What are “Quats”? Preservatives that May Release Formaldehyde and Exacerbate Asthma

Washing your hands is at the top of the list when it comes to avoiding contagious illnesses and infections, but many still make the mistake of assuming you have to use antibacterial soap to get the job done right.

If you’re also using “anti-bacterials” to clean your home, routinely disinfecting your body and surroundings may actually cause more harm than good in the long run. Not only do they promote the development of drug-resistant bacteria, antibacterial compounds such as triclosan and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or "quats") have also been linked to a number of harmful health effects.

What are quats?

Quats, (quaternary ammonium compounds), are a type of ammonia-based disinfectant chemical used in cleaning products, laundry products, disinfecting wipes, dishwashing soap, hand soap, wood products, water purification (algaecides, for example), textile production, and in other household, agricultural, and industrial products.

Quats are registered as pesticides, like other common disinfectants, such as bleach.

Quats are chemicals that contain the quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) in their chemical makeup and can come under many names, such as “polyquaternium-11”.

They are used as preservatives, surfactants, germicides, and conditioning agents, and thus found in many products from hand sanitisers to hair mousse. They are a common active ingredient in cleaning supplies and disinfectants.

Biocides are antimicrobial chemicals. Their sole purpose is to kill unwanted or harmful living things such as plants (usually weeds), microbes, animals, viruses, fungi, etc.

Quats work by adhering to their target, then breaking down their structure, which destroys them. They also work as a preservative, a pesticide (diquat and paraquat), an anti-static compound, and a surfactant.

brief history on quats

Quats came to the market before the EPA (USA) began regulating chemicals, they were exempt from the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. This means they were grandfathered in and can continue being used in consumer products without EPA safety testing.

Since then, they have been tested in numerous studies, and the results are showing more harm than we thought.

The research on quats

Like many synthetic preservatives, however, some quats can be toxic, causing irritation and allergic reactions in humans.

The Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (USA) classifies quats as “asthmagens,” meaning they can trigger asthma attacks and cause new cases in asthma-free individuals.

Because they are so good at ‘sticking’ or adhering to surfaces and substrates, they also leave a residue that is potentially harmful to health and the environment.

Quaternary ammonia compounds, or quats, are disinfectants often added to cleaning supplies. Quats are asthmagens that have also been associated with reduced fertility and birth defects.

Quats are Everywhere

In the University of Massachusetts’ review, they write that of the disinfectants approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half are QAC-based.

fertility risks

Quats are one of two frequently used as disinfectants in cleaning products and antibacterial wipes, as anti-static agents in fabric softeners and dryer sheets, and as preservatives in personal care products undermined fertility in both male and female mice, according to a pivotal new study by researchers.[2]

Examples of products containing Quats include:

• All-purpose cleaners

• Adhesive bandages

• Bathroom cleaners

• Baby wipes

• Baby wash and shampoo

• Body wash

• Building materials

• Contact lens cleaner

• Cosmetics

• Deodorant

• Dish soap and detergent

• Disinfectant wipes

• Dryer sheets

• Fabric softener

• Fabric spray

• Feminine hygiene products

• Floor cleaner

• Hair color

• Hair spray

• Hair gel, and other styling products

• Hand soap

• Hand sanitizer

• Nasal sprays

• Kitchen cleaners

• Oven cleaners

• Fingerpaint

• Perfume

• Pet shampoos

• Sunscreen

• Shampoos

• Shaving cream

• Toothpaste and other oral care products

• Wound wash

Keeping a Tox Free Body and Environment

Quaternary ammonium compounds, also referred to as “QACs” or “quats,” contribute to antimicrobial resistance, pollute the environment and are linked to several health issues, including reproductive dysfunction.

If you use harsh chemicals inside your home, you’re only inviting toxins into your home. Instead, choose nontoxic and multiuse combinations to clean, deodorize and polish your home.

Resources

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890623815300319

2. Environmental Working Group, https://www.ewg.org/cleaners/substance_groups/61-Esterquats/

3. Check out this longer article on quats https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/clorox-disinfectant-wipes-reproductive-health-cola/

Do you have questions about the use of disinfectants and COVID-19? Sign up to get a free guide that addresses cleaning products, including disinfectants, quats, safer and effective options in keeping a clean home that is also safe for you and your loved ones.

Learn more about Avoiding Common Household Asthma Triggers here.

Studies on quats: Can Hand Sanitisers Harm Your Fertility?

“Quats,” short for quaternary ammonium compounds. They’ve been part of cleaning products for decades.

Because they were invented before most toxin regulations came into place, quats are mostly “grandfathered” into the chemicals used today.

Researchers are finding more and more about the harms of quats, including on fertility. In this article, we go over what research has found out about quats.

According to a pivotal study by researchers from Virginia Tech University and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, quats is a common ingredient in cleaning supplies that undermined fertility in both male and female mice.

the study

For the study, the researchers exposed female and male mice to quats. These were a mixture of two common quats  – alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC) and didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC).

After five weeks of daily exposure to the quat mix, female mice spent significantly less time in heat, and after eight weeks of exposure, ovulated less frequently and produced fewer viable embryos than female mice in the control group, the scientists reported.

They found that quats appeared to impair the reproductive systems of male mice even more dramatically.

quats were used to clean the mice cages and floors

The scientists fed small amounts of the quat mix to one group of male mice for eight days.

A second group of males wasn’t dosed deliberately but for seven weeks was housed in a facility where lab staffers conducted routine cleaning with the disinfectants.

In both groups, the male mice showed lower sperm concentrations and fewer swimming sperm than a control group of mice that was not exposed to the two quat chemicals under investigation.

You can read the study published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology here.

quats harm on fertility

This adds to earlier studies linking quats to fertility risks. An earlier study by research teams from Virginia Tech and Washington State University, found that female mice exposed to the quat combination took longer to achieve pregnancy, developed fewer pregnancies. and gave birth to smaller litters.

That December 2014 study has an interesting origin story. One of its lead researchers, Hrubec, noticed that the mice in her lab were reproducing less frequently. She only discovered the link after suspecting her lab assistants’ habit of wetting their hands with quat-laced disinfectant before handling the mice!

That brought Hrubec to an article in the journal Nature about Patricia Hunt, a prominent geneticist at Washington State, who had made similar observations in her own lab in 2005.

(Hunt is famed for another lab accident, back in 1998, that led her to discover that the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A was leaching from her lab animals’ plastic water bottles into their bodies. She told EWG in 2008 that BPA exposure scrambled the chromosomes in the animals’ eggs, rendering them infertile.)

post-pandemic increase in exposure to quats

During the pandemic, many people loaded up on disinfectants, hand sanitizers, and sanitizing wipes to keep possible viruses at bay.

It even changed many people’s habits to preferring sanitisers over simple hand washing, believing that the chemical wash helps them avoid getting sick.

However, now people are exposed to quats because of widespread use of these chemicals in homes, offices, stores, schools, medical facilities and elsewhere. EWG’s research on school cleaning supplies revealed quat-containing cleaners used in multiple school districts in California.

Quats are well-documented allergens and can cause otherwise healthy individuals to develop asthma.

It is highly ironic if, in a bid to rid ourselves of exposure to possible viruses, we expose ourselves to definite toxins and develop lung diseases and breathing difficulties instead.

References

1. Exposure to common quaternary ammonium disinfectants decreases fertility in mice, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0890623814001920

2. EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning lists more than 250 cleaning products that contain quats.