, a Magic Eraser is safer than most of the other cleaning supplies you have in your home.
Edited to add:
Like latex, melamine-formaldehyde resin may cause an allergic reaction and contact dermatitis in some people.
12 responses so far ↓
Mallory // 27 June 2007 at 12:00 pm
Ok, So I did the same thing. I just that email talking about the magic eraser burn from my aunt. I decided to also google it and found only her blog and photoshop stuff. Then after going though about 50 or so lists I found your site. I agree with you on this. I use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser almost every day through out my whole house, including my 2 yr old room. I would never let him use it, he can use a wash cloth if he wants to help me clean. I am going to email my aunt back and let her know if is a hoax about the magic eraser. I just wanted to let you know that I agree with you and will keep using them.
Rachel // 6 July 2007 at 1:27 pm
I too just received this e-mail from my mother. First of all I have 3 little girls and would never allow them to use some kind of cleaning agent no matter what the mess. Even if they are cleaning with a washcloth, I am watching them and they are not allowed to put it on their face. We have however used the magic eraser many times and have never suffered any kind of reaction. This story just doesn’t make much sense.
Kerri Ruck // 14 July 2007 at 9:46 pm
Well, I’m here to tell you that I have a chemical burn on my wrist from none other than the Magic Eraser. After attempting to wipe off paint from my hand when I had no other sponge, cloth, etc. handy, I used it and it is now a large welt that is oozing. So, I don’t know what else to tell you…
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Don’t wipe your hands with it, I guess…
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My Response:
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I have never said that the Magic Eraser sponge will not damage your skin. In fact, I have stated in this entry and in My Two Cents (Part 1) that the sponge can indeed damage skin. My point is that the mechanism of injury is mechanical debridement and not a chemical burn. The Magic Eraser doesn’t contain chemicals but it is described as an abrasive, similar to fiberglass. You don’t have a chemical burn; you have used an ultra-fine sandpaper disguised as a sponge to scrape off the top layer of your skin. The oozing welt… normal inflammatory process. You have damaged your body’s first line of defense against invading organisms, the skin. Your body is sending out cells to clean the toxins from the area. Your capillaries are becoming “leaky” so that these cells can leave the blood stream and work at the point of injury. Luckily, in this case, you can assume what you want and you will still apply the appropriate treatment. A chemical burn should be flushed for several minutes using cold water… and that is exactly what you should do for mechanical debridement caused by a Magic Eraser. The cool water soothes the area and the mechanical force of the water flushes away any microscopic particles from the sponge; thereby, removing the source of mechanical irritation. Keep the area clean.
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My concern when this came out and why I wrote about it is that when the original blog entry appeared the mommyblogger and homeschool blogger community embraced this story as fact. Several blog entries were written discussing this incident and accusing P&G of having “undisclosed ingredients,” asserting that the product should be pulled from the shelf and suggesting that the mother involved sue this company. Since I belong to the Christian homeschooling community, my ability to teach my children science is regularly questioned by secularists who fully embrace evolutionary theory as fact. I felt at the time (and still feel) that insisting that the Magic Eraser sponge will create a chemical burn when melamine foam does not cause chemical burns, there are no added chemicals in the sponge and, in fact, the sponge’s pH is identical to that of common household soap gives credence to the claim that the community of Christian homeschoolers don’t understand the scientific process well enough to teach science to their children. Our ability to think critically and accept or reject a hypothesis based upon observable, testable, measurable and repeatable data is rightfully called into question.
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Your testimony, rather than proving a point, reinforces my argument. Chemicals burn on contact. Each time I use a Magic Eraser, that episode constitutes a test. I can repeatedly touch (contact) the Magic Eraser sponge without observing any mearsurable damage to my skin. It doesn’t even turn pink. While some people may be sensitive to the sponge and prefer to use it while wearing gloves, most people do not even experience any objective sensation of itching, irritation or burning when touching the sponge. Only when you applied friction by scrubbing your skin with the sponge did you experience skin damage. It was the friction that damaged the skin and not chemicals that are in the sponge. In fact, each and every case on the Internet describes the identical mechanism… rubbing your skin off by using a cleaning product in a way it was never intended to be used.
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And, demanding additional labeling on the product goes against my basic understanding of personal responsibility. The product is already labeled with instructions on how to use it. It has pictures and words showing it being used on walls, countertops and other hard surfaces. It is sold in the household cleaners section of the store. Nothing would give me the idea that this product belonged in the health & beauty department alongside skin cleansers and shampoos. Already products contain so much information designed to prevent lawsuits in our litigious society that the print is so small it is illegible.
Paula Hein // 7 August 2007 at 2:31 pm
Thank you very much for your intelligent, well thought out and educated response to yet another alarmist email. Although I find myself being ridiculously over-protective of my children on a daily basis, I’m always bothered by these types of ‘warnings’ or ‘alerts.’ I couldn’t agree more with you regarding personal responsibility… I imagine if you jam it in your eye, that’s going to hurt a lot and do some damage - but that’s not the manufacturer’s fault either. This is a household cleaning product and should be kept with all other household cleaning products - away from small children! Period. My pool water sometimes inches up to a pH over 8 - and I submerse myself in it daily! Thank you for having the wisdom and patience to calmly and intelligently respond to this hysteria - you’re a better woman than I!
ybus // 13 August 2007 at 4:28 pm
Thank you for posting this. This product is the best thing since sliced bread! I found it hard to believe that it did this to a child, unless the child was SCRUBBING themselves unendingly. I’ve often wondered how the little pad was able to clean anything, but i left it at that.
I also did the internet search to find out if it was a hoax.
Anyway thanks for the informed entry.
y
Kathie // 17 August 2007 at 3:40 pm
glad to see I am not the only one who did not believe the email. found you from google search trying to confirm the alleged burns. I also use the magic erasers, and have never have a problem. However, different people have different skin and some might react to the material used. I hate it when people send out these alarmist type stories and make everyone crazy. By the way, not a problem with my son–he would not even think of cleaning up after himself!!!!
Jodi // 21 August 2007 at 5:05 pm
If Mr. Clean Magic Erasers or other store brands had “chemicals” in it, wouldn’t every person’s arms and hands be burnt? My arms and hands have not gotten rashed up or burnt from using them.
I swear on those Magic Erasers! Anything from scrubbing pots and pans to deep cleaning the tubs and also removing those infamous crayon and marker drawings on the walls!
As for the original story of the panicky mom, I have one question for her:
**Who in the heck lets their child rub any kind of cleaning cloth or eraser on their face and hands that is probably full of germs and grime from all the cleaning in the first place? I wouldn’t doubt it, if the “dirties” on the eraser gave the child his rash. Like Ewww.
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My Response:
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My child does a lot of things I don’t let her do. Just today I found doodling on one of the chairs in my formal living room. The chairs are just a little over 3-years old. My daughter is 15! I never made a rule about not doodling on my furniture because I never thought she ever would. Children are very, very sneaky! I think the moral of this whole story is that the Magic Eraser sponge is not as benign as it first appears. Most parents are pretty diligent about teaching their children how to properly handle cleaning products. We need to be just as careful about these sponges.
Courtney // 20 September 2007 at 12:12 am
This mother is nice enough to let people know about this and so many people keep bringing up how the kid should not have the eraser. She thought her child was cleaning the wall because he was old enough and I am sure she did not think that something like this would happen. People that do not have children should not even have the right to comment because accidents happen and imagine what this mother is going through.
Connie // 25 September 2007 at 9:12 am
While I never buy products for my home that can harm our environment, I too got this email.
In Checking with Snopes.com, the email circulated speaking of “Scotchbrite Magic Eraser” has truth to it. The company (3M) resolved the issue with the family in Jan 2007 and apologized. They also promised to change their labeling to better inform consumers of the dangers of using on skin.
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Reading the MSDS sheet just makes me horrified! For one, Formaldehyde is a known irritant on your skin, but more important it is a carcinogen! It is linked to cause cancer! Do you or your child have asthma? It can make you go into a full blown Asthma attack!
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It is dangerous to have and WHY do parents put their family at risk period?
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Shop SAFE products for your home and protect your children, yourself and the environment. All the cleaners you wash down your drain, where are they going? Back into the soil where you expect your clean drinking water to come from!
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Safe products truly make you breath easier. One life … One World …. Take no chances.
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Being a good Steward is taking care of the world around you.
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Connie
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My Response:
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[the email circulated speaking of “Scotchbrite Magic Eraser” has truth to it] The truth is that these sponges can damage skin. I have never denied that. I disagree that the labeling needed to be changed. I addressed my personal feelings about product labeling in my response in a previous comment.
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I need to point out that while formaldehyde is used in the manufacturing of the Magic Eraser sponge, there is no formaldehyde in the final product. This hoax circulated quite awhile ago and has already been addressed on Snopes. Consider the following chemical reaction: Sodium Hydroxide (lye) is added to Hydrochloric Acid producing salt and water (NaOH + HCl –> NaCl + HOH or H2O). In this example, both lye and acid are used in the manufacturing of your product (salt water), but do not appear in the final product.
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Additionally, melamine resin (in addition to being what is in the Magic Eraser sponge) is used in some plastic kitchenware, laminate countertops and laminated particle board (which is extensively used in ready-to-assemble shelfs, cabinets and closet storage systems). Getting rid of this cleaning product will not mean your environment is free from melamine resin. Melamine resins have extremely low volatile emmissions and have not been proven to alter indoor air quality. Additionally, laminate flooring and cabinetry which are made from melamine resin have long been considered a standard in green building. Both are consistently presented by environmentally friendly builders as being a great sustainable alternative to traditional building materials. We cannot say that melamine resin is safe in one application and then vilify it in another. Frankly, I feel this product is one of the most environmentally sound cleaning products I own. With it I can clean even deep stains on my counters and hard surfaces with only water.
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Last, I deleted references to the URL you linked to in your comment. I followed the URL you left and it linked to a company that requires that its members shop/spend a minimum amount each month for cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc. from… well their company and requires that their members “sell” membership to others. I found many claims about common household agents causing ADHD, cancer, fibromyalgia, depression, asthma, ad nauseum. Strangely, I did not find one link to a double blind, placebo-controlled published research study documenting or lending support to these claims. I would be much more convinced of the danger of some of the chemicals in my environment if the findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal. Finding these claims on a site devoted to selling products seems disingenuous. As per my blog’s comment policy, I do not link to commercial sites from this blog.
Sue White // 1 October 2007 at 2:41 pm
Kudos to you.
Wonderful insights and thanks for setting the record straight for alot of folks.
I, myself, remember reading on the package when the Magic Eraser first came out that they were “superfine abrasives” at work. The chemical accusation didn’t ring true for me, either, from what I had already read. Although, I could relate it to using a microfine steel wool pad, which in itself isn’t caustic, but wouldn’t lead me to use it on skin.
As for an allergic reaction, it is very possible. Especially if it is somewhat like fiberglass. Everyone knows to not touch the pink (or yellow) fluffy insulation in the attic. Some people get little, if any, reaction to it but quite a few others have such serious reactions that they may need hospitalized.
You can help teach my kids science any day!
Good Job!
kerri ruck // 13 October 2007 at 11:56 am
I just happened to come back to this site after doing a small google search. Although I appreciate the info in “Two Cents,” I was not trying to dispute nor support anyone’s scientific discourse! Nor was I providing “testimony” to prove a point. You need to relax a little. Quite frankly, I was responding to the blog on the Photoshop allegations. Whatever the scientific cause of the welt I experienced this past summer, it was not a “photo hoax.” That’s all… again, not saying that you should pull it off the shelf, just don’t mechanically debride your skin…
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My Response:
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Kerri,
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I am already the most relaxed type A person that I know :o)!
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First, if you will check the date that this originally posted… November 2006. This entry was dormant and recieving very few views until June of this year I began having a few hits per day. Starting July 15th the number of views increased exponentially. Apparently, some unscrupulous individual had released an email warning about chemical burns related to the Magic Eraser. This entry has been my most read entry every day since that time. While I am glad that people are checking the validity of this warning before passing it to everyone they know, other parts of this sudden blog fame have been less heartening. I am sorry if I offended you or if you have felt belittled. When blogging, I have lost my best communication tools: body language and tone of voice. In the case of this entry, I have lost something more. People are coming into a conversation that started almost a year ago and have little understanding of the history that went along with this post.
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I have never alleged that the photo of this child was created with Photoshop. I merely stated that Photoshop has a tool called the Magic Eraser. When I tried to verify this mother’s story by googling Magic Eraser Burn, Google returned “hits” for her site, blogs linking to her site and sites about Photoshop. I do not believe this mother created this photo with Photoshop. I believe this little boys skin was damaged by the Magic Eraser sponge. I have a masters degree in Critical Care Nursing and in my last professional position I taught Medical Surgical Nursing at a community college. One of the classes I taught covered the anatomy and physiology and pathophysiology of skin. This class dealt heavily with topic of burn care.
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When I blogged about this product, I was blogging on homeschool blogger (HSB). When I moved to this site, I would have had to move each blog comment individually in order for each comment to be included in this blog’s history. I didn’t have time to do that. There were many homeschooling moms responding to this story. The HSB forum allows you to link to the last 100 member posts. It is too remote a memory to give you exact numbers, but I found so many people blogging this story that I would bet more than 20 of the last 100 blog entries on HSB that day were about the Magic Eraser sponge.
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The 2007-2008 National Education Association’s Resolutions asserted that, “home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.” The American Academy of Pediatrician has also taken a stand against homeschooling declaring, “all school-aged children are entitled to obtain their education in a school setting.” Not surprisingly, the the National Association of Elementary School Principals has also asserted that homeschooling does not “permit effective assessment of academic standards of quality.” My interest in this topic really is solely the picture homeschooling moms were painting so publically on their blog by accepting this story and passing it on as fact without thinking critically about it. Presenting ourselves poorly is a big deal to me. Currently, despite all the professional bias against homeschooling, homeschooling is legal in every state. But, if we lose public support, things may change radically. How we present ourselves as educators could mean the difference between homeschooling legally and compulsory attendance.
buffy // 17 December 2007 at 10:57 am
I am a mother of two and have used this product. I am not saying it is the best or not, that is up to the user, but i do use it. Here is what I want to know. Have we all just lost our minds? What adult person would use a house hold cleaning spunge to clean your skin? Just think about it. It is that kind of people that makes the rest of us laugh at warning labels. Have we just got to the point we can no longer think for our selves. Think, if it will take of scuff marks from surfaces yes it can take off your skin. When i recieved the email about the boy I knew it was not all in truth. After all i have used the product and will still do so. I found this site when i was looking for the pic of the little boy to show my kids what could happen when you dont use things the way they are intended. I think you are doing a great job on this site. I just wish we were using the brain God gave us. And as far as home schooling. I am home schooling myself through college. YOU GO GIRL. And yes i did mean to yell it.
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