Glade Plug-Ins and House Fires from Planck's Constant

I happen to know most house fires are caused by cooking, and so when Glade Plugins are mentioned in this email I have to set the record straight:

House Fires-PLEASE READ

Received from a friend who is in the property insurance business. It is well worth reading. This is one of those emails that if you didn't send it, rest assured someone on your list will suffer for not reading it. The original message was written by a lady whose brother and his wife learned a hard lesson this past week. Their house burned down... nothing left but ashes. They have good insurance so the house will be replaced and most of the contents. That is the good news.

However, they were sick when they found out the cause of the fire. The insurance investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had the cause of the fire traced to the master bathroom. He asked her sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the normal things... curling iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her, "No, this would be something that would disintegrate at high temperatures".

Then her sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-In, in the bathroom. The investigator had one of those "Aha" moments. He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more house fires started with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said the plastic they are made from is THIN plastic. He also said that in every case there was nothing left to prove that it even existed. When the investigator looked in the wall plug, the two prongs left from the plug-in were still in there. Her sister-in-law had one of the plug-ins that had a small night light built in it. She said she had noticed that the light would dim and then finally go out. She would walk into the bathroom a few hours later, and the light would be back on again.

The investigator said that the unit was getting too hot, and would dim and go out rather than just blow the light bulb. Once it cooled down it would come back on. That is a warning sign. The investigator said he personally wouldn't have any type of plug in fragrance device anywhere in his house. He has seen too many places that have been burned down due to them.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL THE PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. NOT ONLY COULD IT SAVE SOMEONE'S HOUSE, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE

Here's my take:

I do not like email rumors where the source is not named or claims not sourced. I also loathe having a curse placed upon me for not passing it on: "someone on your list will suffer for not reading it".

As to the claim "more house fires started with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else": no, as I mentioned above, cooking is the primary cause of residential fires [Smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths], Source.

If this investigator knew that Glade Plug-ins caused so many fires he should have asked her directly instead of beating around the bush.

ConsumerWatch reporter Mike Sigmond of KETV, OMAHA investigated when a viewer sent a copy of this email back in July of 2004. His report:

Our investigation did uncover a link between the Plug-Ins and fire danger. In 2002, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and S.C. Johnson, the makers of the Plug-In, recalled 2.5 million Glade Plug-Ins because of fire risk.

S.C. Johnson has since revised the manufacturing process and returned the product to store shelves. There were never any reports of fires linked to the recalled Glade Plug-Ins.

The Omaha Fire Department said it hasn't had any reports of fires being linked to the product and it wouldn't discourage anyone from using it.

"All of our Plug-Ins products are safe and will not cause fires," said S.C. Johnson in a letter to Sigmond. "We know this because... Plug-Ins products have been sold for more than 15 years and hundreds of millions of the products are being used safely."

Here's the full statement from S.C. Johnson:

SC Johnson Response to Internet Rumor on Glade PlugIns®

SC Johnson recently learned that there have been postings on the Internet that have claimed that its products were involved in fires. It is important that you know that all of the Glade PlugIns® products are safe and will not cause fires. The company knows this because Glade PlugIns® products have been sold for more than 15 years and hundreds of millions of the products are being used safely.

Because SC Johnson is committed to selling safe products, the company thoroughly investigated these rumors. First, it confirmed that no one had contacted SC Johnson to tell the company about these fires or to ask the company to investigate them. Additionally, SC Johnson had a leading fire investigation expert call the fire department representative who is identified in one of the Internet postings. That fireman indicated that he has no evidence that SC Johnson products had caused any fire.

SC Johnson suspects this rumor may be associated with a past SC Johnson voluntary recall of one of its air freshener products, a Glade® Extra Outlet Scented Oil product that was sold for a short period before June 1, 2002. After discovering an assembly error in a small number of that product, SC Johnson implemented a voluntary recall and provided extensive information about the product to the U.S. Consumer Safety Commission (CPSC). After revising the manufacturing process and thorough testing for proper assembly, the Glade® PlugIns® Scented Oil Extra Outlet product returned to store shelves on June 3, 2002. SC Johnson has no knowledge of any credible reports of fire related to this product.

SC Johnson also knows that its products do not cause fires because all of the Glade PlugIns® products have been thoroughly tested by Underwriters Laboratories and other independent laboratories, and SC Johnson products meet or exceed safety requirements. SC Johnson continues to work closely with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate allegations involving PlugIns® products.

As a more than 100-year-old, family-owned company, SC Johnson is committed to providing top quality products that can be used safely in homes, and the company wants to reassure you that Glade PlugIns® products can be used with complete confidence.

Here are the product precautions:

Important: There is a risk of electrical shock. This product is not a toy and is for adult use only. Do not place open refills on finished surfaces. Do not use in small, confined pet areas without adequate ventilation. Do not obstruct airflow. Keep away from furniture, fabrics, bedding and other materials that might present a fire hazard. • Use in a properly functioning 120-volt electrical outlet only. • EYE IRRITANT: Do not remove or puncture clear film covering concentrate. If contact is made with eyes, flush with water for 20 minutes. If irritation persists, consult a physician. Product contains fragrance. • KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN AND PETS. • Use holder exclusively with Glade® PlugIns® fragrance refills. • SC Johnson will not be held responsible for damage, injury or poor performance caused by use of any other refills in PlugIns® holder. • Appliances such as power tools, microwaves, refrigerators, etc., should not be used. • Do not plug extension cords, multi-plug or three-prong adapters into the unit. • In event of power loss to the Extra Outlet feature, remove the holder unit from the electrical outlet and call 800-558-5252. • This appliance has a polarized plug (one blade is wider than the other). To reduce the risk of electrical shock, this plug will fit in a polarized outlet in only one way. If the plug does not fit fully in the outlet, reverse the plug. If it still does not fit, contact a qualified electrician. Do not modify the plug in any way. • Night Light turns on automatically when the room gets dark and off when the room gets light. There is a small light sensor in the PlugIns® holder to the left of the extra outlet. Do not obstruct the sensor, or the night light will stay on. Night light will last up to 3,650 hours. When the night light burns out, do not attempt to replace it. Replace the entire unit. • Night light may get hot. Do not touch lens area while light is on.

So do I think they are dangerous? Well, maybe more dangerous than not having them at all, but not the most likely cause of fires. What I am certain of is that the perfume and other chemicals thrown into the air are not good for your lungs or your health. I will offer the disclaimer that there is no evidence supporting a significant risk to human health from the use of air fresheners under normal conditions. Letting water drip on your head is also not a significant risk to human health, however do it for a few weeks and you will be a raving lunatic.

The whole thing boils down to using it as directed. Almost everything you buy in the supermarket today will kill you if you don't read the directions.

I don't use air fresheners because I hate fake chemical odors. Hell, I don't permit my employees to wear perfumes.

Want to make your house smell nice? Put a bowl of fruit in the kitchen and stop farting inside your house.

Some readers comments from museumofhoaxes forum

Other sites that have also determined this to be a hoax:

hoax-slayer

urbanlegends

snopes

Pursuing Holiness hates getting these email forwards.