Why “natural” cleaning products are not as safe as you think!

I am diving into this new year with an effort to take detoxing my home a step further.  I had already migrated to what I thought were cleaner and safer products but when I was researching my talk called Detox your Home I discovered that I am still a long way from toxic free!

If you think Uncle Sam is watching out for us then get ready….  there are over 62,000 chemicals used in household products and only about 300 of them have actually been tested for safety!  Even when there is a possible connection between brain or endocrine disruption, these products are still on our aisles and in everyday use!

While I will be diving into the details tonight at our Detox your Home talk (join us, it is not too late – click here), I want to share 3 important facts about the world of “natural cleaners” …..   READ ON

  1. Natural cleaners are not necessarily toxin or chemical free. While many of the natural cleaners are better than the harsher ones they often contain ingredients that are toxins or allergens.  Environmental Working Group has a database that ranks products based on safety/toxicity so I would encourage you to tap into their product list to find ones that work best for you.  You will be surprised to find that some products from companies like Seventh Generation, Method and Green Works flunked their guidelines just like traditional cleaners from Clorox and Mr. Clean!
  2. Manufacturers are not required to list all of the products ingredients on the labels of cleaning products. Yikes!  The terms preservatives, cleaning agents or surfactants are often listed as a vague catch all and often contain hazardous chemicals.
  3. Just because it is a botanical ingredient doesn’t mean it is safe. Essential oils often contain limonene and eugenol which can both trigger allergic reactions.  A substance called terpenes can come from citrus and pine oil cleaners that becomes formaldehyde when exposed to the air.
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This is just household cleaners.  Combine these toxins with all the yard and pest control chemicals and you will start to get the bigger picture of more and more potential causes of health issues.  They are predicting that 1 out of 2 people will have some type of cancer by 2050.  Until we start to realize that these toxins are playing a part in increasing this risk we will always be playing a “find the cure” game.  Maybe it’s time we start playing the “find the cause” game instead!

 

To your health,

Laura