Cleaning Products

DID YOU KNOW?

* An EPA study revealed that toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times
more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air.

* The Asthma Society of Canada has identified common household cleaners and
and cosmetics as triggers to asthma.

The vast majority of domestic cleaning products contain an abundance of toxic chemicals, most of which could seriously impact your health. Indeed, household cleaners are the major source of home toxins. Approximately 500,000 tons of liquid cleaners are washed down U.S. drains annually. These products are absorbed through the skin, breathed into the lungs, and eaten from plates with chemical residue following “cleaning.” Ingestion, of course, is always a danger as well, and the number-one cause of household poisoning is dish detergent.

Most cleaning products rely on petroleum-based surfactants, solvents and other chemicals, some of which are known to be acutely toxic in large doses. Others have been linked to reproductive illnesses and cancer. Most of these chemicals have not been tested for their impact on human health. Many household cleansers contain substances such as the highly toxic halogens chlorine and fluorine as well as glycol ether, naphtha, and kerosene, which are neurotoxins and central-nervous-system depressants. These substances can cause confusion, headaches, lack of concentration, and symptoms of mental illness.

Some of these products contain such a toxic cocktail of chemicals that the EPA has produced guides to help people choose environmentally friendly chemicals. Chemicals found in cleaning products are surfactants – substances that remove fat, proteins, and dust from clothes or surfaces to ensure that the fats and dirt dissolve in the washing water without sticking to the clothes or surface again. Many ordinary household products such as detergents, cleaning agents, dishwashing liquids, soaps, shampoos, and conditioners contain surfactants. These chemicals are well known to be toxic to fish and in aquatic systems. The toxicity of these surfactants on humans varies, but in many cases they can cause severe skin, eye, and respiratory harm. What’s more, when surfactants, which are classified as “inert” pesticide additives, are mixed with other active chemicals, they can hugely increase the toxicity of other chemicals – whether toxic chemicals in cleaning solutions or “active” pesticides in pest-control preparations.

The best thing to do is to clear them all out, and find healthier alternatives. What products are safe for my home? For more information click on: http://www.ahealthcafe.com/cgi-bin/team.cgi?id=Ma28353&action=show

Sources: Toxic Overload
Paula Baillie-Hamilton, M.D., Ph.D.