Home products

Sheni Labs · Home products

Home products

Cleaning agents, laundry products, air fresheners, disinfectants, pest control, water-treatment and the chemicals that live under the sink. These are regulated as chemicals and biocides, not as cosmetics, and the risks are of a different kind: inhalation, skin and eye exposure, mixing, and children.

What we check

  1. Hazard classification and labelling. The pictograms, signal word and hazard statements under the CLP Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 — and whether the product’s label matches its safety data sheet.
  2. Ingredient disclosure. Detergents must list ingredient groups by concentration band and name the preservatives and the fragrance allergens above threshold (Regulation (EC) No 648/2004); a product that does not is a “not assessable”.
  3. Biocides. Disinfectants, insecticides and antimicrobial products need authorised active substances under the Biocidal Products Regulation (EU) No 528/2012; unauthorised actives or unproven “kills 99.9%” claims are flagged.
  4. Air quality. Volatile organic compounds, fragrance load and particulates from sprays, candles and air fresheners; products that recommend use in unventilated rooms are marked down.
  5. Mixing and misuse. Whether the label warns about dangerous combinations — chlorine bleach with acids or ammonia releases toxic gases — and about use on food surfaces.
  6. Children and pets. Child-resistant closures where required, bitter agents, packaging that does not resemble food or drink (laundry capsules are the classic case).
  7. Environmental claims. “Biodegradable”, “eco” and “natural” need a standard behind them; the EU ecolabel and equivalent schemes count, marketing words do not.

Verdicts

RecommendedEvidence supports the use; ingredients, dose and form are right; labelling is complete; no safety signal.
Acceptable with caveatsUsable, but with a stated limitation: weak evidence for a claim, a non-optimal form, an avoidable additive, or a price out of line with equivalents.
Not recommendedA safety concern, an undisclosed or misleading ingredient, an illegal claim, a dose that is ineffective or excessive, or no verifiable documentation.
Not assessableDocumentation insufficient to reach a verdict; we say what is missing.
Automatic “Not recommended”A product fails if any of its ingredients is prohibited for that use in any of the reference jurisdictions — Georgia, any EU member state, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan — regardless of whether it is lawful where the product is sold. The reasoning is public-health reasoning: a prohibition by one competent regulator is evidence of a safety concern that does not stop at a border, and online sales do not stop at borders either. The verdict names the jurisdiction, the legal basis and the date. A dose limit or restriction elsewhere (as opposed to a prohibition) does not trigger the rule: it leads to “Acceptable with caveats” with the limit stated, or “Not recommended” if the product exceeds it by a wide margin.

Where the evidence comes from

Verdicts on home products are issued on request. Get a verdict →