Is Cleaning Your House Making You Sick?
Are your cleaning products doing more harm than good?
You may do your dishes, dust, mop, wipe down counters and spray your furniture but what if all that cleaning is actually making your house dirtier?
Did you know that there are approximately 75,000 different chemical ingredients used in common household cleaning products and that only 10% of these ingredients are fully tested for health and environmental effects?
If that doesn’t sound like a big deal think about this: the skin can absorb over 60% of what it comes into contact with, including chemical residues from cleaners, and those chemicals travel into the bloodstream. Have you ever purchased something with questionable ingredients and thought, “Well, I’m not eating it”? This rationalization doesn’t really hold when you consider the skin as porous (not to mention the lungs). So don’t you want to know what ingredients are supposedly keeping your house and body clean? Check out your cleaning cupboard – are ingredients listed on your products? Do you know what they are?
Here are some things to consider while you investigate as well as some simple and safe alternatives.
The Laundry Room
| Product | Ingredients to Watch For | Why they are problematic |
|---|---|---|
| Detergents & Dryer Sheets | Synthetic dyes | Carcinogenic |
| Petrochemical derivatives | Carcinogenic | |
| Synthetic Fragrance | Allergies, migraines | |
| Chlorine | Skin irritant | |
| Phosphates | Promote algal bloom that impact aquatic life | |
| Trisodium Nitrilotriacetate | Re-dissolves heavy metals in water, toxic to aquatic life |
Safe Solutions
| Product | Method |
|---|---|
| Laundry Detergent | Re-use an old laundry soap container and blend 2 L hot water, 2 tbsp coarse salt, 6 tbsp baking soda and 6 tbsp liquid castile soap. Dissolve dry ingredients in hot water, add soap and stir. Use ½ cup for a full load. |
| For fabric odours | Add 1 cup of white vinegar to your load and wash normally. (For tough odours soak in vinegar water overnight) |
| Eco Nuts* | Shells from the Himalayan soap berry tree used in place of detergent. |
| Wool Dryer Balls* | Great alternative to dryer sheets |
* Available in our grocery department
The Kitchen
| Product | Ingredient to watch for | Why they are problematic |
|---|---|---|
| All purpose cleaner | MEA, DEA, TEA | May contain carcinogenic nitrosamines |
| Synthetic fragrance | Can trigger allergies and migraines | |
| Coal tar dyes and petrochemical derivatives | Contain carcinogenic heavy metals | |
| Ammonia | Produces vapours that irritate skin, eyes, throat and lungs | |
| Nonulphenol ethoxylates | Can mimic estrogen, linked to reproductive problems | |
| Dishwashing soap | Phosphates | Promote algal bloom that kill aquatic life |
| Coal tar dyes and petrochemical derivatives | Contain carcinogenic heavy metals | |
| Triclosan | Hormone disrupter, irritant to skin and eyes | |
| Oven Cleaner | 2-butoxyethanol | Linked to blood disorders and reproductive problems |
| Sodium hydroxide | Highly corrosive, can burn eyes and lungs |
Safe Solutions
| Cleaner | Method |
|---|---|
| Counter spray/disinfectant | In a spray bottle add 1 cup water, 1 cup vinegar and 25 drops of essential oil (e.g. tea tree, lemon, lavender) |
| Sink and cutting board scrub/disinfectant | Cover sink/board with course sea salt. Use a ½ a previously squeezed lemon as a scrubber and rub salt in a circular motion. Rinse with hot water |
| Pot and pan scrub | Wet your pan and sprinkle enough baking soda to create a thick paste. Using a scour pad and some elbow grease scrub until clean. |
| Oven Cleaner | Sprinkle baking soda on grease spots, spray with water and leave overnight. Wipe off in the morning. |
| Oven door cleaner | Create a paste of lemon juice + baking soda and apply in a circular motion with scour pad until clean. |
| Floor cleaner | Add 1 part vinegar to 3 parts hot water + a few drops of your favourite essential oil. Your floors will be clean and you won’t need an air freshener! |
| Air Freshener | Simmer cinnamon + orange peel in water over the stove for 20 minutes
Use an essential oil plug in or diffuser (find them in our Body Care department) Use charcoal throughout the house to absorb odour (find them near the Customer Service desk) Burn beeswax candles, they purify the air (find out more about beeswax here) |
Kate McMurray, Certified Holistic Nutritionist
Photo credit: mconnors
Resource: CHFA
