Chapter 7: Disinfectants and antibacterials · Part 3: Phenols
Chloroxylenol (PCMX)
- Officially classed skin allergen
The worst fact: in Hong Kong in the early 1990s, a household antiseptic liquid with 4.8% chloroxylenol was involved in 10% of hospital admissions for self-poisoning, and 8% of 67 cases had serious complications, including breathing vomit into the lungs and a swollen, blocked airway. The pure chemical is rated in the most severe US category for eye irritation, and it's a common antiseptic skin allergen.
Why brands use it: it's a long-established antiseptic, used for bathrooms, nappy buckets, laundry and bedding.
Take care if: you have children, or for your eyes. Australia classes it as "May cause an allergic skin reaction" and "Causes serious eye irritation". A phenolic disinfectant left on a stored, unrinsed mop has caused chemical burns, and people who drank it together with bleach have been more seriously harmed.
Comes from: 3,5-dimethylphenol (xylenol) reacted with chlorine.
Myth check: "It kills everything": no. Pseudomonas bacteria and many moulds are highly resistant. And the 2016 US rule on antibacterial soaps didn't cover it, so it's still sold in US antibacterial washes.
Contaminants: nil. The US EPA checked for dioxins and found none.
Fair to say: Australia lists it as not needing a poison schedule because of low toxicity in disinfectants. The US EPA found no concern apart from eye irritation, and most serious harm has come from deliberately drinking large amounts.
Correct as of November 2026. What the badges mean
Sources
- Safe Work Australia. Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS): classifications for each chemical, and for benzene and benzyl chloride.
- US EPA. Reregistration documents: chloroxylenol (1994), 2-phenylphenol (2006), p-chloro-m-cresol (1996), o-benzyl-p-chlorophenol (1995), thymol (1993); 40 CFR 152.25.
- HSDB (US National Library of Medicine), via PubChem: manufacturing, toxicity and impurity data.
- Chan TY et al. Self-poisoning with Dettol. Q J Med 1993;86:735-738.
- DeBono R, Laitung G. Phenolic household disinfectants: further precautions required. Burns 1997.
- Mehrtens SH et al. Contact urticaria with anaphylaxis caused by chlorocresol, chloroxylenol and thiourea. Contact Dermatitis 2019.
- McDonnell G, Russell AD. Antiseptics and disinfectants: activity, action and resistance. Clin Microbiol Rev 1999.
The full source list is at the end of Chapter 7.