Toxic Cleaners
I’ve been reading too many stories lately about people either dying or being seriously impacted by contact with fumes from common cleaners that we may even use in our homes every day. Of course, some of the cleaners that are used in businesses are even worse.
Industrial cleaners can be even more toxic than the ones we buy at the grocery store. However, you MUST BE CAREFUL with all cleaners. My recommendation is to go as natural as you can. There are some really great natural oils and byproducts of plants that make wonderful cleaners and are not toxic to the skin, lungs or body in general.
There are so many volatile chemicals in cleaners such as surface cleaners, kitchen cleansers, scrubs, bubble cleaners, carpet cleaners, window cleaners and oven cleaners that you really should avoid inhaling at all costs. If using a cleaner, you should always wear gloves so that the chemicals do not contact the skin and absorb into the blood stream.
Why are these chemicals so toxic, and what are they doing in our cleaners? Well, quite frankly, chemicals are harsh, and they cut through things like dirt and grease easily. They are also incredibly cheap, which is a good reason why so many companies put them in their formulas.
Recently as a few months ago, there was a story of an elderly woman who’s life was taken when she entered a fast food restaurant’s bathroom where chemicals cleaners had been mixed. Five others were hospitalized with breathing problems after just walking into the bathroom.
Another tragic story was recently released that seemed to be a few months late. A police officer and father of two was sitting at his desk. A janitor apparently sprayed a cleaning fluid on a desk nearby. The officer complained of breathing problems and was hospitalized.
His condition worsened, and less than a month later he was dead from inhaling the fumes. Of course, no information was given about what the cleaning fluid contained, but can you imagine dying from inhaling something that is supposed to be “safe”?
Oven cleaners are one of the worst. When we first moved in to our house, we had to clean out the ovens as they were a total mess from the previous owners. We had to buy oven cleaner to get the caked on grease off.
I will never use oven cleaner again. The two of us that were cleaning started coughing and choking as soon as the fumes hit our lungs. When I think about the damage that we may have done just with a couple of inhalations, it makes me regret ever using it.
You may really want to think about switching to more natural options when it comes to the daily cleaners you use in your home. It may be a lot of safer for your and your family, and what could be more important?
One of the things I like to do is use the hot water from our insinkerator hot water maker to clean a lot of things, rather than breaking out the spray cleaner. I also use a natural, non chemical all purpose cleaner to do most of my cleaning these days.