Clean Home. Dirty Toxins
I think we all agree we love the smell of a clean home. For many of us we grew up in houses that used the same cleaning products our entire lives and as such we actually associate those product scents with a home being clean. We all do it, if we know it or not! In addition, the desire for a clean home is NOT a bad thing inherently. To want to minimize the dangers of germs spreading during sick season or even just to keep clutter and dust down is a good thing. However, what we often don’t realize is that conventional home cleaning products can often contain more dangerous ingredients than any germs that could be lingering on everyday surfaces. These ingredients could be potentially impacting your health, gut, and hormone balance in a negative way and for those trying to improve overall health this toxin load can contribute to that journey. First, let me stop by saying businesses, schools, and other shared spaces have cleaning regulations and as public entities have a responsibility to abide by those. I am in no way saying your butcher stop should not use strong agents to clean with given the risk of bacterial transmission otherwise. However, I am talking about your continued daily exposure within your own home where most of the germs come from you and your family .
Let’s jump right in and talk about every household staple, Clorox. According to the Environmental Working Group Clorox utilizes over 1200 different fragrance ingredients. That’s a lot of additives in a product just dedicated to scent. I do want to commend Clorox for actually releasing a list of the fragrance ingredients that they use, while I do not agree with how many are included I do think the company transparency allows for consumers to make educated and informed decisions. The list of fragrance ingredients includes ….
Acetaldehyde - a possible human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Oxybenzone - a hormone-disrupting chemical commonly used in sunscreens that has been detected in the bodies of 97 percent of Americans and is linked to low birth weight in baby girls
Phenol and Benzyl Alcohol - both neurotoxins
Triethanolamine - a chemical that can cause asthma to develop in otherwise healthy individuals.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not want exposure to these types of additives especially not due to fragrance. In addition, there have been studies conducted on rats exposed to bleach who, when tested again, showed signs of damage to the lungs, kidneys, and liver. Not to mention all of these toxins increase the daily toxic load a person has to process increasing inflammation and working against the body’s natural desire to maintain homeostasis (happy hormones, gut, low cancer risk). It is important to note that The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have not classified chlorine as to its human carcinogenicity. Therefore, they have not said if it is or is not linked to cancer risk factors.
All this to say, we made the decision a few years ago to start switching our household cleaning products to options with safer ingredients. I would also like to encourage you not to switch everything at once as it can be costly and truly overwhelming! What we found worked best for us was when we ran out of a product to look for a safer option before we repurchased. This made the transition much slower but felt much more manageable. I am going to link my favorites below… you will see quite a few of them we carry here at T.E. Market! I used these products before our store ever opened and knew immediately I wanted to have them as an option for those around us. For the products we do not carry quite yet, I will link my favorites that you can purchase through amazon.
Instead of Shout laundry stain treatment ——> Nood Clean Stain Treatment (I even convinced my family on this one, it works!)
Instead of Tide Laundry Detergent —> Nood Clean Laundry Detergent ( I am happy to get this for those of you who would like to try it, the bottle was too large to offer shipping)
Instead of Clorox Clean Up —> Nood Clean All Purpose Cleaner
Instead of Dawn Dish Soap —> Truly Free Dishwashing Liquid or Nood Clean Dishwashing Liquid (I use this in my dishwasher)
Instead of Windex —> Aunt Fannie’s Glass and Window Cleaner
Floor Cleaner —> Thieves Household Cleaner ( this is a concentrate so it goes a long way, it can also be used on a ton of other surfaces)
Research Links
https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/whats-inside-clorox-shares-little
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10445163/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30689457/