The Truth about Toxic Cleaners

There are over 81,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, of those under 20% are tested for safety. That means there are over 64,800 potentially toxic chemicals out there that could be harming you, your family, your animal friends, and your environment.

Are toxic substances and chemicals in our homes?

90% of poison exposures occur at home. In 2005, 218,316 reported poison exposures were due to household cleaning products. Choosing non-toxic family-friendly cleaners is the only solution.

If you keep your cleaning products under lock and key, they still aren't safe. Indoor air pollution is 2-5 times worse indoors than outdoors. This pollution comes from paint, carpets, beauty products (oh, yes!), and also from our household cleaners. Most people spend 90% of their time indoors, breathing that polluted air! And we are mixing those chemicals in ways the scientists never tested for, and interacting with them for far longer, if they've been tested at all. We might not be able to do anything about our the paint on our walls and the carpet on our floors, but we can clean them safely!

What do toxic substances do to our children?

Incidences of childhood asthma have been increasing over the years (160% between 1980-1994), and it's becoming more likely that a person will be diagnosed with asthma over their lifetime. One in thirteen school aged children is diagnosed with Asthma.

Fumes from household cleaning products increase the risk of developmental damage in children. A recent article on CNN (10/22/07) discusses a study that provides evidence that children have more of a chemical burden than adults: we do not yet know what the repercussions of all these chemicals will be on the next generations. The article also discusses the EPA chemical approval process. Toxic chemicals are not only in your couch, your mattresses, your rugs, they're also in the household cleaning products you use.

Don't get rid of your beloved pets -- get rid of your toxic cleaners! When your child has "allergies" and problems breathing, which could be early signs of asthma, it's so easy to blame your pets and go on cleaning with harmful chemicals. That's the norm, the socially acceptable solution. You might end up finding out that getting rid of the cleaners is enough! If no one in your house is having problems breathing, get rid of those chemical cleaners anyway, because it's a life-or-death gamble. It's best to go with green products that really work.

Where do I look in my house for toxic cleaners?

Toxic chemicals are found in so many common household cleaning products, it's hard to list them all. The following is a list of common hazardous household cleaning products:

• oven cleaners
• all-purpose cleaners
• window cleaners
• drain cleaners
• wood, metal cleaners, polishes
• toilet bowl cleaners
• tub, tile, shower cleaners
• laundry (chlorine) bleach
• ammonia
• air fresheners, odor eliminators
• laundry pre-spotters
• laundry detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets

Just about everything, right?

What can you do about toxic household cleaners?

Nothing toxic should be in your home. Reduce chemicals in the home, and toxic waste, by purchasing a kit to replace the vast majority of products in your home with safe, effective, all-natural, biodegradable, non-toxic products. Even if you don't do your own housekeeping, you should ask your housekeeper to use products you provide, or insist that they buy safe environmentally-friendly products. Many housekeepers hear what people are saying, and they're changing their products!

Please look at my experiences with these powerful cleaning products. But don't throw out the chemicals! Freecycle them, give them to a neighbor, or bring them to a Hazardous Household Waste facility -- you're not allowed to just throw them out or pour them down the drain! That's how dangerous they are!