How Your Household Cleaners Affect Your Health

There’s a reason green cleaners are a thing and that’s because so many household cleaners have traces of toxic ingredients. This can be pretty unsuspecting since these products are being sold in stores; we don’t think about them being bad for our health. Take a look at your cleaner’s ingredient list and if you see these items you may want to toss them, there’s better options out there that won’t affect your health just so you can get those shiny floors.

 Ammonia

You’ll find ammonia in polishers used for sinks, jewelry and to shine up bathroom fixtures it’s also a common ingredient in many window cleaners because of its ability to evaporate without leaving streaks. Ammonia can be very dangerous for those with asthma or lung and breathing issues because it’s usually inhaled. If something has the capability of becoming a poisonous gas (mixing Ammonia with Bleach) then it might just be better to stay away from it.

Nitrobenzene

Check your floor and furniture polishes for this rascally chemical. Unfortunately, Nitrobenzene has been linked to birth defects and cancer and if ingested can cause poisoning and death (think about your little baby crawling on the ground or your pup licking up crumbs). Even just simply inhaling it can lead to trouble breathing.

Phenol

One of the most common ingredients in household disinfectants (such as Lysol, Pin-sol and Spic-n-Span) is Phenol. This toxic chemical can actually lead to the disruption of the balance of bacteria in your home giving bad bacteria more room to grow. Phenol can be linked to heart damage, respiratory and circulatory damage and kidney, liver and eye damage.

Hydrochloric acid/ sodium acid sulfate

Anything with acid in the name sounds pretty scary…and this ingredient is! These chemicals which can lead to skin burns and blindness if accidently splashed in your eyes can be found in toilet bowl cleaners.

There’s plenty more harmful ingredients to look out for. You can do more research here or here to find out which cleaning products you should try to avoid. At Maid to Shine we take green cleaning very seriously because it’s not only good for the environment but for our clients and cleaning techs as well!