The Quick Facts: Conventional, chemical cleaning product ingredients are virtually unregulated and can be toxic to your health and the environment. “Green” cleaning products, which are just effective when used with technologically advanced tools such as microfiber cloths, minimize health risks and environmental pollution. You can make your own green cleaners by using recipes found from reputable online sources. You can also purchase green cleaning products, but when doing so be careful of manufacturer claims of “natural,” or “environmentally friendly,” and choose products with the following attributes: containing biobased oils, no VOCs, and no dyes or fragrances; and with packaging that is reduced, made from recycled-content, or is recyclable.
For many of us, spring cleaning is a ritual. After a winter of suffering cabin fever with doors and windows shut, we welcome the annual opportunity to throw open the sash, let in fresh air, and clean. Many of us think that by cleaning we are eliminating harmful germs, dust and allergens. While this is true, the cleaning products we are using are often more harmful to our health and the environment than the dust balls lurking under the bed. Choosing “greener” (or more precisely “environmentally preferable”) cleaning products for your spring cleaning can minimize potential health risks, improve indoor air quality, and reduce water and ambient air pollution. And yes, green cleaning can be just as effective as conventional cleaning.
Concerns with Conventional Chemical Cleaning Products
Health Concerns
In the United States, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) oversees the safety of household cleaning products. While the CPSC requires labels to address known hazards, the CPSC does not require that individual ingredients be tested for safety. Household disinfectants (i.e., antibacterial cleaners) must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a pesticide. However, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, a 2005 report by the Government Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that the EPA “is failing to protect the public from tens of thousands of toxic compounds because it has not gathered data on the health risks of most industrial chemicals.” The GAO report found that the EPA required testing for fewer than 200 of the 62,000 chemicals used in commerce since EPA began reviewing chemicals in 1979. The GAO further found that the “EPA’s reviews of new chemicals provide limited assurance that health and environmental risks are identified before the chemicals enter commerce,” and that when the EPA has information on significant health risks “it has difficulty overcoming the legal hurdles needed to take action.”
The known risks of conventional cleaning product ingredients include: fatal if swallowed; birth defects; kidney damage; neurological impacts; burning of skin or eyes; permanent eye damage; and irritating to skin, eyes, or lungs. Some cleaning product ingredients are known carcinogens (cancer causing). The chemical ingredient nonylphenol ethoxylate can break down into an endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemical. Additionally, the use of antimicrobial products may lead to resistant germs that can infect humans.
It is also important to note that children are more susceptible to toxic exposure from cleaning products than adults. This is because they breathe more frequently, are more likely to sit on floors, and often have their little hands near their mouths.
Environmental Concerns
Conventional chemical cleaning products reach the environment through evaporation and rinsing down the drain. Although waste treatment usually renders them harmless, conventional cleaning product ingredients do reach waterways. A 2002 U.S. Geological Survey found that 69% of U.S. streams sampled contained persistent detergent metabolites, and 66% contained disinfectants. Cleaning product ingredients can be toxic to aquatic species and have been found to cause adverse reproductive effects (functioning as endocrine disrupters) in wildlife exposed to polluted waters. Cleaning products containing phosphorous or nitrogen can also contribute to nutrient-loading in water bodies, resulting in algal blooms and anaerobic (oxygen-depleted) conditions. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cleaning products contribute to smog formation in outdoor air. Moreover, most conventional cleaners have surfactants (a substance that lowers the surface tension of water and makes it more likely to ‘interact’ with oil and grease) that are petroleum-based, and the extraction and refining of petroleum, a non-renewable resource, produces pollution.
Green Cleaning
Proper disposal of toxic cleaning products
When you’re ready to “green” clean, don’t throw away or dump your old, toxic chemical cleaners. Doing so will allow them to enter the environment and waterways. Instead bring them to your community’s household hazardous waste collection.
Natural, Alternative Cleaners
You can purchase green cleaners or make your own with basic ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, borax, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, and vegetable soaps. Making your own cleaners saves you money and gives you the benefit of knowing all ingredients in the product. If you do choose to make your own cleaner, use caution when mixing and store in labeled containers far out of reach of children (because even less-toxic cleaners could still pose a health risk if ingested). An internet search will yield many suggestions for homemade cleaners. Make sure you use a recipe from a reputable source such as:
- Real Mama- “http://www.realmama.org/archives-earth/05_win_green-cleaning.php“>Green Cleaning: Safer Solutions for Getting your Home Clean”
- The Washington Toxics Coalition ≠ “Recipes for Safer Cleaning”
- Children’s Health Environmental Coalition ≠ “Recipes for Safer Cleaners”
- Consumer Reports- Greener Choices ≠ suggesting homemade cleaning recipes
When purchasing “green” cleaners, carefully study the listed ingredients. Be cautious of labels claiming to be “green,” “environmentally friendly,” or “natural.” Just because these words appear on the container doesn’t mean the product is non-toxic. These terms are undefined and unregulated by the federal government. The Federal Trade Commission offers only “guidance” for environmental marketing claims.
The EPA’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) program suggests looking for the following attributes in seeking “greener” cleaning products:
- Containing: renewable sources such as biobased solvents from citrus, seed, vegetable and pine oils; reduced or no skin irritants; reduced or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs); reduced or no added dyes (except when added for safety purposes); reduced or no added fragrances; and no ozone depleting substances
- Packaging: reduced; recyclable; or made of recycled-content
Greener Cleaning Tools
Also, it’s important to realize that effective “green cleaning” is more than just using less toxic cleaning products. Today, more advanced cleaning tools are available, which help reduce waste and are more effective at gathering dust, dirt and other particulates. For example, say goodbye to paper towels that create waste and lint, and invest in microfiber mops and cloths that are reusable and touted as effective with the use of water alone (no need for any cleaning product). You can also minimize dust, dirt and other contaminants in your house by using entry mats, removing shoes, and by using HEPA filtration vacuum cleaners and two-chamber mop buckets.
On a related note: The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act of 2008 (S.3040) is a bill pending in the U.S. Senate. If passed into law, the Act would require manufacturers of chemical substances to submit to the EPA: (1) a statement certifying that the substance meets required safety standards or that there is insufficient data to make such determination; and (2) all reasonably available information concerning the substance not previously submitted. It would also require manufactures to provide chemical safety information to the EPA upon the EPA’s request. Further, the Act would require the EPA to determine the safety of 300 chemicals within the next five years. By 2020, all chemicals distributed in commerce would need to meet a safety standard.
Please see Real Mama’s related articles:
Toxic Chemical and Pesticide Use in Schools: It’s Sickening … Literally
Clearing the Air at Home: Small changes you can make to improve the indoor air quality in your home
Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:
epw.senate.gov/pressitem.cfm?id=240542&party=dem (U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works ≠ Minority Press Release ≠ “Sen. Jeffords Introduces Bill to Protect Americans from Hazardous Chemicals in Consumer Products”)
www.epa.gov/epp/pubs/cleaning.htm (U.S. EPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program ≠ “Greening Your Purchase of Cleaning Products: A Guide for Federal Purchasers„)
www.watoxics.org (Washington Toxics Coalition ≠ Fact Sheet: ‘Alternatives: Safer Cleaning Products„ and Fast Facts on Cleaning Products)
www.informinc.org (Inform ≠ “Frequently Asked Questions: Cleaning for Health: Products and Practices for a Safe Indoor Environment„)
www.worldwatch.org/node/1484 (World Watch Institute ≠ “Good Stuff? ≠ Cleaning Products”)
Tags: environmentally friendly, green cleaning, non-toxic cleaning products, recycled packaging
