"Chlorine Gas Is Used in Chemical Warfare—Why Pollute Your Indoor Air
With Cleaning Products?"
Use Only Natural Cleaners in Your Home
A little over a year ago I became aware
of the health risks involved with household cleaners:
- Volatile chemicals in household cleaners become gaseous at room
temperature or form microscopic particles when sprayed—causing lung
damage and entering the bloodstream to effect other organs as well.
- The propellant (methylene chloride a.k.a. dichloromethane) used in
lots of aerosol products is a known carcinogen.
- Some cleaning chemicals called neurotoxins can affect the nervous
system, reducing emotional well-being, coordination, intelligence, and
mental alertness.
- Other cleaning chemicals, called reproductive toxins, such as
teratogen can cause miscarriages, birth defects, pregnancy
complications, sterility, and infertility.
- Carpet cleaners have been linked to
Kawasaki disease...but not conclusively.
The chemicals in our household cleaners
are contaminating our indoor air so badly, along with other
contaminants, that the
EPA declares indoor air pollution as one of the nation's most pressing
personal health concerns.
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What's Wrong With Bleach?
Excerpt from
Wikipedia:
"Sodium
hypochlorite (bleach) is a strong
oxidizer...household bleach and pool
chlorinator solutions are typically stabilized
by a significant concentration of lye (caustic
soda, NaOH) as part of the manufacturing
reaction. Skin contact will produce caustic
irritation or burns due to defatting and
saponification of skin oils and destruction of
tissue. The slippery feel of bleach on skin is
due to this process.
Chlorination of
drinking water can oxidize organic contaminants,
producing trihalomethanes (also called
haloforms), which are carcinogenic. The extent
of the hazard thus created is a subject of
disagreement.
Mixing bleach with
some household cleaners can be hazardous. For
example, mixing an
acid cleaner with sodium hypochlorite bleach
generates
chlorine gas. Mixing with
ammonia solutions (including urine) produces
chloramines. Both chlorine gas and
chloramine gas are toxic. Bleach can react
violently with
hydrogen peroxide and produce oxygen gas...
A number of
commonly used household cleaning products
(bleaches, mildew stain removers, toilet
cleaners, cleaning sprays, gels, and scouring
powders) contain sodium hypochlorite that is
often accompanied by many other chemicals (e.g.,
surfactants and fragrances). Mixing bleach with
ammonia-based cleaners results in formation of
chloramines while mixing it with an acid-based
cleaner will cause chlorine gas release.
Therefore, the main concern associated with the
use of chlorine-bleach-containing
cleaning-products has been mixing them with
other cleaning products that can generate
hazardous fumes.
A
recent study indicated for the first time
that sodium hypochlorite and organic chemicals
(e.g., surfactants, fragrances) contained in
several household cleaning products react to
generate chlorinated volatile organic compounds
(VOCs). These chlorinated compounds are emitted
during cleaning applications and most of them
are toxic and probable human carcinogens. The
study showed that indoor air concentrations
significantly increase (8-52 times for
chloroform and 1-1170 times for carbon
tetrachloride) during the use of bleach
containing products. The increase in chlorinated
volatile organic compound concentrations was the
lowest for plain bleach and the highest for the
products in the form of “thick liquid and gel.”
The significant increases observed in indoor air
concentrations of several chlorinated VOCs
(especially carbon tetrachloride and chloroform)
indicate that the household bleach use is a
newly identified source that could be important
in terms of inhalation exposure to these
compounds. Preliminary risk assessment suggested
that using these cleaning products may
significantly increase the cancer risk. Further
studies are also needed for a detailed
investigation of the health risks associated
with the use of these products and other
possible exposure routes (i.e., dermal).
However, these are not the only adverse
environmental effects of the released VOCs, they
are also ozone depleting compounds and powerful
greenhouse gases."
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When I found all this out, I threw out my
highly hazardous household cleaners. At the time, I was getting sick
every three or four months with an upper respiratory infection that
would, sometimes, be severe enough to leave me without a voice. Based on
my research I started putting it together...I got sick about three days
after I did a major scrub down with Tilex in my bathroom. Even though I
made sure the bathroom was well-ventilated during the scrub-down, I
always got sick about three days later.
Of course, I never realized this until I
started really thinking about my family's chemical exposures.
I haven't used Tilex since AND I went
almost two years before I had another upper-respiratory infection!
Free EcoFriendly Downloads:
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These days it is so easy to use non-toxic
cleaners by either:
- Buying all natural cleaners manufactured by "green" companies.
- Making your own cleaners.
Here's what you need to make your own
cleaners, all of which can be purchased at your local grocery store:
- Borax (look in laundry detergents section)
- Distilled white vinegar
- Liquid soap/detergent (I love Sal's Suds by Dr. Bronners)
- Tea tree oil
Also print these
FREE recipes for home made
cleaners.
NOTE:
You should also purchase a few All
Purpose Sprayers
and
Squeeze Bottles .
Other Housecleaning Tips
- Wear protective gloves when cleaning—to prevent skin absorption of
chemicals.
- Wear a maintenance free respirator mask when cleaning with toxic
cleaners, such as the
3M #8577 10PK Filter Respirator
 .
A mask should also be used when sanding, painting, gluing, etc.
NOTE:
Try to keep all painting, gluing, and other toxic hobby activities
outdoors and ensure the fumes are not going inside the house.
- Place boxes of baking soda around the house to absorb odors.
- Air-out your house at the end of your cleaning day...or at least
once a week for 10 minutes (unless you are lucky enough to have a fresh
air exchanger).
- Vacuum and dust as frequently as possible.
- Keep the humidity in your home below 50 if possible.
- Never leave food scraps in the garbage, sink, or counter tops.
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