Most of us think of household cleaning products as things that help to protect ourselves and our families against disease and general unhealthiness, but many common cleaning products are actually the cause of serious long-term and short-term health problems.
Some household cleaners are overtly toxic; like drain cleaners and products based on bleach or ammonia. They’re widely recognized as hazardous, especially to children, yet few people seek less harmful alternatives.
Other cleaning chemicals are much more subtle about their toxicity. Products like laundry detergents and fabric softeners as well as the patented “fragrances” that they contain can cause everything from headaches to allergic reactions and may even trigger asthmatic reactions in some people. What’s worse is these products aren’t even regulated. They are able to hide their potentially hazardous mix of ingredients behind the wall of “trade secrets.”
That’s not necessarily the worst of it. Some chemicals which may appear harmless can cause serious long-term damage, including cancer. The chemicals responsible for creating suds in some general purpose cleaners can kick off chemical reactions which produce carcinogens that easily penetrate skin. Exposure to these over time can obviously have very nasty effects.
It’s not just people who feel the negative impact of these chemicals. The environment suffers too. Though most ingredients in chemical-based cleaning products do break down in sewage treatment plants, many do not. The US Geological Survey conducted a study which found detergent ingredients and disinfectants in over 65% of the streams that were tested.
Chemical cleaning products have also been linked to other negative environmental effects like algae blooms, which can deplete ocean water of oxygen and threaten fish populations, and even create hormone irregularities in some aquatic species.
It’s not all bad news. There are plenty of ways to avoid these harmful products and still keep your home clean. The easiest way is to just call us! We don’t use any chemical cleaning products. If you’d rather do it yourself, there are simple, natural alternatives available. You can make your own cleaning products using ingredients like soap, baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice. There are also safer options sitting on your local store shelf. Just make sure to check the ingredients, and look for short lists of items that you understand. Also, check for a definite time-frame for biodegradable products. If it just says “biodegradable,” that could mean 100’s of years into the future.
All of this information was provided by an article by our friends over at https://organicconsumers.org. To read the full article with a detailed list of environmentally conscious cleaning products, head over to their website here: https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/how-toxic-are-your-household-cleaning-supplies