5 Cleaning Products to Stay The Hell Away From

Hello and welcome. I recently worked with a client that put their home on the market for sale and I was absolutely amazed at the amount of cleaning products that was inside the home. The entire kitchen counter and under the kitchen sink was filled up with all kind of cleaning products. The bathroom had about fifty (50) bottles of all kinds of cleaners. I kid you not. You walked into the house and the only thing you smell are strong fumes.

The household cleaning industry is largely unregulated, so companies are not required to include ingredient lists on their cleaning products that can hurt or kill the end users. Because they want you to buy their products, they are not interested in telling you anything that will prevent you from buying those products. They take advantage of this lack of regulation, by making and getting away with unsubstantiated claims about their cleaning products, often hidden behind vague terms. In truth, it’s hard to know just how bad these chemical concoctions really are for your health and for the environment. Let’s take a look at a few of them below:

Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner - boasts green in its title but is anything but. This all-purpose cleaner contains 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent known to damage red blood cells and irritate eyes. It also contains a very toxic blend of alcohol ethoxylate surfactants.

Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom and shower cleaners contain chemicals that can irritate and inflame the lungs.

Heavy Duty Oven Cleaner Aerosol Spray - can burn your skin and eyes. The label advises users to avoid eyes, skin, mucous membranes, clothing, breathing in the mist, and only use in well ventilated area. This really does not belong in any home.

Lysol Disinfectant Power Toilet Bowl Cleaner with Lime & Rust Remover label suggests wearing safety goggles to avoid irreversible damage to eyes.

Comet Disinfectant Cleanser Powder Environmental Working Group (EWG) found more than one hundred and thirty (130) chemicals in this cleaner. While some of the chemicals found are known to cause cancer, asthma and reproductive disorders, the most toxic ones includes formaldehyde, benzene, chloroform and toluene.

Cleaning your home should not require wearing a hazmat suit and gas mask. Each time you or a cleaning company clean your home, the product used should not put your family’s health risk. However, if you or them are using any of the above products, you may be doing just that. Companies are in business to make money, sometimes at any cost necessary. That may include using ingredients that are deadly without your knowledge. At Houston Organic Cleaning Service we take pride in the service we provide. The health of our clients is what matter the most to us, so we never use any of the above products. Ever. As always, thank you for stopping by. Until next time…