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Are Swifยญfer Wet Pads Safe For Babies and Pets?The Interยญnet has givยญen us a fanยญtasยญtic techยญnoยญlogยญiยญcal revยญoยญluยญtion that has impactยญed our lives in so many ways, and itโs imposยญsiยญble to meaยญsure them all. Thanks to search engines that find data and facts in a split secยญond, a wealth of knowlยญedge are at our finยญgerยญtips. And social media is a wonยญderยญful tool for stayยญing conยญnectยญed to friends and famยญiยญly. Checkยญing our email and Faceยญbook accounts each day helps us stay curยญrent with whatโs hapยญpenยญing in our cirยญcle, even with those loved ones who live far away. These tools let us stay on top of events hapยญpenยญing in our famยญiยญlies and broadยญer issues facยญing the world at large.But social media and othยญer online platยญforms can have a darkยญer edge someยญtimes. Because they arenโt regยญuยญlatยญed and monยญiยญtored in the way traยญdiยญtionยญal news sources are, digยญiยญtal platยญforms can proยญmote misยญinยญforยญmaยญtion. Someยญtimes these errors arenโt intenยญtionยญal, but they can harm a perยญson or comยญpaยญnyโs repยญuยญtaยญtion. And when a perยญson or comยญpaยญny is tarยญgetยญed, it can take a lot of time and effort to disยญpel the rumour and gets the facts out to the public.And so is the case with Procยญter & Gamยญble (P&G), makยญers of the popยญuยญlar Swifยญfer line of cleanยญing prodยญucts and a host of othยญer conยญsumer goods.Swifยญfer pads are conยญveยญnient wipes that adhere to the botยญtom of a Swifยญfer Jet mop, letยญting users make quick work of dirty and stained kitchen floors.Someยญhow, these prodยญucts have become the tarยญget of negยญaยญtive online mesยญsages that imply they are bad for chilยญdren and pets. One post a few years ago went so far as to say a dog that simยญply walked across a fresh, Swifยญfer-mopped floor dropped dead from the toxยญins in the pad. And while itโs easy to disยญmiss these anecยญdotes as mere urban legยญends, if even one perยญson believes the stoยญry and passยญes it along, the damยญage is done.A comยญpaยญnyโs credยญiยญbilยญiยญty is harmed if even one conยญsumer thinks its prodยญucts are unsafe for their famยญiยญly. What is the extent of the damยญage if an entire comยญmuยญniยญty believes the falsehood?Where do these ideas genยญerยญalยญly come from, specifยญiยญcalยญly this one about Swifยญfer Jet pads? And most imporยญtantยญly โ is there any validยญiยญty in them?The answer to the first quesยญtion is no one is quite sure how these rumours start because it is imposยญsiยญble to trace them to one source, but they ampliยญfy and mushยญroom on quesยญtionยญable Interยญnet sites, and soon peoยญple start repostยญing these false narratives.The answer to the secยญond quesยญtion โ Is Swifยญfer pads harmยญful in any way? โ is: absoluteยญly not.Here at seizeyourlifetoday.com, we decidยญed to invesยญtiยญgate this online rumour and get to the facts of the matter.Itโs worth notยญing that this is not the first or only time someยญone has paintยญed a metaphorยญiยญcal bullsยญeye on the comยญpaยญnyโs repยญuยญtaยญtion and tried to sulยญly it. Years ago, in the earยญly 1980s โ before the Interยญnet allowed these theยญoยญries to spread โ someยญone decidยญed that the logo of P&G, which includยญed a man in the moon lookยญing at 13 stars, meant that the comยญpaยญny was in league with the Church of Satan. In fact, the 13 stars were intendยญed to reflect Amerยญiยญcaโs 13 origยญiยญnal colonies, accordยญing to comยญpaยญny litยญerยญaยญture. But that fact didยญnโt stop the frenยญzy or rumours from takยญing hold.At the time, panยญic over movies like โThe Exorยญcistโ was peakยญing, and some folks seemed to see devยญil worยญshipยญpers everyยญwhere. Unforยญtuยญnateยญly, P&G became a tarยญget. Scads of newsยญpaยญper and magยญaยญzine artiยญcles debunked the rumour, but it perยญsistยญed for a surยญprisยญingยญly long time, conยญsidยญerยญing there was no Interยญnet yet to help spread the nonยญsense. Even the actuยญal presยญiยญdent of the real Church of Satan sayยญing pubยญlicly the logo did not repยญreยญsent his church and was in no way conยญnectยญed to the orgaยญniยญzaยญtion didยญnโt help. Back then, much like today, facts and accuยญraยญcy seemed not to matยญter when it came to a juicy stoยญry. P&G spent decades fightยญing this rumour, which stuck like glue to the comยญpaยญnyโs reputation.Latยญer, the comยญpaยญnyโs air freshยญenยญing prodยญuct Febreeze was tarยญgetยญed. Claims cirยญcuยญlatยญed online that Febreeze conยญtained โtoxยญicโ zinc chloยญride. It could kill a pet that simยญply walked onto a carยญpet that had been recentยญly sprayed by the air freshยญenยญer. Again, the rumour was proven by sciยญenยญtists to be utter nonยญsense. By then, howยญevยญer, the Interยญnet was availยญable to folks lookยญing to spread baseยญless claims like these, and spread it they did. Whether they did it as a kind of bad joke or because they had misยญguidยญed conยญcerns about the prodยญuct is beside the point. P&G had to spend time and monยญey comยญbatยญing the misยญinยญforยญmaยญtion through emails to cusยญtomers, newsยญpaยญper and blog artiยญcles, adverยญtiseยญments and othยญer media outยญlets just to set the record straight.More recentยญly, the Swifยญfer Jetโs moist pads have earned the attenยญtion of fear-monยญgerยญing rumour spreadยญers. Peoยญple have been pickยญing on P&G prodยญucts for decades, it seems, and each time the rumours are proven false under the scrutiยญny of solยญid sciยญence. This stoยญry about Swifยญfer Jet pads has cirยญcuยญlatยญed since 2004, rearยญing its head online from time to time, then fadยญing into the ether as some othยญer rumour gains tracยญtion and goes viral.Letโs set the record straight once again: Swifยญfer Jet moisยญture pads are not toxยญic to chilยญdren and pets in any way whatsoever.The ingreยญdiยญent in them that seems to set the Interยญnet ablaze is a chemยญiยญcal called โpropyยญlene glyยญcol nโpropyl ether.โ A mouthยญful to proยญnounce, for sure, like so many names of chemicals. Whomevยญer startยญed the rumour may have conยญfused this chemยญiยญcal with anothยญer one called โethยญylยญene glyยญcol,โ which is comยญmonยญly found in some anti-freeze. The latยญter chemยญiยญcal is indeed poiยญsoยญnous to pets, and occaยญsionยญalยญly pets have died after lickยญing up anti-freeze acciยญdenยญtalยญly spilled by car ownยญers or mechanics.But even if propyยญlene glyยญcol nโpropyl ether were toxยญic โ and it is not โ Swifยญfer Jet moisยญture pads conยญtain only four perยญcent of it; their dampยญness comes from water. In othยญer words, the chemยญiยญcal is subยญstanยญtialยญly dilutยญed. Even the Amerยญiยญcan Sociยญety For The Preยญvenยญtion of Cruยญelยญty to Aniยญmals (ASPCA) came out in defense of P&G in 2018, sayยญing that the rumours on social media about Swifยญfer pads harmยญing pets were, in a word, nonsense.While P&G has spent years counยญterยญmandยญing these false narยญraยญtives, a largยญer quesยญtion needs to be asked.Why do some folks take a litยญtle knowlยญedge and turn it into someยญthing calamiยญtous? The two chemยญiยญcal names may sound a litยญtle alike, but they are entireยญly difยญferยญent in strucยญture and toxยญiยญcยญiยญty. Just because both chemยญiยญcal names conยญtain the word, โglyยญcolโ doesยญnโt mean they share toxยญiยญcยญiยญty. Nor does it mean they can be used interยญchangeยญably. But someยญwhere, someยญhow, someยญone saw or read those terms and decidยญed Swifยญfer pads must conยญtain poiยญsoยญnous aspects like some anti-freeze does. And boy, has this rumour had tracยญtion! This (and othยญer) silยญly online mesยญsages are best fought with good, credยญiยญble sciยญence and hard facts.Itโs easy to overยญreยญact to a post sent by a friend sugยญgestยญing you throw out your Swifยญfer for your childโs safeยญty โ who wouldยญnโt want to err on the side of cauยญtion? But because facts matยญter, parยญticยญuยญlarยญly when it involves harmยญing a comยญpaยญnyโs othยญerยญwise solยญid repยญuยญtaยญtion, you should โlook before you leap.โDo some online research, and reasยญsure yourยญself that the prodยญuct โ any prodยญuct, realยญly โ is not going to harm your famยญiยญly or pets. Perยญhaps most imporยญtantยญly, donโt pass on the untrue post until youโve looked into this yourself.Itโs easy to become frusยญtratยญed by misยญinยญforยญmaยญtion, and silยญly stoยญries found online. In realยญiยญty, howยญevยญer, false narยญraยญtives have cirยญcuยญlatยญed almost since the invenยญtion of the printยญing press!For examยญple, the term โfake newsโ is assumed to be a catchยญphrase coined by 21st-cenยญtuยญry politiยญcians. In fact, it was first used in the 1890s regardยญing senยญsaยญtionยญal reports runยญning in newsยญpaยญpers. A litยญtle digยญging into verยญiยญfiยญable sources goes a long way toward learnยญing the truth behind outยญlandish claims.As for comยญpaยญnies and corยญpoยญraยญtions โ theyโve been the tarยญget of rumours and smear camยญpaigns almost since the Indusยญtriยญal Revยญoยญluยญtion. Forยญtuยญnateยญly, these inciยญdents donโt hapยญpen too often, and comยญpaยญnies get past them by keepยญing cool heads and conยญtinยญuยญing to put truthยญful facts out in the pubยญlic realm.What is imporยญtant is that peoยญple think for themยญselves and donโt overยญreยญact to outยญlandish stoยญries they read online or in print or hear at the local groยญcery store, for that matยญter. Most of the time, these stoยญries are litยญtle more than urban legยญends or even bald-faced lies.P&G has been the focus of at least three false stoยญries โ the one about its logo, the one about Febreeze, and the Swifยญfer Jet cleanยญing pads. Itโs hard not to feel a litยญtle bad for a comยญpaยญny that simยญply makes cleanยญing prodยญucts, among many othยญer conยญsumer goods. But offiยญcials there comยญbat rumours with good sciยญence and objecยญtive facts, and those are the tacยญtics that win this game every time.
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