"Are Your Cleaning Products Secretly Killing You?"
"Women Who Work At Home Have A 54% Higher Chance of Getting Cancer Than Those Who Work Away From Home."
Do you know what's really in your household cleaning products?
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Of chemicals commonly found in homes, 150 have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities." Now I dont know about you, but I was shocked to hear that this was true.
So I started to do a little research...
...and found that many of these chemicals were in cleaning products I had in my own home! What happened to the "Skull and crossbones" they used to put on products?
Apparently new regulations have allowed companies to sidestep these images and put smaller, text warning messages on their labels.
No only that... I was stunned to find that, according to the National Research Council, only 1% of toxins are required to be listed on labels, because companies classify their formulas as "trade secrets."
Here are a few examples of products with potentially deadly consequences...
- Chlorine Bleach - lung and eye irritant that, if ever mixed with ammonia or vinegar, can cause sever damage to the lungs. Ever bleach your cloths? Then you have been inhaling these chemicals all day.
- Ammonia - a chemical common in household cleaners such as glass cleaners. This chemical is known to cause an irritation to the lungs and eyes and if mixed with bleach it can cause a gas that is sure to damage the lungs.
- Cleaning Fragrances - fragrances added to many cleaners like laundry detergents and fabric softeners can cause headaches, respiratory irritation, sneezing, watery eyes and according to The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, one-third of the substances used in the fragrance industry are toxic.
And These Are Just A Few Examples!
So what can you do?
Well, for starters it's a good idea to evaluate what cleaning products you are currently using and look at replacing these with a safer alternative.
In an effort to help free the world of the hazardous chemicals found in synthetic cleaners we provide a free services to evaluate your current cleaners and potentially provide a list of safer alternatives. Due to limited staffing, we are only going to be providing these consultations for a short period of time.
There are huge environmental consequences as well
Not only are most household cleaning products causing a sever risk to our health, they are also harming environment as well. More than 32 million pounds of household cleaning products are poured down the drain each day nationwide (Spring 2002 Edition of CCA Newsletter Partners "Cleaning Without Toxic Chemicals") and many sewage treatment plants cant adequately remove all this toxic waste.
And you guessed it...
These toxins drain into many of the rivers and streams where cities find our drinking water.
Along with contamination of our drinking water, phosphates found in detergents are causing rapid growth in algae which is disrupting our world’s ecosystem.
But there is hope! There is still enough time to counter the damage we have already done. Make the commitment to start living eco-friendly and remove all those the toxic chemicals from your home. The world will thank you.
