There is more to having a clean home than merely being tidy. Using cleaning solutions with safer components can also result in better living environments. We’ve teamed up with Made Safe, an independent company that inspects and certifies safer and more sustainable home items, to help you do that. Here are some tips for selecting cleaners that are safer and more intelligent. Read more about cleaning solutions by visiting our website and if you have any questions related to this topic, connect with us.
The Significance of Nontoxic Cleaning Products
A little-known fact regarding cleaning solutions is that not all of their contents are included on the label. This is due to the fact that no federal legislation mandates that businesses reveal the components in all cleaning products.
A legislation that took effect in California in 2020 is beginning to change that. With very few exclusions for components deemed “confidential business information,” a legal classification that safeguards trade secret information, cleaning products marketed there are now required to declare their contents. However, businesses cannot use that classification to conceal any ingredients—including fragrances—that the government has determined to be dangerous.
Transparency is growing nationwide since many businesses don’t want to produce two distinct labels for California and the rest of the United States, which makes it simpler to choose safer items. Of course, not all businesses follow this path, so labels can still be absent if you’re not in California.
This is concerning since certain chemicals included in cleaning products can aggravate asthma, allergies, and other illnesses. For instance, some ammonium quaternary compounds, which are frequently used as disinfectants, have been connected in animal studies to irritation, asthma, and reproductive damage. The air quality in the home may also be negatively impacted by some components. Cleaning chemicals can emit bleach, which is used to destroy germs and is connected to asthma, and formaldehyde, which is produced from certain preservatives and is linked to cancer.
How can you confidently choose clean cleansers if you don’t know which chemicals to look out for or have complete ingredient transparency? Don’t worry; we have advice on how to use and use them regardless of where you reside.
Guides on Selecting Healthier Cleaning Supplies
Think of a multipurpose cleaner. Not every surface in your home requires a separate cleaning, despite what commercial marketing may claim. Toilets, bathtubs, floors, and kitchen countertops may all be cleaned with an efficient all-purpose cleaner. This will lessen the quantity of substances you are exposed to as well as the bulk in your cleaning cabinet.
Choose cleaning products whose contents are indicated on the container. Not all firms list cleaning product components since current federal regulation does not oblige them to do so. Instead of using recognizable ingredient names, some people employ catch-all or category words. Nonspecific ingredient names like “surfactant,” “dye,” “enzyme,” “carrier,” “cleaning agent,” “fragrance,” and other vague terminology are what you should search for and stay away from. You may learn more about what you and your family are exposed to by selecting items with ingredients that have been declared.
Avoid wearing fragrances. Fragrances can include hundreds of secret compounds, many of which have been linked to a variety of health issues, including as endocrine disruption, cancer, and developmental toxicity, because the constituents of a fragrance are not necessarily required to be mentioned on labels. Additionally, scented cleaning supplies may be a factor in indoor air pollution.
Purchase basic cleaning supplies. There may be many substances on product labels that are difficult to understand. One tip is to seek for cleansers that are soap-based, meaning they contain saponified (made into soap) plant oils. Potassium cocoate, sodium cocoate, saponified coconut oil, potassium palmate, sodium palmate, and saponified palm oil are a few of the most typical types that are mentioned on labels (search for items with labels that claim they have sustainable palm oil). Another tip is to search for substances that include “glucoside” in their names, since they are frequently plant-based and mild cleaning compounds. Caprylyl/capryl glucoside, decyl glucoside, lauryl glucoside, coco glucoside, and caprylyl/myristyl glucoside are a few examples. Although this method isn’t ideal, it might assist you in avoiding dubious cleaning agents. On the label, look for one or more of these components listed as one of the initial ingredients.
Steer clear of cleansers that include colorants and dyes. A cleaning solution’s color usually has little bearing on how effective it is, so it’s just another needless chemical exposure. Additionally, some colorants that are frequently found in cleaning products have been connected to irritation, skin sensitivity, asthma, and a lack of biodegradability. Labels may occasionally list colorants, however they are frequently trade secret-protected and not made public. However, because bright-colored formulations usually require colorants to generate such vibrant hues, they can be a dead giveaway. Avoiding colored formulations is a simple tip to keep in mind for simpler purchasing, even if not all colorants are dangerous.
Select the safer disinfecting components that are indicated on disinfectant labels. These consist of components such as citric acid (at least 0.5 percent), ethanol (at least 70 percent), or hydrogen peroxide (at least 3 percent). The Environmental Protection Agency has registered all of these active compounds to combat a variety of common diseases. They may be preferable to harsh, often used ones like ammonium quaternary compounds, which are becoming more widely acknowledged as substances of concern. The words “quaternium” or “-onium chloride” in the name help to identify them on labels.
Try cleaning windows and glass using a vinegar-based solution. Glass is a remarkable exception to the rule that all-purpose cleaners can handle most tasks. A safe substitute may be a straightforward concoction of equal parts vinegar and hot water. (Just be sure that hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, or bleach were never present in the spray container.) Although it might not be as effective as a conventional stand-alone glass cleaner, it might be less likely to have potentially harmful substances. Additionally, keep in mind that vinegar’s acidity might harm some items, so you shouldn’t use it to clean them, such as many appliances and worktops.
Look over ingredient lists on business websites. You may access such information if you reside outside of California, since the state law compels businesses to identify dangerous cleaning product chemicals on the labels of goods sold there. Businesses are also required to post this information on their websites. Products may still include hazardous chemicals since California’s list of prohibited substances isn’t all-inclusive.