Here’s a great article on the dangers of household cleaning products we use everyday. It’s easier, cheaper, and healthier to mix your own or purchase organic cleaners that work better anyway. There is an organic cleaner with vanilla extract and sea salt as the main ingredients. It’s loaded with living probiotic bacteria that keeps things amazingly cleaner, longer. You could even drink this stuff because it’s 100% non-toxic. Try that with amonia or chlorine bleach.
This is interesting.
Most consumers don't realize what potentially dangerous chemical compounds everyday cleaning products can contain, said Lisa Arkin, Oregon Toxics Alliance executive director. Basic household cleaning chemicals can become dangerous if not handled properly.
"Even simple things like toilet bowl cleaners contain chemicals that caused cancer in lab animals," she said. "Also, the use of bleach is not a great thing - it's chlorine and that's poison. People end up mixing it with ammonia and then they're dead from the fumes."
Environmental Studies graduate student Jason Schreiner said even if chemicals don't pose an immediate threat, they often cause bodily damage over time, something consumers rarely consider when they use a product.
"It affects their body. It goes into the air and they inhale it, or it goes onto their skin and they absorb it, and their liver has to work hard to process that," he said. "In the long term (chemicals) can get lodged in fat cells and slowly leech into the body, compromising the immune system."
Environmental Protection Agency studies indicate human exposure to indoor air pollutants and volatile organic gasses, often produced by cleaning supplies, can be two to five times higher than outdoor levels. Although not much is known about the effects of organic gasses usually found in homes, according to the EPA's Web site, many organic compounds are known to potentially cause cancer in both humans and animals among other lesser problems.
As a substitute, Oregon Toxics Alliance suggests both time-tested natural cleaners and modern, environmentally safe and nontoxic cleaners. One mineral compound with low toxicity, borax, can be used as an all-purpose cleaner, Arkin said.
"Borax is so great - so is lemon juice and baking soda," she said. "Fred Meyer now has an entire aisle for alternative cleaners that are safer."
Schreiner said consumers should check commercially available cleaning products for labels specifying they are both nontoxic and biodegradable.
For homemade solutions, Arkin suggested using a paste of borax and lemon juice or vinegar to clean toilet bowls, bathtubs and counters. For dirty windows, a quarter cup of vinegar diluted with a quart of water will leave a streak-free shine, she said.
The organization's Web site, www.oregontoxics.org, also recommended using oxygen bleaches instead of traditional chlorine bleach and provides alternatives to most type of cleaning products.
Essential oils, such as lavender or tea tree oil, can also be added to homemade cleaning solutions to provide naturally anti-bacterial and antiseptic properties and pleasant scents, Schreiner said, and when chemical cleansers are the only available choice he advises consumers to take necessary precautions.
"Wear gloves, those rubber yellow ones. Use a face mask, even a little dust mask is better than nothing, and open windows for ventilation," he said.
He also said consumers should be careful disposing of used cleaning supplies. In many cases, Schreiner said, household chemicals have also been known to impact amphibian populations and contaminatewater systems because of improper disposal.
"Most people using these chemicals will dump them down the drain or flush them in their toilet or wash them down the bathtub," he said. "Try to catch that in a bucket and not let it go down the drain."
Cleaning alternatives.
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