Healthy Home Cleaning Choices
Cleaning products can have many health risks. The good news, healthier options are becoming more popular. But there are a lot of brands out there. How do I stay current?
Environmental Working Group has done the hard work for us
https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/
Their Guide to Healthy Cleaning reviews and rates more than 2,000 popular household cleaning products with grades A through F, based on the safety of their ingredients and the information they disclose about their contents.
Their staff scientists found that hazardous industrial chemicals lurk in far too many bottles and boxes under sinks and on laundry room shelves.
Environmental Working Group has done the hard work for us
https://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/
Their Guide to Healthy Cleaning reviews and rates more than 2,000 popular household cleaning products with grades A through F, based on the safety of their ingredients and the information they disclose about their contents.
Their staff scientists found that hazardous industrial chemicals lurk in far too many bottles and boxes under sinks and on laundry room shelves.
Some Highlights:
- Some 53 percent of cleaning products assessed by EWG contain ingredients known to harm the lungs.
- Formaldehyde is sometimes used as a preservative or may be released by other preservatives in cleaning products. Formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen.
- 1,4-dioxane, a suspected human carcinogen, is a common contaminant of widely-useddetergent chemical
- Borax, and boric acid are added to many products as cleaning agents and enzyme stabilizers and They can disrupt the hormone system.
EWG recommends avoiding some products altogether:
- Air Fresheners
- Antibacterial products
- Fabric softeners and dryer sheets
- Drain cleaners and oven cleaners
- They all create exposure to chemicals which can put us at risk
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, do not get discouraged. Make up your mind that you will take some time to become more aware of what’s in your cleaning products, learn safer choices and start making changes.