Cleaning our homes is something I find we taken even more seriously when we have our first child. That new baby changes everything! When they start tummy time, crawling, walking and generally getting into everything; we want to make sure their environment is the cleanest it can be. Please wait though before you start pulling out those caustic household cleaners. Did you know that you are doing more harm than good when you clean with typical household cleaners including chlorine bleach and Lysol products? Those products can affect your family’s eyes, airways, skin and more especially in babies and young children!
“Parents need to know that there can be a trade-off between a sterilized kitchen and their baby’s health,” says Sonya Lunder, MPH, a senior analyst at the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.
There is good news. By making simple changes and practicing safe cleaning, you can keep your home clean without exposing your family to unnecessary risks. Cleaning safer does not mean that you cannot sanitize your home, there are products like a hospital grade, EPA approved botanical disinfectants that can be used around kids, food and pets safely. You need to be an informed and educated consumer that understands there is a choice!
What’s the Problem With Household Cleaners?
Household cleaners with harsh ingredients can affect your family’s health in a number of ways.
- Eczema. A baby’s skin is sensitive, and studies have found that irritants and allergens in household cleaners and detergents can cause skin irritation.
- Airway irritation. Powerful fumes from household cleaners can irritate your baby’s airways, making allergy or asthma symptoms worse. Some cleaning chemicals in schools have been linked with higher rates of asthma, says Lunder.
- Eye irritation. Household cleaner fumes can also irritate your baby’s eyes, causing redness and watering. If splashed directly into the eyes, some cleaners can cause serious damage.
- Allergies. Some researchers believe that having a home that’s too clean can increase the long-term risk of allergies in a child. It’s called the hygiene hypothesis. Without some exposure to germs, a child’s immune system might not develop normally. Instead, it becomes hypersensitive and begins to overreact to harmless allergens, like pollen or dander.
- Poisoning. Every year, more than a million kids under age 5 swallow poisons like household cleaners, sometimes with devastating effects.
- Unknown health effects. Some household cleaners have fragrances that contain chemicals like phthalates. While we don’t know what their health effects are for sure, some studies have found a possible
- connection between phthalates and disrupted hormone levels.
“What’s surprising to so many parents is that we don’t have good safety testing for a lot of the chemicals we use every day,” Kenneth Bock, MD, pediatric neurotoxicologist and codirector of the Rhinebeck Health Center in Rhinebeck, N.Y. “We don’t really know what they might be doing to our kids.” To be cautious, many parents try to reduce their use of household cleaners that contain harsh chemicals.
Tips for Safe Cleaning:
- Choose safer household cleaners. Experts say that you should look for household cleaners that are less caustic and friendlier to both the environment and the body. Don’t think greener cleaners are less effective. I clean with safer cleaners with naturally derived ingredients and the natural solvent is safe and way more effective than any chemical solvent I have use. The real testimony is that I would use my safer products over the chemical, toxic filled products hands down just because they work better but to have the peace of mind that they are healthier for my family is priceless.
- Know what you’re buying. Don’t be fooled by greenwashing, or companies putting green or safe on a label and thinking it is. Products like Lysol Healthy Family and Clorox Green Works want you to believe their product has somehow become safer for your family. Do your research and really find out what is in them!
- Don’ t assume you will need to spend more for safer products. While most companies will rake consumers over the coals for healthier product, there are safer alternatives that can cost 30-40% less than Proctor and Gamble, Colgate Palmolive and SE Johnson products which are toxic. I spend less for more effective, safer cleaners and household essentials than before because I researched alternatives. We have to think outside the box. For me it was a matter of changing brands and where I shopped for my household essentials and because I took the time to find out the facts, my budget is reaping the rewards and my home is safer.
- Don’t use spray-on carpet cleaners or toxic carpet shampoo. According to experts, chemical carpet cleaners contain a lot of ingredients that can become trapped in a carpet. For child-safe cleaning, use a steam cleaner with water and a safe cleaner with naturally derived solvents. My natural carpet shampoo that I make with my safer cleaners contains tea tree oil and we love it. We used to hate the smell (for weeks) that commercial carpet cleaning products left on our carpets and area rugs. My kids did not even want to sit or stand on a carpet that was cleaned with one of those products. Since switching our cleaning products, the carpets are super clean, deodorized and neutralized without leaving a nasty chemical odor. Best of all the safer cleaner works on tough stains like nail polish, wine, fruit punch, grape juice, pet stains and more, better than any toxic chemical shampoo!
If you would like more information on how I keep my home clean and sanitized safely while saving 30-40% on the products I was buying at the big box or grocery store, just fill out our contact form and I will give you all the details. Why wouldn’t you want to educate yourself on safer, more natural products that will save you money? So don’t delay in finding out all the details today!
