Dangers of Chemical Cleaners

You deserve to know what is in the products you are using to clean your home....

The Environmental Working Group Hall of Shame- Don't Let the Product Companies Dirty Your Home!

Most household cleaners contain toxic chemicals. Ammonia, Formaldehyde, Phthalates, Benzalkonium Chlorid, and 2-butoxyethanol, are among them. Oven cleaners are one of the most toxic products people use. They contain lye and ammonia.

The chemical companies spend billions of dollars each year brainwashing us. Ninety-one percent of the population applies 300-million pounds of these poisons annually, often indoors. 

The government acknowledges that these cleaning products are hazardous, but regulation only requires labels to indicate if they are: combustible, corrosive, poison, caution, etc. They are not required to expose the full ingredient list.

What's In That Can of Lemon Pledge? Butane, Propane, Isobutane, Silicones. Do you really want to clean with gases?

That Bottle Of Windex Will Shine Your Glass But What Is It Doing To You? Some of the ingredients in Windex are Propylene Glycol, Isopropanol, Ethylene Glycol n-hexyl Ether ,Monoethanolamine, Ammonium Hydroxide.

How About That Room Deodorizer? The toxic chemical found in room deodorizers is found in the blood of 95% of children and adults.

Some of the most toxic cleaning products on the market, according to Environmental Working Group

• Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner—This product is anything but green. It contains 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent that soaks through the skin and damages red blood cells; even more dangerous is that some people miss the fine print and don't dilute it.

• Citra-Solv Cleaner & Degreaser—Orange may seem natural, but these sprays contain d-limonene, which can react with ozone in the air to form tiny harmful lung-penetrating particles and the known carcinogen formaldehyde.

• Clorox, Fantastik, Febreze, Formula 409, Mr. Clean, and Spic and Span— EWG says many sprays sold under these brand names contain quaternary ammonium compounds or ethanolamine, compounds that can cause or trigger asthma.

• Spic and Span Multi-Surface and Floor Cleaner—California is more strict when it comes to toxic compounds, and it's put a ban on nonylphenol ethoxylate, an ingredient in this floor cleaner that is toxic to the environment and disrupts the hormonal system.

• Mop & Glo Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner—Contains high concentrations of a substance that the United Nations says is "suspected of damaging the unborn child."

• Lysol Disinfectant Power Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Lime & Rust Remover—Sure, this will kill germs in your toilet bowl…but it could also kill you or your pet if it's swallowed. The acid in the cleaner can also cause irreversible eye damage.

• Scrubbing Bubbles Antibacterial Bathroom Cleaner & Extend-a-Clean Mega Shower Foamer—These lung-inflaming products contain 10 percent DEGBE, a solvent banned in the European Union at concentrations above 3 percent.

• Glade Air Freshener Sprays—Air fresheners and other cleaning products often contain addictive additives that can be gateway drugs. That can be fatal if you're inhaling some Glade products. EWG says Wick automatic air fresheners and old English furniture polish carry the same warning.

Avoid any kind of air freshener or deodorizer that contains synthetic fragrances. “These products do not clean or disinfect the air, but they do add hazardous chemicals to the air we breathe"  Anne Steinemann, PhD, a University of Washington.

Toxins in Your Home:

Eliminating the Toxic Mixture

By Edward R Close, PhD, PE

and Jacquelyn A Close, RA

A 1985 EPA report concluded that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air pollution. Also, a report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on chemicals commonly found in homes identified 150 that have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer and psychological abnormalities. With windows sealed shut in the winter to conserve heat and save energy, and in the summer to hold in the cool air-conditioned air, these toxins build up to higher and higher levels.

Household cleaning products are among the most toxic substances we encounter daily. In one study conducted over a 15-year period, women who cleaned their own homes had a 54% higher death rate from cancer than women who did not. The study concluded that the increased death rate was due to daily exposure to hazardous chemicals found in ordinary household products. In addition to their inherent toxicity, these products also create tons of toxic waste which is disposed of in the environment in the form of air and water pollution and solid toxic waste.