By Tracy M
A Public Service Announcement from the makers of Mormon Mommy Wars:
If you, like me, have recieved a dozen chain e-mails (including photos) about the dangers of Magic Erasers (or other like products) you might want to check this out at Snopes.
This was posted on the website, from the mother of the boy in the pictures:
Important! I would ask, please, if you arrived here after searching the internet upon receiving an email forward with photos of my son’s face and my story pasted into it, PLEASE, delete the email. Do NOT forward it on. You may send the link to this page to your friends and family if you would like to warn others, but please, the photo of my son and my story are my copyrighted material, and I have NOT granted permission to anyone to use the information. Given the nature of e-mail forwards, often information is added, changed, or misused. If you have already forwarded the message on, please email your friends and family the link to this page and ask them to delete the message.
Snopes says that in January 2007, 3M (the manufactuerer) resolved the issue with the mother, and will label the product to “Not be used on Skin”. 3M maintains the issue was not with any ingredient in the product, but with the abrassive side of the sponge rubbing the skin.
According to public information, there are absolutely no ingredients in either the 3M sponge or the Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean that are subject to health-related labelling laws in either the United States or the European Union. Magic Erasers are considered a non-toxic product.
So what’s all that mean? I take it that I can safely use the wonderous magic-ness of these little erasers all around my home- I just better abstain from trying to scrub the Sharpie marker doodlings Beanie drew all over Abby’s tummy. I think that’s do-able.
I heart Magic Erasers. I’ve just found they work wonders on bird poop, thus cutting down my cage cleaning time considerably. I’ve looked at all the manufacturer info I can find, and they’re definitely safe, though if you’re concerned with any surfaces, just wipe them off with soapy water afterwards to remove the residue.
Comment #1 by FirebyrdSeptember 30th, 2007 at 10:45 amWe have Magic Erasered my walls to death. Literally. After Magic Erasering at least once a week for 2 years we finally had to repaint. They did keep it looking great for two years though.
Comment #2 by NestleSeptember 30th, 2007 at 10:49 amKind of sounds like a “well duh!” type situation. Do you need to print “not to be used on skin” on steel wool too? I should hope not!
Comment #3 by ColleenSeptember 30th, 2007 at 11:05 amWorks great on Mustard stains, and nothing works on Mustard stains.
So I guess when I need to bathe the kids I shouldn’t bring the Magic eraser in to use as a sponge duh!!!!
Comment #4 by Sarah ISeptember 30th, 2007 at 11:48 amfirst off, if i use a magic eraser without wearing rubber gloves, my hands turn beet red and swell up with painful welts. not really a “duh,” i thought… i NEVER expected such a reaction.
secondly, the mom quoted above is a fellow lds blogger who is just really SUCH a sweetheart. i feel badly for all of the hate mail people sent her over the incident and i’d sure hate for her to read a lot of “well, duh” comments here.
Comment #5 by makakonaSeptember 30th, 2007 at 12:35 pmHate mail? Over a magic eraser?
Comment #6 by Heather O.September 30th, 2007 at 1:22 pmmakakona- hate mail? Really? I posted her response here to help people stop forwarding that e-mail with the pictures of her son- per her request.
As far as making her feel bad, that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted people to know not to panic over using them. I have no problem with them on my skin, nor does anyone in my family. I suppose it’s like anything, there are degrees of reaction.
Comment #7 by Tracy MSeptember 30th, 2007 at 1:30 pmhate mail! really! mean letters about her mothering and intelligence from big meanies! and she really is just soooo sweet. i l-o-v-e LOVE her blog.
i didn’t mean to imply that you, tracy, were being anything less than sincere about helping to stop the chain mails.
Comment #8 by makakonaSeptember 30th, 2007 at 2:36 pmWow. That’s so sad that people would attack her mothering. I’m sorry if I seemed defensive, makakona- it floors me that people could be so mean.
For the record, she also proclaims in her statement that she was not ever after, and hasn’t accepted, any money from the company. She just wanted the labeling to change.
Comment #9 by Tracy MSeptember 30th, 2007 at 3:10 pmI don’t think she’s a stupid mother. I just think she cleans too much
Comment #10 by Heather O.September 30th, 2007 at 3:26 pmI get tons of chain emails and before I EVER consider them seriously or send them on I always go to snopes.com and put in the title of the email. 9 times out of 10 the email is something that started out as truth and ended up so changed and imbelished that it’s now totally false. So I rarely ever send anything on and wish that everyone who gets these kind of emails would do the same. Then we wouldn’t get so much spam in our inboxes. Snopes is a great site.
Comment #11 by StarababaSeptember 30th, 2007 at 4:09 pmI heart Magic Erasers.
I hate chain mails.
I heart snopes.com.
Comment #12 by m&mSeptember 30th, 2007 at 7:20 pmI think the important thing is not to let your kids use them, as kids sometimes do thoughtless things. And to wear gloves (these things really hurt my hands–but my roommate in college had no problem with them).
Comment #13 by EmilyOctober 1st, 2007 at 3:44 amI can’t believe I was forced to raise almost all of my children without Mr Clean Magic erasers. I adore them,I would marry them if I could. They don’t bother my hands a bit. I was reading how they work, and I read they are super small micro fibers that do the magic. Wow. Like using gecko feet to clean. Amazing.
Comment #14 by Jo in UtahOctober 1st, 2007 at 4:11 amOne of the reasons I’ve left the story of my son’s injuries on my website — despite the terrible and hate filled e-mails I’ve received — is because the e-mail forward and the Snopes website doesn’t tell the whole story.
It’s easy, I suppose, to read the digest and make a snap assessment, cataloging our entire experience under the word “duh”.
So I leave it up. Intelligent, questioning people find the whole story and send me nice e-mails. Folks who are comfortable with their digest-driven judgments sometimes send me hate filled e-mail.
The steel wool comment is a new one, usually the biting sarcasm involves something along the lines of letting my children bathe in bleach. So thanks, I suppose, for at least being creative if not at all empathetic or kind.
Before lying my neck on the cyber-space chopping block, you may want to read our entire story here: http://kerflop.com/2006/11/02/chemical-burn/ There are links to the updates not included in the e-mail forward or the Snopes website you might find interesting.
If you still want to publicly hang me afterwards, well I guess you can grab your pitchforks and meet the rest of the mob on my front lawn at midnight. Torches optional.
I appreciate Tracy doing her part to put an end to the abominable email forward. And I do apologize if I sound a little calloused. I’ve simply been dealing with e-mail on this subject for nearly a year.
Makakona - you rock. I’m totally sending you a pony.
Comment #15 by kerflopOctober 1st, 2007 at 6:19 amI got this a while back and my first thought was duh as well, but on a totally different level. I mean, I have a kid who wants to help clean so why the heck wouldn’t I let him? Teach him the value of elbow grease ya know? He uses wipes(arguably less safe than a magic eraser) and wipes the kitchen table and counters whenever he gets the chance. I remember begging my mom to buy a diahwasher and all she ever said was “why would I? I already have 3″ meaning my brothers and I of course. Hey, my kid asks to clean, I’m gonna let him clean, no-brainer on that one!
Comment #16 by mo mommyOctober 1st, 2007 at 10:42 amand I didn’t think Colleens duh comment was directed at the blogger per se, likely just at people who had to have a warning on everything……
Comment #17 by mo mommyOctober 1st, 2007 at 10:44 amJust how I read it though
Kerflop-
Whoa, nelly. Nobody has taken out her pitchfork just yet. We save those for special occasions.
Comment #18 by Heather O.October 1st, 2007 at 12:05 pmFor anyone interested, here’s a link to what the magic eraser really is and why it would have that effect on skin. I’m a huge fan as well but just so you know, it’s basically just sandpaper/fiberglass.
Comment #19 by Sarah F.October 1st, 2007 at 6:43 pm[…] Also, the e-mail forward does not contain the updates, follow ups, or additional information the full story features on my website, leading people to say things like “duh” and “would you really let your child play with household cleaners?” (Answer, only bleach and Ajax if they’re really good and clean up their rooms first). […]
Pingback #20 by Kerflop » Short version of that very long rant.October 15th, 2007 at 10:04 pmok, so why is a young child using ANY sort of cleaning material, that obviously contains some sort of chemicals? If it were mean for a child, chances are, it would be sold in “toys”
Comment #21 by AnnmarieOctober 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pmMy oldest daughter, she is almost 30 made the terrible mistake of trying to use the eraser sponge (from a shopping online store)to get marker off of her 23 month-old son in the bath tub. Just a few minutes, and off she went to pick up her 7 year old at school, she noticed it getting red in a puffy way and she called me and told me and I said put Cortaid and antibiotic on it. Her son’s father came to pick him up for a sleep over visitation and she told him about it, so, later that night he didn’t call her to tell her their son was worse or so she could go with him -which was court ordered because she has custody to be notified in the event of an emergency and took him to the ER and they didn’t believe the story he gave-well we don’t know the explanation he gave-and child service was called and she was questioned and given a citation and her daughter was questioned at school and her son was placed indefinitely with the father till the investigation is over. We have a lawyer, it has been four days and she has called him, the father to see how their son is doing and no one answers her calls. She is in agony, we thought we would look online since child welfare told us that everyone who looked at her son said she had to have used excessive force to have burned him like that. Which will be considered child abuse and she most likely would have a no contact order put against her. Well, we were shocked to see the article and experience Jessica put on Kerplop. My daughter swears she was in the tub with him a used the sponge with no force of any kind. When we are finally given copies of our beloved child we will post them because she to read “not to ingest” and how it was non-toxic and a list containing markers, scuffs, and much more. (An incomplete warning) that has caused a very good mother (who was not informed with the whole story on the magic eraser) to have a child removed from her care during the week of Thanksgiving 2007. Until all companies that distribute the soft white eraser sponges include a complete warning on their product, there will be people who do not know about it, my daughter does not use the computer. Her child’s doctor says her son’s file speaks for itself, and if subpoenaed he will testify that she has her child health and quality of life at heart in every way. My daughter is devastated and will be with her lawyer at child welfare tomorrow morning, I will be there too, and we hope it will be resolved-but it won’t come easy and we as a family will be forever changed.
Comment #22 by nana jillNovember 19th, 2007 at 11:38 pmPlease, It took hours to become as inflamed as it got and a allergic reaction was never discussed because she wasn’t there and she was judged before she was given any information about her poor baby-this can’t be right. We need to see him soon.
Concerned Grandmother, Mother, and Consumer
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Comment #24 by Heriberto GillaspieAugust 28th, 2010 at 9:38 amI just used a magic eraser for the first time ever to clean the shower and tub. It did a great job, but I noticed 2 cut places on my hand and fingers. If I would have known it would do that, I would have worn gloves. I plan to keep using them, but will always wear gloves in the future.
Comment #25 by Terri HarrisApril 26th, 2012 at 7:42 pm