Look Out for These 10 Common Toxic Cleaners You’ll Find in Your Home and Office – And Their Alternatives
We should all be able to live a life free of toxic substances. Sadly, that’s not the case. Many cleaning products can be really harmful to everyone in your home (including your pets) and work. So here are 10 common toxic cleaners – together with safer alternatives for you to use instead.
You can view the useful infographic, or read the article below, it’s up to you!
Toxic Cleaners – Infographic
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is often used in air fresheners, and is a known carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). It can also irritate your eyes, skin and throat, and even cause brain damage.
Instead, use pure essential oils in a diffuser to add a lovely aroma to your room.
Perchloroethylene
Spot removers and carpet cleaners are very useful – but they often contain Perchloroethylene, which is also used in many dry cleaning processes too. It can cause dizziness and loss of coordination.
To avoid this toxic cleaner, add pure Castile soap (unscented) to water in a spray bottle and use it to clean spots. Try to avoid having your clothes dry-cleaned – they’ll last longer too.
Phthalates
Phthalates are all too common today – you’ll find them in dish soaps, shampoos, air fresheners and more.
They are associated with endocrine disorders, migraines and asthma. Read the labels to check ingredients of common products, and try to find organic, fragrance-free and phthalate-free alternatives.
Ammonia
Ammonia is found in glass cleaners and many polishes. It often causes breathing problems, and can also irritate your eyes and skin.
Avoid the ammonia in toxic cleaners, and clean glass and windows with vinegar instead.
Catatonic Enzymes
Catatonic Enzymes are often found in laundry detergents. They can cause nausea, vomiting and eye and skin irritation. Look for more natural, organic detergents instead.
Chlorine
You’ll find chlorine in bleach-based cleaners. It easily causes skin, eye, nose and throat irritation when inhaled or touched.
Instead, use vinegar as a disinfectant, use baking soda for scrubbing – add a little salt for tough stains.
Lye
Lye is found in oven cleaners, and it can give you a very nasty burn, as well as irritate your throat.
Instead, make a paste of baking soda with water.
Hydrochloric Acid
Toilet bowl cleaners often contain Hydrochloric Acid and it can irritate your throat.
Use baking soda to clean, and vinegar to disinfect the toilet bowl instead.
2-Butoxyethanol
2-Butoxyethanol is found in many multi-purpose cleaners. It can damage your liver and kidneys, as well as irritate your throat.
Avoid toxic cleaners that contain 2-Butoxyethanol . Use lemon juice, baking soda and vinegar instead, or look for organic cleaning products (check the labels for chemical-sounding ingredients, you want to avoid those).
Xylene
Xylene is used in floor polishes and spot removers. Clean with baking soda and vinegar instead, or look for organic cleaning products – check the ingredients labels and avoid those with xylene and long, chemical-sounding ingredients.
This expert advice will help to keep you clean AND non-toxic!
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Warm regards,
P.S. Want to live a simpler, more green and ecofriendly life? (It’s been shown to increase happiness!). You can download your FREE green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here. Get it now!
Related:
- Do your laundry the green and ecofriendly way – here’s how!
- Get rid of all the toxic products in your life (you’ll be shocked at where they hide!). It’s easy – see how here!
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Hi Clare, what is your view of microfibre cleaning cloths which/contain/use no products/additives? I’ve been using the ones for windows/mirrors for a while and they are effective and easier than vinegar w newspaper. But I suspect that they may release micro fibres into the environment when you wash or rinse them. Thanks, Pat Knox
Hi Pat, that’s a really great question! I agree, the cloths are easier to use than vinegar and newspaper for windows. But you are quite correct, they do indeed release microplastics into the environment, and we’re having huge problems with microplastics. And of course, the cloths are made of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels, which we need to stop using if we’re to slow the climate crisis. I don’t use them so I can’t be sure, but my guess is that if they have specific cloths for specific purposes (e.g. cleaning glass) then they already have some chemicals in them. So they’re not necessarily non-toxic. And you can’t recycle them. Having said all of that, whatever we use to clean glass is going to have an environmental impact, and we can’t get away from that. Personally, I’d still rather use old cotton clothes as cleaning rags. Microfibre cloths are heavily marketed, so there’s presumably a LOT of profit in them. I hate to see them being used so widely due to the microplastic issue. Be sure to store them dry, just give them a quick rinse if necessary and try to avoid putting them in the washing machine – these will all help to reduce their microplastic impact.
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