Today we have a lot of tough choices when it comes to keeping our homes clean. With the advent of superbugs and the heightened concerns for
cleanliness many new cleaning products have been brought to market and some common household cleaners contain
dangerous chemicals. The exposure to
these harsh ingredients has far-reaching consequences ranging from chemical
burns, fertility problems and liver damage.
This makes for a really tough
decision for parents who naturally want to maintain a sanitary environment for
their children without exposing them to toxic cleaners. This is a concern for "pet parents" as well!
Some of the modern cleaners, especially hand sanitizing agents
contain estrogenic compounds which means that they can mimic the effects of
estrogen in the body. It is well known
that artificially increasing levels of estrogen can lead to an increased risk
of certain types of cancer.
These compounds were not able to be removed by water
processing plants and therefore enter the water supply. The Southern California
Coastal Water Research Project documented severe defects in fish populations
caused by these chemicals. Human
research studies document early onset of puberty linked to estrogenic compounds
in the environment.
What’s in your
cleaning cupboard?
Triclosan: Absorption through the skin can be tied to liver damage. (found
in antibacterial products)
Ammonia: It is a very volatile chemical, it
is very damaging to your eyes, respiratory tract and skin.
Sodium hypochlorite: Corrosive, irritates or burns skin and eyes, causes fluid in
the lungs which can lead to coma or death. (also known as household bleach)
Sodium Tripolyphosphate: skin and mucous membrane irritant (laundry products)
Formaldehyde: Highly toxic, known carcinogen. (air fresheners)
Perchlorethylene: Known carcinogen damages liver, kidney and nervous system
damage. (carpet cleaner)
Ammonium Hydroxide: Corrosive,
extremely irritable to eyes, skin and respiratory passages. (carpet cleaner)
Lye: Caustic, burns skin and eyes, can severely burn esophagus
and stomach if swallowed. (drain cleaner or oven cleaner)
Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant (drain cleaner)
Trichloroethane: Eye and skin irritant, nervous system depressant; damages
liver and kidneys.
Petroleum Distillates: Highly flammable, carcinogenic
Nitrobenzene: Easily absorbed through
the skin, extremely toxic.
Phenol: When phenol touches your skin it can cause it to swell,
burn, peel, and break out in hives. Causes convulsions, circulatory failure,
coma and death. (air fresheners)
Linear alkylate sulfonate: Absorbed through the skin. Known liver damaging agent. (laundry
products)
Safer alternatives
Essential
oils – there is more and more research indicating the efficacy of these oils in
cleaning and in actual anti-microbial activities. They have an added benefit of being insect
repellant as well.
Antibacterial
hand cleaner – use one with an alcohol base instead of triclosan.
Window
cleaner – white vinegar
Carpet
cleaner – white vinegar (especially for pet stains – works best on fresh
stains)
Carpet
deodorizing – powdered borax
To clean pet
stains from carpet – use white vinegar and hot water. This works best on fresh stains and has the
added benefit of removing the odor-causing chemicals that encourage pets to
leave more stains in that area.
Soap – many
quality handcrafted soaps are available at natural grocery stores. It is also easy and fun to make your own soap
at home.
Salt – great
for scrubbing
Baking soda
– deodorizing and scouring powder. When
mixed with vinegar works to remove stains in toilet bowls.
Disinfectant
- mix borax and vinegar (one half cup per gallon)
To clean
greasy baked on food from dishes – put hot water in the pan and add baking soda
(2 tbsp per quart of water) and allow it to sit until food is loosened from
surface.
Wash dishes
in soap instead of detergent. Or you
can use equal parts borax and washing soda (sodium carbonate).
To remove
mineral deposits from metal shower heads boil them in vinegar – avoid inhaling
the steam that is generated from this as the vaporized vinegar can be a
respiratory irritant.
Efficacy of Natural Cleansers
One of the
big concerns with using natural cleaning products is whether or not they are
effective. Certainly the very strong
toxic cleansers are really good at killing bacteria. However, chemicals are not the only means to
kill the bacteria. Bacteria can be
killed by heat and many are destroyed simply by drying out. Bacteria thrive with moist conditions,
especially if they have a suitable host such as food (or food
spills/stains). This means that much of
the bacteria can be eliminated simply by washing up thoroughly. In a home setting, it is not practical or
possible to eliminate all bacteria. Even
labs with “clean rooms” have highly specialized equipment to maintain that
environment. This includes constant
positive pressure of air flow, using biohazard suits and autoclaves among other
things. Claims such as “kills 99% of all germs” or
“kills germs on contact”, are really ludicrous because touching that surface or
even a light breeze will repopulate that surface with bacteria. Modern dishwashers use such high temperatures
that they kill bacteria on dishes. The
hot setting on washing machines can be used on particularly soiled linens, such
as bedding of someone who is ill or fabrics soiled by vomit, feces or
urine. UV light destroys many bacterial
species so hanging clothes outside can help as well.
Some great benefits of natural cleaning
products:
Generally
speaking these natural alternatives are much less expensive than their
conventional counterparts. Part of the reason
for this is that there are no research and development costs associated with
the sale of these products. They are
readily available in the stores.
Those consumers with children or pets will be glad to know
that these items are safer for their little ones (human and animal!). Pets and children have an unfortunate tendency
to get into everything! With the natural
cleaners it is more difficult for them to injure or poison themselves. What a relief!