Natural Cleaning Products For Use In Your Home
Keeping a clean home also means keeping a toxin-free home. One key way to do this is by using non-toxic household cleaners that don’t emit Volatile Organic Compounds, have a neutral pH, don’t contain solvents, and are biodegradable. That doesn’t mean that you can’t wash with anything but vinegar and water, but you do need to watch out for ingredients that have poisonous fumes and leave harmful residues. Here are a few cleaner characteristics to look for:
Avoid Volatile Organic Compounds – There is a name for the dangerous and health-affecting fumes that are emitted from certain liquids and solids, Volatile Organic Compounds. These fumes tend to build up in a enclosed environment and according to the EPA can be as much as ten times higher in density in a home than when used outside. Lack of ventilation is the prime culprit in the accumulation of these fumes which can come from such common household items as cleaning supplies, air fresheners, dry cleaned clothing, plywood, and paint and paint removers.
Oftentimes after cleaning, you may notice you have a headache or your eyes are irritated. These symptoms and other side-effects of Volatile Organic Compounds, such as dizziness, asthma attacks, and flu-like symptoms. These short-term and the longer term effect, such as cancer, are linked to VOCs. While this is not healthy for any individual, there are certain groups who seem to be more affected. These would include babies and children, the elderly, pregnant and nursing women, and those individuals without fully functioning immune systems. As the fumes linger in the home for hours after use, it is important to eliminate as much VOC causing products as possible.
If you are like most people starting to learn about this subject, you could go to where you store your cleaning supplies right now and you would find that every product emits Volatile Organic Compounds. Unless you already buy pH neutral and biodegradable, the cleaners you use for your floors, tubs, carpets, countertops, grill, and windows all produce Volatile Organic Compounds. You know now that using them produces these fumes that last for hours, but even sitting there, unused, they emit gasses.
Neutral pH – Another new plus in your cleaning arsenal is going to be the use of products that have a neutral pH. A compound with a pH of 7.0 is considered neutral, being neither alkaline or acidic. This means it will be non-reactive to when it touches a surface, when it touches your skin, and when it reacts with the environment when it exits your home through the drainage system and gets into the water. When a compound has a high pH (over 7.0) it is alkaline, such as bleach. A lower pH (under 7.0) means it is acidic, such as battery acid. Quite expectantly, both of these are highly corrosive to surfaces and skin.
Burns to your skin from caustic products are no joke. Nor is damage to a sensitive surface, such as certain tiles and marble. Using a neutral pH product is the way to ensure that neither of these happens to you.
No Solvents – Solvents often contain corrosive chemical ingredients, such as alcohols, esters, Ethylene Glycol Ethers (EGEs), and Propylene Glycol Ethers (PGEs). These are carcinogenic and toxic to people & the environment.
Biodegradable – Our environment gets exposed to everything we wash down the drain. Cleaning chemicals commonly pollute our environment instead of dissipating into non-harmful co-factors, but even the amount of time it takes biodegrade makes some cleaning product superior over the others.
Making the move to replace your existing toxic chemical cleaning products to all green multipurpose cleaning products is easy to do. As each current product begins to run out, simply exchange that one for an eco-friendly one. You will be delighted with the effectiveness of the green cleaning product. The reduction of harmful impacts to you, your family, and the environment make using all natural cleaning products the wise short and long-term decision!
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