Time to clean your home! You’ve got all your products together and are ready to attack the grime. What you don’t realize is that you might be doing more harm to yourself than good.
Many household chemicals, while they’ll handle the job, are full of toxic cleaning products. If used in high amounts, they will make you sick.
The problem is that it’s pretty difficult to avoid these products. They’re the ones that are found in any grocery store you go to. We can teach you how to navigate your way through the shelves.
Turn over the bottles and look at the list of ingredients. If you see one of the following chemicals, put it right back on the shelf where you got it.
- Phthalates
Phthalate is a common ingredient that’s found in pretty much anything with a pleasant fragrance. Air fresheners, dish soaps, and even some scented paper products contain this chemical.
When you flip over the bottle to look at the listed ingredients, you will never see phthalates there. Many companies mask the chemical’s presence by having the word “fragrance” listed instead.
If you are a man that has a vast number of phthalates in his blood, your sperm count will be affected. The strong odor can also trigger asthma and cause horrible headaches.
Since your skin absorbs the fragrance, the only way you can avoid one of the above scenarios is by switching to non-toxic cleaning products with no fragrance. Opening windows will also allow bad odors to waft out of your home.
If none of those options work, go to the store and pick up a few plants. Adding a little green into your home can make your space look more welcoming and plants act as air detoxifiers.
- Perchloroethylene
Next on the list is perchloroethylene. You’ll find it in the cleaners that you use to get stains out of your carpet and sofa. It’s also used at most dry cleaners.
Using products that contain this chemical in high amounts will make you feel dizzy. It can make you lose complete coordination and it may even cause you to develop cancer.
The number one rule of avoiding perchloroethylene is to take your clothes and other dry clean only products to a wet cleaner. They use water-based solvents that are safe for humans.
As far as spot cleaning your carpets and sofa go, there are plenty of toxic-free cleaning products on the market. All you’ve got to do is look hard enough.
- Butyl Cellosolve
This chemical is found in many common kitchen degreasers. It irritates a person’s mucus membranes, which can cause serious liver and kidney damage.
Many degreasers are also watered down with kerosene. That adds its own special layer of yikes as it can dissolve the tissue of your cells and harm your lungs.
The good news is that there are non-toxic degrease spray options on the market that you can reach for instead.
- Ammonia
Ammonia is a great glass cleaner. It makes glass sparkle without leaving a single streak behind. It’s also a popular polishing agent for bathroom light fixtures.
Even though this chemical is so useful, it’s dangerous. If you breathe it in, it can trigger asthma symptoms. Being exposed to heavy amounts of it can result in chronic bronchitis and other respiratory disorders.
You also have to be careful that you don’t accidentally mix this chemical with bleach. If you do, it will create a poisonous gas that can actually kill you.
With all this in mind, vodka is a much better choice for your needs. It can clean your mirrors without leaving nasty streaks behind and you can use it to polish your silver jewelry.
- Chlorine
There are a million and one ways for chlorine to make it into your body. It’s found in many products that we use every day including toilet bowl cleaners, scouring powders, and mildew removers. It’s also in the water that you drink and bathe in.
Many cities include it to get rid of bacteria. It does a good job of that, but it can also harm you. It can lead to respiratory problems and it messes with your thyroid.
The good news is that many cleaning products that contain chlorine can be replaced with baking soda or vinegar. As far as controlling how much chlorine makes it into your body via drinking water, you’ll have to invest in a filter.
- Sodium Hydroxide
The more food you cook, the more disgusting food splatters end up lining your oven. Many of the common solutions to this problem contain a chemical known as sodium hydroxide. If you get it on your skin or in your eyes, it can cause serious irritations and burns.
It can also make your throat hurt if you accidentally breathe it in. Ditch the chemical by making your own homemade non-toxic cleaning products. Creating a paste out of baking soda and vinegar will work just as well as the store-bought stuff.
- Formaldehyde
If you suffer from erratic mood swings, the problem might not be your daily stressors. It could be too much exposure to formaldehyde. It’s a chemical that’s found in many heavy-duty cleaning products.
Not only can it cause mood swings, but it can also make you depressed, give you headaches, disrupt your sleeping patterns, and damage your nervous system. It affects the chemicals in the brain that are responsible for helping you control your body. It’s pretty scary.
Toxic Cleaning Product That Will Make You Sick
Before you start your next cleaning venture, look at the chemicals that you’re planning on using. Many contain toxic cleaning product that can make you seriously sick or even kill you.
Consider making your own cleaner, shopping online, and checking out our blog to find a list of green cleaning products that are safe for human use.
