October 13, 2023 by justin davis
The general point of cleaning your house is to get rid of grime, stains, dust, or other contaminants, and leave it looking and smelling great afterwards. The problem is, the typical cleaning process involves dozens (if not hundreds) of toxic chemicals. Even though you may be removing various contaminants from your home, they’re being replaced with harsh chemicals that certainly aren’t doing you or your family any favors.
So what’s the solution? Whether you’ve hired a cleaning company, or you’re doing it yourself, the key is to use safe cleaning products. At Simply Clean, we exclusively use non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaners that are safe for you and your family. For some people, this is a priority for any cleaning product that’s used in their home. For others, the concept of non-toxic cleaners seems like more of a marketing gimmick than anything else.
Are conventional cleaning products really that bad?
The truth is that even though regular cleaning products won’t necessarily cause immediate health problems, they’re associated with some pretty nasty issues after long-term exposure. These are some of the worst offenders.
- Formaldehyde – is linked to cancer, can burn the throat, nose, and eyes at certain concentrations, is a skin irritant, and can worsen allergies
- BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) – may be associated with kidney and liver damage, promotes the growth of tumors, and disrupts hormones
- SLES (sodium laureth sulfate) and SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate) – is sometimes contaminated with the carcinogen 1,4-dioxane, and can cause skin irritation
- Fragrance (a blanket term that can include thousands of tested and untested chemicals) – is linked to disrupted hormones, can cause skin irritation, and can worsen asthma and allergies
- Chlorine – is linked to bladder and colon cancer, is known to harm the gut microbiome, and can aggravate asthma
- Ammonia – can worsen asthma, and can cause respiratory, eye, and skin irritation
- Phthalates – are associated with disrupted hormones and lowered fertility
- Parabens – are associated with disrupted hormones, and may increase the risk of breast cancer
- Triclosan – is linked to disrupted hormones, liver damage, and skin sensitivity
The list goes on – these are just a few out of hundreds of chemicals used in popular cleaning products. Some people don’t really notice any adverse effects when they’re exposed to these chemicals, while others are immediately affected. If you’re trying to minimize your use of conventional cleaning chemicals, there’s good news: they’re actually fairly easy to replace. For every regular household cleaner, there’s a toxin-free alternative that’s just as effective.
Is it hard to replace regular cleaning products with non-toxic ones?
A quick peek under the average kitchen or bathroom sink will probably reveal an array of cleaning products. Some of them may be used every week, such as surface disinfectants or window cleaner. Others could be for intermittent use, like furniture polish or heavy-duty lime scale remover.
When you’ve booked professional house-cleaning services, they typically bring their own cleaning products. As long as you choose a company that only uses non-toxic products, you’ll be in good shape. What about the quick touch-ups you have to do when the cleaning crew isn’t around, though? It’s actually easier than you think to replace all those products underneath the sink.
Why there are so many types of cleaning products
A brief walk down the cleaning aisle at the grocery store will present you with a dizzying array of options. For every surface, there’s a cleaning product to go along with it. You can get one product to clean countertops, another to clean stainless steel sinks, and another for mirrors and windows. Ceramic surfaces get their own cleaners, tile floors have theirs, and toilet bowls enjoy their own formulations as well.
In a nutshell, there are tons of cleaners out there, and replacing all of them with less toxic alternatives can seem like a tall order. However, if you just need products that will get rid of everyday messes, you don’t need all these different cleaners. An all-purpose cleaner will do for the majority of these surfaces, baking soda makes an excellent replacement for things like Comet scrubbing powder, and a few spritzes of vinegar on a paper towel will leave glass surfaces clean and streak-free.
If this is the case, why don’t professional cleaners like Simply Clean just use baking soda and vinegar? Wouldn’t it be easier as well as cheaper? Well, it’s because cleaning companies often take care of houses that require more than just a quick wipe-down. There could be grimy corners in the kitchen, stained grout in the shower, lime deposits in toilet bowls, and more. Although DIY cleaners might make a dent in some of these, it takes industrial-strength cleaners to melt away layers of grease, or get rid of stains or calcium deposits that have built up over time. When a professional cleaning crew gets down to business, they need to use products that they know will take care of even the toughest messes the first time. This is why they use cleaning products that have been specifically formulated for the job, rather than all-purpose cleaners like baking soda or vinegar.
What else does Simply Clean do to minimize toxins in the home?
Professionally cleaning a house can involve a lot more than just standard tasks like cleaning the bathrooms or vacuuming the carpets. You can also ask for services like washing loads of laundry, making beds, deep-cleaning carpets, and so on. All of these jobs and more can involve toxic chemicals – or not, if non-toxic alternatives are used. For example, conventional laundry detergent can contain several of the chemicals mentioned above, but there are also non-toxic formulations available. A freshly made bed could be sprayed with air freshener as a finishing touch, which could be a completely safe product if desired. Deep-cleaning a carpet often uses heavy-duty chemicals, but it can also be done with nothing but steam.
It just goes to show that if your go-to cleaning company is as dedicated as you are to using non-toxic cleaning products, you’ll never have to be concerned about sacrificing your health for a cleaner home.