Deadly Cleaners: What to Do

Chemical cleaners are an important part of everyday modern life in several countries, from cleaning toilets to sinks cleaners are used all over households. But, many of these cleaners contain toxic chemicals that are not only dangerous for people to be overly exposed to but they are also harmful to the environment. According to organic consumers, in 2000 cleaning products were the cause of about 10% of all toxic exposures in the United States and many of these exposures involved children under the age of six swallowing one of these products. Even outside of this many of these cleaners cause several acute hazards such as skin irritation, respiratory issues, chemical burns, and more. Some of these chemicals have also been linked to disorders such as asthma or cancer according to sites like the EWG which looks at what exactly what are in these products as they are not always required to label their contents. 

So what can you do about this? Well you have a couple of options, one of the easiest ways to deal with this is to avoid cleaners that contain chemicals that are hazardous to you and the environment using lists like this one in combination with either buying others brands that extensively label their contents or by using sites that identify green cleaners. On the other hand if you find that these cleaners are too expensive when compared to their non-green counterparts then there are always ways that you can make your own cheap green cleaners. 

There are several lists out there with easy and cheap ways to create your very own green cleaners at home with a few simple products. This includes DIY products for cleaners ranging from stain removers for clothing to all purpose deodorizers. An example of this includes using a mix of hot water, dish liquid, and borax in order to clean surprisingly tough stains off of an oven. Links to these detailed lists like this can be found here and here.  

Other References: 

• https://experiencelife.com/article/8-hidden-toxins-whats-lurking-in-your-cleaning-products/
• http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm