Natural cleaning offers environmentally sound, safe and healthy alternatives to the toxic and potentially lethal household cleaning products used in many homes today. Use of these natural options is especially critical as most traditional cleaning products eventually contact the air, water, and/or soil, where they can cause significant and irreparable harm to humans, animals, plants, drinking water, and food supplies.
The average American uses about 40 pounds of toxic household cleaning products each year. These cleaning products contain dangerous ingredients, including neurotoxins, carcinogens, allergens, central nervous system depressants, heavy metals, and other agents that cause or contribute to cancer, respiratory problems, reproductive abnormalities, allergic reactions, and behavioral problems, among other issues. Ingredients from household cleaning products make their way into the environment through various routes: they are flushed down toilets, poured down sinks, sprayed into the air, thrown into the trash, and dumped onto the ground. In fact, many hazardous cleaning products are landfilled or incinerated, upon which they release their toxins into the environment and contribute to depletion of the ozone layer, pollute groundwater, contaminate the soil, and harm plant and animal life.
Concerned about the environment?
We recycle, we buy energy efficient appliances, we may even purchase locally grown organic food, or a hybrid vehicle. What else can we do? What about the toxins found in our own homes?
Sodium hypochlorite, petroleum distillates, phenol and cresol, nitrobenzene, formaldehyde….. these are just a handful of common ingredients found in cleaning products we use every day. We are all aware of the dangers in mixing bleach with other household cleaners because it causes a toxic gas – one that was used as a chemical warfare agent in World War I.
What about the other ingredients? What are they doing to the environment? What are they doing to our health? The EPA has found that the air inside a typical US home is 2 to 5 times more polluted than the air outside, and in extreme cases up to 100 times more contaminated, largely because of household cleaners and pesticides.
A recent study showed many are skeptical about the ingredients in the “green” products and they should be. Manufacturer are not required to list all of the ingredients in their products and give vague description such as fragrance, or flavors. Some manufacturers have developed their own “Green Certified” programs to persuade the public into believing they’re safe – if it’s certified, it must be.
Manufacturers are not required to list all of their ingredients, unless they are active disinfectants or known to be potentially hazardous, therefore it can be a challenge to find the least-toxic formulations. Because there is no standard definition for claims such as non-toxic, natural, environmentally friendly, manufacturers can use them as they please.
Non-toxic. This implies that the product will cause no harm to the consumer or environment. However, there is currently no standard definition for this term, and unless otherwise specified, there is no organization independently verifying the claim.
Natural. Though widely found on commercial cleaning products, the term “natural” doesn’t necessarily mean much. There’s no standard definition for this claim in industry, so manufacturers can use it as they please. What’s more, just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s less toxic, or non-irritating. Even cleaners that are safe enough to eat, like lemon juice, can be irritating to the eyes or skin.
Environmentally friendly. While this label implies that the product or packaging has some kind of environmental benefit or that it causes no harm to the environment, there is currently no standard definition for the term. Unless otherwise specified, there is also no organization independently verifying this claim.
Biodegradable. This term is somewhat meaningful, but it can be misleading. “Biodegradable,” which implies that a product or its packaging will break down in nature in a reasonably short period of time, has been only loosely defined by the federal government.
Ever wonder how people in the 1920’s kept their homes clean? Did they do it with chemicals? No. They used homemade, natural cleaning products, many of which are probably in your kitchen or pantry right now.
