Domestic Cleaning Doesn’t Require the Use of Toxic Chemicals

From our years of cleaning people’s homes, we have become aware of the dangers of various chemicals which are commonly used in domestic cleaning in the home.

Fortunately, more people are discovering that many of the cleaning products that have been traditionally used for years can be toxic to our families.

Household cleaners contain a multitude of different chemicals and most homes now have many different bottles to deal with a wide variety of jobs such as the laundry, toilet cleaning, oven cleaning, window cleaning, floor cleaning, kitchen cleaning, bathroom cleaning, washing up etc.

The average household has around 28 different bottles when they are all counted up. This number is on the increase as chemical companies produce more and more products for more and more specific jobs, eg stainless steel cleaning or lime scale removal.

Historically, soaps containing a fat/oil and an alkali were used for cleaning. Soaps attract both water and grease molecules therefore adding the necessary power to the water to remove normally insoluble grease and grime.

However, the chemical companies have started developing a vast array of detergents that contain numerous amounts of natural ingredients along with petrochemicals. A detergent boosts the cleaning power of water when a surfactant is used that lowers water’s surface tension, allowing it to interact with other chemical agents in the product.

There seems to be a misconception among consumers that chemicals are necessary in order effectively kill bacteria and clean our homes. This misconception is what causes people to continue using these toxic cleaning products.

In addition to exposing our families to harmful chemicals with common household cleaners, they are exposed in other ways as well. One of these is with the use of air fresheners.

The name of the product itself, “air fresheners” is misleading since they don’t really freshen the air. All they do is mask the odors that are produced by dirt and bacteria with a synthetic chemical fragrance. In fact, some air fresheners that are commonly used can interfere with a person’s ability to smell because of the release of nerve-deadening agents or an oily film, typically methoxychlor that coats the nasal passages. Methoxychlor is a pesticide that can accumulate in the fat cells of humans.

In addition to air fresheners there are numerous cleaning agents that have added artificial fragrances in order to market them to consumers. Chemical companies rely on smell marketing to convince us that a clean home smells like artificial pine or lemon. The fact of the matter is that clean has no smell because there is no dirt or bacteria present to create a smell.

Fragrances are also added to mask the smell of the other chemicals in the products as many of these do not smell at all pleasant. These underlying chemicals together with the fragrances are what hang around in the air after use meaning we are constantly breathing them in. Add to this the air fresheners that are often in use constantly in a house and its no wonder that the air inside our houses is often between 2 and 5 times more polluted than outdoors.

Finally, when it comes to cleaning our clothes we may be doing more harm than good by using certain products.

Some of the most toxic products that are used in homes everyday are dryer sheets and fabric softeners. These products contain chemicals like benzyl acetate, pentane, and chloroform. These chemicals are known to cause cancer and/or damage to the brain, nervous system, and lungs. When these chemicals are heated when our clothes are tumbled dry or ironed, the dangerous, toxic fumes fill the air in our homes.

Fabric softener chemicals are designed to stay in clothes and to slowly release over a long period of time. This slow release into the air affects the health of those wearing the clothes and of the people around them.

Some people, like infants, children, and the elderly, are especially sensitive to these toxic chemicals.

As well as breathing these softening chemicals in we also absorb them through our skin when we wear clothes which have been washed with them.

Written by Bob Johnson from Cleaners Didsbury, experts in providing cleaning in Didsbury, Manchester