Use during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic

In 1918, during the Spanish flu pandemic, Lehn & Fink, Inc. advertised Lysol disinfectant as an effective countermeasure to the influenza virus. Newspaper advertisements provided tips for preventing the spread of the disease, including washing sick-rooms with Lysol, as well as everything that came in contact with patients. A small (US50¢) bottle made 5 US gallons (19 L; 4.2 imp gal) of disinfectant solution, and a smaller (US25¢) bottle made 2 US gallons (7.6 L; 1.7 imp gal). The company also advertised the "unrefined" Lysol F. & F. (Farm & Factory) for use in factories and other large buildings – a 5-US-gallon (19 L; 4.2 imp gal) can, when diluted as directed, made 50 US gallons (190 L; 42 imp gal) of disinfecting solution.^[7]

Use as a contraceptive

The Lysol disinfectant douche once was "the leading feminine hygiene product"^[8] in the United States. Advertisements for Lysol during the 1930s hinted at its use as a contraceptive but never explicitly promoted it to be used as such. Advertisements did note that Lysol was safe to use including on "delicate female tissues".^[8] By 1911, 193 Lysol poisonings were recorded along with five deaths from "uterine irrigation".^[9]

Lysol ads also included recommendations from female gynecologists that Lysol would resolve women's marital distress through the practice of complete feminine hygiene and resolve fears of pregnancy for married women.^[8][9] Douching with Lysol disinfectant does not prevent pregnancy and can result in undesirable vaginal health outcomes as well as has resulted in death for some women using it as a contraceptive or as an abortifacient.^[8]

Use as an abortifacient

Earlier formulations of Lysol contained cresol, a compound that can induce abortions, and it was widely used by women who could not otherwise obtain legal abortions in the United States, although the medical community was relatively unaware of the phenomenon for the first half of the 20th century.^[10][11] It remained a popular birth control method from the Great Depression through the 1960s.^[12] By the 1960s, published medical literature had acknowledged the common use of Lysol and other soaps to induce abortions, which could lead to fatal renal failure and sepsis.^[13]

Product innovations

• 1930: Lysol Brand Disinfectant Liquid was introduced to drug stores and hospitals.
• 1957/58 Lysol purchased the rights to private label National Laboratories, Inc's Disinfectant spray.
• 1962: Lysol released the Lysol Disinfectant Spray, which used a new method of aerosol application.
• 1968: Lysol began creating bathroom cleaners and released the Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner.
• 1985: Lysol All Purpose Cleaner was released.
• 1988: Lysol began shipping aerosol disinfectants to humid areas such as Houston, to combat occupational lung diseases, (also known as "lung rot").^{[clarification needed]}
• 2000: Pre-moistened Lysol Brand Disinfecting Wipes was released, a cleaning wipe for use on hard, nonporous surfaces.
• 2009: Lysol began producing hand soaps.

Ownership: Lehn & Fink was acquired by Sterling Drug in 1967 and Reckitt & Colman acquired L&F in 1994 when Bayer acquired Sterling-Winthrop. As of 2015 Lysol products were distributed by Reckitt Benckiser LLC of Parsippany, New Jersey.

Health effects of P-chloro-o-benzylphenol

Lysol contains P-chloro-o-benzylphenol at a 5-6% concentration. It is a chemical^[14] that is absorbed in humans through ingestion and the mucus membranes. The Globally Harmonized System of Classification of Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) has released hazard statements^[15] on P-chloro-o-benzylphenol that include and are not limited to “skin irritation, allergic skin reaction, causes serious eye damage, harmful if inhaled, suspected of causing cancer, suspected of damaging fertility, and potentially causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure”.

SARS-CoV-2 inactivating capability

According to their website, some of Lysol's products "have been tested by an independent third party and approved by the EPA to kill SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, on hard, non-porous surfaces".^[16]