When my former employer sent me to clean, he sent me with paper towels, over-the-counter glass cleaner, bleach, and cheap dish soap (the kind you can buy in bulk). I don't use these chemicals at home, and was disgusted when my senses were assaulted by the fumes created by these products. One day mid-week, when I got home, I decided to look up the health dangers that come with interacting with normal household cleaners.
To whit, I was horrified.
First, there's soap. Hand soap, that is. It's what we use most often, in our bathrooms and kitchens, and there are hundreds of options to choose from. There are different scents and colours and sizes; some have flitters, others have "moisturizing pearls"; and each of them is chock full of chemicals that can be hazardous to ourselves and our planet. Triclosan is a bacterial-killing chemical found in 75 % of hand soaps, an article in The Minnesota Daily says. Triclosan can cause allergies in children, and there is a worry that its use in other products (like deoderant, toothpaste, and toys) may cause resistant strains of bacteria to develop, which of course doesn't do anything good for we humans. The affect on people aside, like with the dirt you wash off, your soap--and the triclosan--goes down the drain, through pipes, into a water treatment plant, and then back into our lakes, rivers, and oceans. According to the Minnesota article, waste-water treatment plants do not filter triclosan from the water, but they do add chlorine, which can then lead to chlorinated triclosan, and when combined with sunlight, this can cause a dioxin. This is then taken in by fish, drank by animals, and absorbed by the soil that nourishes plants, and doing nothing but harm, even if it doesn't seem like it at first.
The story isn't any better for the soap you use on your dishes. Like most soaps, they contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Depending on the concentration, it can be hazardous to the skin it's exposed to. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is also absorbed into the skin, and when that happens it mimics the hormone Oestrogen, which can lead to something as severe as breast cancer. Many dishwasher detergents also contain chlorine, which means that "each time you wash your dishes, some residue is left on them, which accumulates with each washing. Your food picks up part of the residue--especially if your meal is hot when you eat it."
Essentially, we are all eating and drinking chlorine.
Of course, it doesn't stop there. From air fresheners (which contain formaldehyde) to bleach (a strong corosive), laundry room products (which contain chemicals that can cause rashes, sinus problems, and other wonderful things), and toilet bowl cleaner (which contain hydrochloric acid), nothing is free from chemicals, and the predominant reason why they are used is because they are cheap. But they are also extremely dangerous, if not in the short-term, then in the long-term health effects you will suffer from breathing in fumes and absorbing the chemicals you use to clean with. I've heard about these effects first hand, and it's not something I wish on myself or anyone else.
In the developed world, we have become obsessed with cleanliness. That's not necessarily a bad thing (after all, not that long ago people weren't even bathing weekly), but I think we have become overly aware of bacteria, but uninformed as to the effects bacteria has in our everyday life. Germs are everywhere, on our skin and in our bodies and on every blade of grass. But they are not something to be terrified of, to wipe out with the harshest chemicals Mr. Clean can provide. Unfortunately, that concept will take some time to catch on. In the mean time, what is available for those who want the dirt out of their house, but also want to be eco-friendly?
Good ol' hot soapy water.
This will do the trick for most things, guarenteed. If you need something abrasive, then baking soda is handy (it also kills odours and puts out grease fires). But if you want to buy cleaners (and their associated accessories), and definately if you want to buy eco-friendly soap to mix that your hot water, I recommend Ecoleaf and Ecover.
Ecoleaf are UK-based products that use biodegradable, plant-based ingredients, and have recyclable containers. Depending where you purchase, you can also go into your local organic shop to refill your containers. Personally, I love their hand soap.
Ecover is an international company founded in Beligum in 1980 with products in more than 26 countries. They have everything from hand soap to floor cleaner, and like Ecoleaf their products are plant-based, use few ingredients, have recyclable containers, and you can refill where available.
During that week of worrk, I saw my (now ex) boss mix bleach, glass cleaner, and soap in the dishwasher, and I was so horrified I couldn't speak. Hopefully his regular customers--customers who eat off those plates and drink from those glasses every day--aren't harmed by his cleaning methods.
And hopefully by reading this, you won't make his mistakes.
(Image borrowed from here.)
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