Toxic household cleaners – is there an alternative?

Breathing in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from toxic household cleaners can cause allergies and inflammation in respiratory airways. Use of such chemicals can also result in cancer, reproductive problems, and other health issues.

Washing powders, cleaning products, conditioners ... The list of household chemicals that we use every day is huge. All these substances have so firmly entered our lives that it is already difficult to manage without them. All these "helpers" greatly simplify the life of our housewives. The price of such assistance is very high - our health and the health of our children. Let’s analyze some of the cleaners, and also find the natural alternative for using at home.

Stove cleaners contain phenols and cresols, which have a negative effect on the functional state of the kidneys, liver, stomach, and can also cause headaches and dizziness.

Alternative: white clay

Linen conditioners are full of toxic fragrances that produce an inebriating smell. This is a "time bomb" for people with allergies and asthmatics.

Alternative: natural aroma oils

Dishwashing liquids contain a large number of harmful surface-active substances (SAS). They cannot be washed off the dishes with the usual tap water. Moreover, many of these substances do not disintegrate and accumulate in various organs and tissues. Therefore, together with your culinary masterpieces, you are at risk of sipping a portion of these compounds. This can cause serious lesions of the gastric mucosa.

Alternative: baking soda

Furniture polishers contain nitrobenzene. This is a toxic substance that is absorbed through the skin, has a damaging effect on the central nervous system, disrupts metabolism, causes liver disease and lowers blood hemoglobin.

Alternative: wipes with silver ions

Carpet cleaners contain perchloroethylene, which is a strong carcinogen, and therefore, frequent use can cause the transformation of healthy cells into cancer cells.

Alternative: cornstarch

Glass cleaners contain ammonia spirit, which can cause headaches, irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract. Another component - isopropanol – is a poison, which causes various lesions of many organs.

Alternative: lemon juice

Washing powders. Their greatest danger is the so-called surface-active substances (SAS). The better the powder washes and the more actively it foams, the more of these substances it contains. The amount of SAS should be indicated on the label and should not exceed 5%. In many European countries, the use of SAS has been prohibited for more than 10 years. But in the composition of powders that are sold in developing countries, you can find a concentration of SAS up to 60%. It does not bother the manufacturers that these substances are adsorbed on the surface of the fabric, and it is extremely difficult to remove them. They easily penetrate through the pores of the skin and travel around the body with blood flow. When we load the powder into the container, we inhale particles of it, and harmful agents directly enter the lungs. Furthermore, SAS accumulate on the cell membranes, covering their surface with a thin layer, and gradually disrupt the most important biochemical processes and the integrity of the cell itself. This results in impaired immunity, the development of allergies, damage to the brain, liver, kidneys, lungs just to name a few.

Alternative: soap nuts

There is a guide for household cleaning products, created online. This database provides ratings for more than two thousand cleaning products. Moreover, as you can see, natural ingredients can substitute nearly all of the chemicals for cleaning. Such alternative cleaners will never threaten your health or the health of your children. Below are some more ideas!

“I understand every parent has a different risk threshold. And I realize life is full of risks, even including harmful chemicals that we interact with on a daily basis.” Julie Foudy