I have always felt like most cleaning products are harsh. My mother would always open windows when cleaning to make sure not to breathe in so many chemicals. When I was pregnant with my daughter, Maggie, I worried about items in her nursery off gassing and was careful to use products such as no-VOC paint. However, after she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, I became even more careful of what products I bring into our home.
There are so many cleaners out there promising to kill 99.9% of germs and bacteria. This is great, but what if the ingredients in those products are also killing us? I didn’t want to clean with anything that might be harming the little lungs that I was trying to protect. Turns out, that this was a good idea.
Standard cleaning products contain carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and neurotoxins and the information is right there on the label. 2-butoxyethanol is a neurotoxin and possible carcinogen, which is found in over 100 cleaning products and has been connected to blood and bone marrow damage. Monoethanolamine is a surfactant and emulsifier and is found in about 50 cleaning products. When inhaled, it has been known to cause asthma attacks and damage to the respiratory system.
Meanwhile, one of the most common household cleaners, chlorine bleach, is included in Dr. Oz’s list of 10 Major Agers. Bleach evaporates and gets into your nose, eyes, skin, and lungs, causing irritation and damage.
Everyone is at risk from exposure to these and hundreds of chemicals found in our everyday cleaning products. However, children are especially at risk through the simple facts that they are closer to the floor, crawl all over, touch everything and put everything in their mouths. Add in a special health condition and our children are in serious danger. Cystic fibrosis and asthma patients are not the only ones at risk either. Links have been made between toxins in our homes and an increased risk of autism, as studies are showing that the immune systems of people with autism have a harder time processing these toxins.
So what do we do? Study up. Educate yourself. Read the ingredients on your cleaning labels and research what they are. Visit the Environmental Working Groups web site. Find companies like Seventh Generation that use plant derived ingredients, or make your own cleaning products at home with safe and inexpensive ingredients like baking soda and vinegar.
We look at cleaning our homes as a way to protect our families, but we are doing it with products that could cause a lot more damage than a cold virus could.