easy cleaning with safe alternatives
As a society, we often resort to extreme measures attempting to live up to the “cleanliness is next to godliness” mantra. There are countless specialized cleaners to disinfect, to shine, and to freshen every conceivable surface, nook, and cranny in our household. But it’s not only the number of household cleaners stocked on store shelves that leaves consumers feeling dizzy. While conventional cleaners whiten our whites and sparkle our tiles, they can also irritate our eyes, skin, sinuses, and lungs. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the air inside our homes can be two to five times more polluted than air outdoors, largely because of household cleaners. Many cleaning products contain cancer-causing agents and are harmful to the environment. The US Department of Health and Human Services maintains an informative (and alarming) listing of cleaning products by brand name along with their potential health effects. But as your grandmother intuitively knew, there are ways to effectively clean your home without leaving a trail of hazardous waste behind.
Only about 20% of the chemicals found in conventional cleaners have even been tested for adverse health affects. And statistics give cause for concern. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that each year, around 150,000 Americans are treated in emergency rooms for injuries associated with household chemicals. And young kids are the primary victims.
There are two main routes you can take in order to ditch hazardous cleaning products:
- Natural Cleaning Products: there are several lines of all-natural, non-toxic cleaning products that are widely available now. At DwellSmart, we feature a wide variety of safe cleaning products – all tested in our store and our employees’ homes.
- “Brew Your Own” Cleaning Products: you can complete nearly all cleaning with a few basic essentials (including baking soda, white vinegar, olive oil, essential oils for fragrance, and plain old H2O) and some recipes. We sell the Eco-Me do-it-yourself cleaning kits. We also carry the following books that contain information to get you started making your own cleaning products: Clean House Clean Planet, Naturally Clean, Organic Housekeeping, Home Safe Home, and It’s Easy Being Green.
Get rid of those toxic household cleaners and your family will breathe easier!