Non-Toxic Cleaning Basics: Why Do It and How to Get Started

Do you ever wonder why it seems we all know someone with cancer? Or maybe you've even had it yourself. Do you ever wonder why you might sneeze or feel funky during or after cleaning (even if you aren't dusting)? Do you ever get a headache after doing a lot of cleaning? Do you feel nauseous from walking down the cleaning aisle in a store? One of the answer's to all of these questions is in our typical cleaning products. Wait, what?! My cleaning products?! I thought it was good to try to keep my house clean!! Yes, absolutely, but it's the chemicals in cleaning products that are harmful, not what you're trying to accomplish.

photo credit: Green Living Guide

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has assessed over 2,000 cleaning products on the market today and continues to add more to their list. Below is a summary of their findings, you can find the full report on their Household Cleaner Findings page.

• 53% of assessed products have ingredients known to affect our lungs negatively.
• 22% have asthma-inducing ingredients, meaning it can develop asthma in a person or bring on an attack
• Formaledhyde is a known cancer-causing agent and can be found as a preservative in some cleaning products.
• Cholorform is a suspected cancer-causer, and is in the fumes released by chlorine bleach, which is just one example.
• Antibacterial products can create breakouts of "superbugs" that are hard to cure. Perhaps part of the cause of the recent very serious strain of the flu?
• EWG's Cleaning Supplies and Your Health page also gives more details about links between cleaning supplies and reproductive health, birth defects, developmental problems, burns, poisonings, and more.

Unfortunately, even if you're a good label-reader, as I have become, that won't do you much good in this area. Labels for cleaning products are unregulated by the government, unlike with food and beauty products.

What to do now?! I have a few suggestions, or you can come up with our own:

1. Slow to start: Ditch one old cleaning product at a time. Go to EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning page, search for a safe product to replace the one you're ditching and find it. If this all seems too overwhelming for you, this is a great option! You can feel good about your progress without being stressed.
2. Medium paced: Ditch all your all-purpose cleaner and all of your other cleaners, one room at a time, replacing them with a safe product found on EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning. For instance, you can purchase castile soap, like Dr. Bronner's from Target or online, to dilute for an all-purpose cleaner. And also change out all your kitchen cleaners, then your bathroom cleaners, and so on.
3. Fast paced: Get rid of them all and find replacements now! This is almost what I did, which was pretty overwhelming, so I don't really recommend this.
4. Make your own cleaning products from stuff you already have! Some non-toxic cleaning products can get pricey, so if you need to save some money, take one of the approaches above, but replace your cleaners with ones you make! Baking soda, distilled white vinegar, lemons and other citrus fruit, and hydrogen peroxide are all excellent natural cleaners when diluted and used properly. For a fabulous e-book on DIY cleaners, check out DIY Natural Cleaning Recipes by Heather Dessinger (AKA: Mommypotamus). She has researched and used all of these recipes consistently, with success, so it's an excellent resource for cleaning your house naturally and toxin-free. THIS BOOK IS 25% OFF RIGHT NOW THROUGH MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014!! Use the code SPRING25 at checkout. Click the "DIY Natural Cleaning Recipes" link above to preview or purchase the book.
   

   

   photo credit: Hollywood Homestead

I will also be sharing some of my favorite non-toxic cleaning products that I have either purchased or made along my journey, so stay tuned! I will also share my experiments in non-toxic living, meaning things I'm trying out but haven't proven to work or not yet. Up next will be some basic necessities for DIY cleaning products, because, let's face it, we don't want to pay more than we already do on cleaning products!

Here's my first money-saving cleaning tip: Dust with microfiber rags and NOTHING else. You can get them in bulk at Costco, or just a few at Target, a hardware store, or a car store. Microfiber picks up ALL of your dust with one good swipe! I have been using them to dust for over a year now, and I love them. After dusting, throw them in the wash with your regular clothes. Don't wash them with towels because towel fibers slowly ruin microfiber.

I want to hear from you! Is this helpful? Did you already know this? What do you want to know more about? What do you have concerns about? What do you think? Do you already use non-toxic cleaning products?