The last thing you may be thinking about when cleaning your home is your health. I mean, for Pete’s sake, you’re getting rid of germs when you wipe down your counters or scrub the toilets. Unfortunately, many household cleaners are full of toxic chemicals that can do some serious damage to your body. Look out for these ingredients when you’re trying to clean up your home.
Hydrochloric acid/ sodium acid sulfate
Anything with acid in the name sounds pretty scary…and this ingredient is! These chemicals which can lead to skin burns and blindness if accidently splashed in your eyes can be found in toilet bowl cleaners.
Phenol
One of the most common ingredients in household disinfectants (such as Lysol, Pin-sol and Spic-n-Span) is Phenol. This toxic chemical can actually lead to the disruption of the balance of bacteria in your home giving bad bacteria more room to grow. Phenol can be linked to heart damage, respiratory and circulatory damage and kidney, liver and eye damage.
Nitrobenzene
Check your floor and furniture polishes for this rascally chemical. Unfortunately, Nitrobenzene has been linked to birth defects and cancer and if ingested can cause poisoning and death (think about your little baby crawling on the ground or your pup licking up crumbs). Even just simply inhaling it can lead to trouble breathing.
Ammonia
You’ll find ammonia in polishers used for sinks, jewelry and to shine up bathroom fixtures it’s also a common ingredient in many window cleaners because of its ability to evaporate without leaving streaks. Ammonia can be very dangerous for those with asthma or lung and breathing issues because it’s usually inhaled. If something has the capability of becoming a poisonous gas (mixing Ammonia with Bleach) then it might just be better to stay away from it.
Sadly, there’s many more harmful ingredients to be on the look out for. You can do more research here or here to find out which cleaning products you should try to avoid. Maid to Shine understands the importance of protecting our clients and our cleaning techs so the cleaning products we choose are 100% green, meaning they’re good for you, us and the environment!
