Often in our field we get testimonies that exemplify the work we do….this one, from Sherrie Attilla is amazing!!
Strap yourself in when you read this story and ask yourself,
“Do I know any family that buys “The Works” toilet bowl cleaner from Sam’ s Club.
They need to read this testimony.
One of my new business associates, Corey Davis, was at his BNI Business Networking ) group in Kalamazoo, MI and at his turn, he was sharing about our awesome Green Clean Product Line
As the members went around taking their turns, Matthew Rzepka stood to give his 1 minute commercial about his CPA business and stopped and told everyone at the meeting that they really needed to listen to Corey and then shared this testimony.
He was willing to email it to Corey so everyone could hear about their family’s experience and be alerted!!!
Sherrie Attila
Matthew L. Rzepka, CPA, CFP® Managing Partner / Owner
“…At the local Sam’s Club, my wife purchased a 4 pack, shrink wrapped, of “The Works” toilet bowl cleaner. On the way home, in the back of our van, it tipped over, and some leaked out (about half a bottle) on the seat and the carpet because of a hole in the top of one of the bottles. The seat, the carpet and the underlying steel were all damaged.
The final resolution: our insurance company totaled the van, because of the spill!
According to the insurance company and poison control, the fumes from the toilet bowl cleaner made the interior environment of the van permanently unsafe for anyone, especially young children, so we wouldn?t be able to drive the van any more.
The fumes also corroded any exposed metal in the van and poison control warned over time would ruin most if not all electrical connections. After the van was cleaned and repaired to the fullest extent possible, it was still determined that eventually, the residual fumes would continue to have a chemical reaction and deteriorate anything left in the van, leaving the van completely useless and unsafe, hence the insurance companies decision to total the vehicle was made.”
Allow me to capture the languaging of this testimony:
common toilet bowl cleaner from Sam’s Club
carpet and steel damage
insurance and poison control
permanently unsafe for anyone
undrivable
fumes corroded any exposed metal
fumes eventually will destroy electrical connections
residual fumes will deteriorate anything left in the van
useless and unsafe
glowing toilet flickr image credit
Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
Websites: Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Green Clean
How do you celebrate Earth Day?
If you’re not cleaning green – what’s stopping you?
an explosive expose here!watch what you use folks, your family and the fishies in the deep blue sea will thank you for reading labels.there’s no more excuse for not using green.
you got it nadine!!
Who knew? That is interesting…I’m amazed that the insurance company actually totaled it out. Refreshing to know they did the right thing!http://www.ecolabelfundraising.com
It is interesting isn’t it?
That’s great, I never thought about Toilet Bowl Cleaner like that before.
That’s great, I never thought about Toilet Bowl Cleaner like that before.
That’s great, I never thought about Toilet Bowl Cleaner like that before.
That’s great, I never thought about Toilet Bowl Cleaner like that before.
I was just thinking about Do You Use The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner and you’ve really helped out. Thanks!
Good post, but have you thought about Use The Works Toilet Bowl Cleaner before?
bunch of bs to discredit product…mother earth is a loser..
That’s great, I never thought about Toilet Bowl Cleaner like that before.
Good post, but have you thought about toilet bowl before?
So sorry that you couldn’t just say “I don’t agree”, without adding insults! That won’t change anyone’s mind.
The active ingredient in “The Works” is Lye. Lye has been on the market for a very long time now. My generation has always been warned about Lye and to be careful if using it. Lye eats through anything including metal if it can not be cleaned away and off the surface where it sits. This is why the vehicle had to be totaled. In a toliet there is water rinsing over the surface and out into either a tank or treatment plant. A big difference between the two. The manufacturers of “Green” are using this to promote their product. Common sense should tell use this is the biggest reason behind this.
Not to mention the fact that Lye is animal derived. Thanks for sharing Pat
I was just thinking about Toilet Bowl Cleaner and you’ve really helped out. Thanks!
Good post, but have you thought about Toilet Bowl Cleaner before?
Actually lye is not animal derived.
You should check the actual definition of lye – A strong caustic alkaline solution of potassium or sodium salts, obtained by leaching wood ashes. It is much used in making soap as well as its use in biodiesel (source wiktionary). It is not now nor has it ever been animal derived.If you want to be green, check the facts instead of being a parrot.
If your going to dish a product then at least tell us what environmentally safe product that will clean rust off as well as The Works. And I will guarantee the good old “elbow grease” is not enough.
The works is 15% HCl solution, a very common but strong ionic acid. The same one that is in your stomach. The bottle should look a little more scarier, but for some cleaning jobs a strong acid is needed.Maybe you should investigate what you are going to criticize. HCl is a strong chemical and needs to be respected.
I don’t agree with you Chris. I have never ever needed an acid for housecleaning. I don’t feel strong chemicals need to be in the mainstream market. The testimony in this post clearly described harm of which I found alarming. Worth sharing
I agree the marketing is wrong on this product. It should be at home depot not next to regular toilet cleaners. HCl will remove mineral build up that Citric acid or acetic acid wont. I wonder how many bottles spilled. 20% HCl has a molarity of about 12, assuming 4L spilled that is about 50 moles of HCl, Iron and HCl for FeCl4, so about 12 Moles of iron consumed or about 672grams of iron. About a pound and a half of iron consumed if all the HCl went to doing that.The problem I see is that most people here equate destruction of the car with destruction of the Mother Earth. HCl is possible they least risky in terms of that, it is strong and destructive when concentrated but is quickly diluted by water or neutrallized. I would be more worried about an organic acid then this inorganic acid. Rather gruard my self against splash and contact risk then expose my self to random organic compounds and see what my body makes.
I am not the author of the testimony – I wouldn’t know re: how many bottles actually spilled. It was a speculative post. A sharing about something I found remarkably harmful. Having an insurance agency total the car gives credibilty to the damage caused. I’d rather clean with something that is wonderfully powerful that cleans well, biodegrades and is made from a plant like soy or corn. The works in my opinion would be better off not on the shelf of the grocery store or home depot . ‘d rather experiment with ta product that I’d not have to guard myself from splash or need a degree to decipher the label. Do you clean using green products? They might surprise you – and you could do your part for Mother Earth
Sorry screwed up the calculations should be about half as many moles of HCl and thus half the mass of iron.
Very doubt full that there i an organic acid that will work like HCl on mineralization. There are many cleaning products that you need to read the label to use. Mix bleach and ammonia cleaners and create a toxic gas. What green cleaning products and what are there ingredients. Splash risk are much easier to guard against. The works is not an everyday cleaner, but it is much safer then diluting muratic acid at home. I challenge you to find a cleaner that degrades quicker then HCl, as soon as there is water present it becomes H+ and Cl-.
Chris – These are the products that I personally use and sell:http://karen-hanrahan.myshaklee.com/us/en/category.php?main_cat=HomeCareYou won’t find me ever using something caustic, or something I have to again worry about re: dilution or splash risk that is personal my preference — typically I share further information with clients interested in purchasing verses trying to proove something – hope you understand. Were you interested in exploring a green option ?
I dont need you to share the information ,I can see by the msds for a few of your products that they are surfactant mixtures, good for cleaning dirt and grime, not removal of mineral deposits. I dont see a single product for removing mineral build up.Your product selection logic is like saying we cant have any sharp scissors or tools because of risk of cutting one self. They are tools for a job, some times you need to use a tool that has a bit more risk potential so you use the proper safety.What is the track record for the chemicals used in the surfactants, and there manufacture?
The choices I made re: shifting to cleaning green were from being a mom. These products have been around originally since the 50′s and some went through reformulation in recent years. all manufactured by our company.
Phew! Although, it doesn’t really surprise me that the cleaner caused such extensive damage. Toilet bowl cleaners often include hydrochloric acid, and if you’ve ever had to clean a toilet that hasn’t seen bristles for several months, you know that it can be needed!
That is an amazing story … but unsurprising, when you think about it. There are innumerable warnings on those bottles about what you can’t do with the products inside … many of them do contain quite a strong acid. I wonder if another insurance company would have reacted in the same way, though? How much is it a matter of opinion?
This is quite disturbing, despite the humorous undertone. Do other toilet cleansers contain Lye?
many cleaning products do contain lye
Yes, many cleaning products contain lye (NaOH-which is a strong base) but the product in question contains Hydrochloric acid (HCl-which is a strong acid). Nice try.
i brought my the works toilet bowl cleaner to my daughters house to clean her ex’s bathroom so she could sell the house. well i worked and worked on this very deep crusted lime and mineral deposit and with bare hands not knowing it contained lye. when i finished it looked so great . the realtor said one customer said he would have to put in a new bathroom at 12,000 dollars and i got it clean with the works. my hands didn’t suffer a bit and the bathroom looks not good but great. now i can’t find anywhere to buy it. shop rite doesn’t sell it anymore.
margaret — I work with non-toxic biodegradable cleaning products and offer alternatives to the works toilet bowl cleaner.
If you put this in a bottle with little tin foil balls and shake it up, it will explode. his is called “The Works Bomb”.
i found the works in walmart. i bought the two bottles that were left. i am amazed by the reviews and how they condemn the products. maybe i am buying a lesser strength. the first bottle i bought that i got such good results was the thick formula, and this one is more liquidy. my toilets weren’t as bad as they were four months ago but i had no trouble and i still didn’t wear gloves. but i did use a toilet brush. i may not use it everytime but boy this is a winner!
Karen, I went to Dr today. I have chemical bronchitis..The dr wants to know what indegredients is in this product. The is NOT one on the bottle. Can you help me?
Chemical Bronchitis – that’s terrible!!
This is what i could find:
“THE WORKS” TOILET BOWL CLEANER
32 Oz.
Eliminates stains.
Active ingredients: Hydrocloric Acid 20% Rodine 50.1%,Perfumes .1%
considered a hazardous substance
Active vs inert vs regular or professional strength.
I don’t know what you have.
I would contact the manufacturer and ask for an MSDS sheet.
Material Safety Data Sheet.
Brenda – what has your car insurance company said?
We have very hard water, and white vinegar (left for an hour or so) works great to remove lime deposits.
that’s true!! I think you’d also love this very long lasting totally biodegradable scour paste
http://karen-hanrahan.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sku=00430
I also recently had the Works spill in my truck and it melted the carpet. It also caused all the exspose metal to rust. One week later it started eating up my transmission control cable that’s running under the carpet which caused me to be unable to shift my truck into gear. I called my insurance company. I’m supposed to have an adjuster come out and look at it.
David – please share what your adjuster says. Thanks for telling us the details of your incident!