Cleaning product in your home are very important to consider. Did you know that using some cleaning products in your home could be worse for your health than smoking?
A 20 year longitudinal study conducted by the University of Bergen in Norway found that using conventional cleaning products can be harmful as smoking 20 cigarettes a day. Based on the results, the authors suggested that exposure to cleaning materials can be detrimental to women’s health in the long term. This study brings increasing awareness of the connection between cleaning product use and asthma and other respiratory issues, but this is the first study to look at the impact of using cleaning products over a long period of time.(1)
Most recently a Canadian study done by Researchers for the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study analyzed the gut microbiota of more than 750 children aged 3–4 months. They looked at the children’s exposure to disinfectants, detergents, vs eco-friendly cleaning products used in their homes. After controlling for a wide range of other potential factors, the results found a clear, dose-dependent link between the the use of disinfectant in the home and changes in certain types of normal gut bacteria in their 3–4-month-old infants, and the children’s weight when they were at age 1 and 3 years. In contrast eco-friendly cleaning products didn’t increase the likelihood of children becoming overweight.
Standard cleaning products have been shown to cause rise in asthma skin conditions such as eczema and chemical sensitivities. You should really carefully examine your household products.
In addition, one must ponder the effects of cleaning products on your health and how the air quality inside your home can be far worse than the air quality outside.
The EWGs product cleaning guide analyzed over 2,500 household cleaning products, and found that almost half were rated “poor” and nearly 75 percent toxic ingredient’s linked to respiratory health effects. Many are also known to cause developmental and endocrine harm,(2) not to mention the negative impact they have on our environment. These chemicals are only partly removed by wastewater treatment plants, don’t readily break down, are persistent in the environment and toxic to aquatic life.
In our home, we all noticed our health improved by using cleaner cleaning products
Brands we use are:
Nature’s way, Goodness me products, Seventh generation are just to name a few.
But what I have also found is easy is to make some cleaning products at home by using vinegar and essential oils
For general cleaning:
1) Mix equal parts vinegar and water and put them in a tray bottle to clean mirrors and windows
2)For cleaning granite tops mix ¼ cup rubbing alcohol, 10-12 drops organic tea tree oil, 20 drops lemon essential, 1 tablespoon of castile soap and 2 and half cups water for granite countertops
3) General chaining of surfaces (other than granite which can be damaged by vinegar) – mix ½ cup vinegar and 1 cup water with 10 drops tea tree oil
4) Cleaning yoga mat, you can use witch hazel, water and 10 drops tea tree oil and 10 drops eucalyptus oil
5) Unclog drains- use 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1 cup vinegar. First put the baking soda into the drain first then add vinegar and watch the chemical magic. This is easier on pipes and drains than harsh commercial preparations as well.
(1)http://www.thoracic.org/about/newsroom/press-releases/resources/women-cleaners-lung-function.pdf
(2)Essential oils I use for cleaning I but from New Direction Aromatics, Sage, Do terra Oils.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14647273.2017.1358828?scroll=top&needAccess=true
(3)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28483971
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28135855
http://www.thoracic.org/about/newsroom/press-releases/resources/women-cleaners-lung-function.pdf 1