House Detox

I started detoxing my house several months ago.  It hasn't been easy. I have thought about it many times during the past few years but was always too busy to really pay attention to what I was doing, or at least that was the excuse I used. Well, I decided last year that I was no longer going to bring toxic cleaning products into my house. I think it takes a shift in thought; when I really started understanding exactly what I was doing it was easy to make the change.

If you have read any articles or watched the news you know what I am talking about.  There are tons of products out there that are constantly in front of our faces to make our homes look pretty, smell good, shine, etc.  But they come at a cost.

Here is some information from the Organic Consumers Organization.

When consumers buy commercial cleaning products, we expect them to do one thing: clean! We use a wide array of scents, soaps, detergents, bleaching agents, softeners, scourers, polishes, and specialized cleaners for bathrooms, glass, drains, and ovens to keep our homes sparkling and sweet-smelling. But while the chemicals in cleaners foam, bleach, and disinfect to make our dishes, bathtubs and counter tops gleaming and germ-free, many also contribute to indoor air pollution, are poisonous if ingested, and can be harmful if inhaled or touched. In fact, some cleaners are among the most toxic products found in the home. 

Cleaning ingredients vary in the type of health hazard they pose. Some cause acute, or immediate, hazards such as skin or respiratory irritation, watery eyes, or chemical burns, while others are associated with chronic, or long-term, effects such as cancer.

The most acutely dangerous cleaning products are corrosive drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners, according to Philip Dickey of the Washington Toxics Coalition. Corrosive chemicals can cause severe burns on eyes, skin and, if ingested, on the throat and esophagus. Ingredients with high acute toxicity include chlorine bleach and ammonia, which produce fumes that are highly irritating to eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and should not be used by people with asthma or lung or heart problems. 

Fragrances added to many cleaners, most notably laundry detergents and fabric softeners, may cause acute effects such as respiratory irritation, headache, sneezing, and watery eyes in sensitive individuals or allergy and asthma sufferers. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found that one-third of the substances used in the fragrance industry are toxic. But because the chemical formulas of fragrances are considered trade secrets, companies aren't required to list their ingredients but merely label them as containing "fragrance."

Other ingredients in cleaners may have low acute toxicity but contribute to long-term health effects, such as cancer or hormone disruption. Some all-purpose cleaners contain the sudsing agents diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA). When these substances come into contact with nitrites, often present as undisclosed preservatives or contaminants, they react to form nitrosamines - carcinogens that readily penetrate the skin. 1,4-dioxane, another suspected carcinogen, may be present in cleaners made with ethoxylated alcohols. Butyl cellosolve (also known as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether), which may be neurotoxic (or cause damage to the brain and nervous system), is also present in some cleaners.

Chemicals that are so-called "hormone disruptors" can interfere with the body's natural chemical messages, either by blocking or mimicking the actions of hormones. Possible health effects include decreased sperm counts, increased rates of male birth defects such as cryptorchidism (undescended testicles) and hypospadias (where the urethra is on the underside of the penis), and increased rates of some kinds of cancers. The alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs) used in some detergents and cleaners have been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen; one APE, p-nonylphenol, has caused estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells to multiply in a test tube study.

That's just part of the information but it is enough for me.  And this talks only about the products you bring into your home. Think about all the stuff they use in public places. Yuck!  There are environmental toxins we come in contact each and everyday.  But there is nothing I can do about that, so I am going to let it go and focus on what I can change.

I will tell you what did it for me.  I have granite on my kitchen counters and they require a nightly cleaning for take off the smears of the day.  I bought a product home and used it and it worked beautifully.  It made that granite shine!  But one day it struck me that I was eating off that counter.  I was putting food on it that I would then ingest.  Ewwk!  It made me sick to think that I might be inadvertently be poisoning me and my husband.  What the heck was I doing?  I stopped using that product immediately and have not looked back.

If you shop around there are now lots of organic or all natural cleaning products out there that are much safer to use in the home.  Still some of them are expensive so I have been researching recipes for home made products. I love finding something that is easy and inexpensive to make, that eliminates the worry and I get to save money.

I hope you will look around your home to see what you might be able to eliminate.  I think you will feel better about what you are living with.