Are your cleaning products truly "Clean?"

The Problem with Household Cleaners

Popular household, cleaning products are polluting our home environments and seeping into the outdoors because they contain harmful chemicals (Lung.org).

Environmental Defense tested the impact of cleaning products on indoor air quality and found that in all 14 studied households, levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) went up during cleaning.

VOCs are a group of chemicals that vaporize at room temperature and have been linked to serious health problems like chronic respiration, asthma, allergic reactions, headaches and impacts to fetal development (Environmental Defense - Dirty Truth).

Cleaning supplies and household products containing VOCs and other toxic substances can include, but are not limited to: aerosol sprays including health, beauty and cleaning products; air fresheners; chlorine bleach; detergent and dishwashing liquid; dry cleaning chemicals; rug and upholstery cleaners; furniture and floor polish & oven cleaners (Lung.org).

Lack of Labelling

A lot of products are advertised as "green" or "natural" but contain ingredients that can cause health problems too. Therefore, it is critical to look at the ingredients themselves and not just the marketing claims.

So, the easy fix is reading and googling ingredients before you buy them, right? One would just need to avoid VOCs, fragrances, air fresheners altogether, irritants and flammable ingredients. Sounds simple!

But sadly, Canada and U.S. consumers face a bigger problem in that manufacturers are not obligated to list all ingredients. Canada does not require mandatory labelling on cleaning products! Therefore, there is a lack of clear labelling rules - so consumers don't know what's in the cleaning products they buy. At the same time, federal regulations for VOC concentration has been delayed; therefore, we need government and industry to clean up their act and make cleaning products safe (Environmental Defense - Dirty Truth).

There are actions underway to modernize and improve the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), which is the federal law for regulating pollution and toxic substances.

“Canada is falling behind the European Union and U.S. jurisdictions like California when it comes to product labelling and ingredient disclosure,” says Muhannad Malas, Toxics Program Manager at Environmental Defence, in a press release. (Dirty Secrets)

If lack of labelling is equally as upsetting to you, sign the petition here!

Home Cleaning Detox

At the end of summer, I always begin my home detox in calculated steps.

Step 1] I start with one room & do an inventory of what cleaning products I already own. I pile them up, stare at the heap of STUFF that's been accumulated & instead of Marie Condo-ing it; if it doesn't spark joy ✨️, I use it ALL up before I get anything new! The time spent using the product is critical for me to interact with it and learn more about the ingredients & how I can do better for my next purchase.

Step 2] While using the products: I read the labels, google big words & then look at the research and writing of people much smarter than me - who understand what the chemicals truly are. I really dig the blogs of @irina_ireadlabelsforyou & @ethicalunicorn!

Product Reviews:

My multi-action wipes by Ritual contained "Akyl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride" - which poses a high risk for human health & reproductive toxicity in animals (EWG); "Octyl Decyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride" - which can irritate the throat and respiratory tract, high concentrations can cause central nervous system effects, and it can even be fatal if inhaled (Parchem).

My Great Value "Eco" Glass & Surface cleaner claimed to be biodegradable and fragrance free. It contained "Lauryl Amine Oxide" - which is harmful if swallowed, causes long-term damage & adverse effects to aquatic organisms (Material Safety).

My Method All-Purpose Cleaner contained: fragrance or 'parfum' - which means it is a blend of ingredients that can contribute to the development of allergies, sensitization, endocrine disruption, negative environmental impact and even cancer. There are also 'colorants' inside the product, which contain residues of heavy metals and petroleum-based carcinogenic contaminants such as PAHs: I truly don't care what color my cleaning products are!

In addition, Method utilized some heavy greenwashing, as many of their products are labeled "green." Method/Ecover soap talks a sustainable game but has been linked to poor environmental reporting, middle ratings for toxics, bad palm oil policy and supply chain management/social finance issues ~ the owner was involved with tax evasion & implicated in the Panama Papers. Like seriously? This is a company that boasts how ETHICAL it is! 🧼 You can read full coverage from IReadLabelsforyou Blog post about Method products.

Beyond my Body & into the Lake

Anti-bacterial soaps go down the drain & into Lake Ontario doing what they do best, killing bacteria!! Even if the bacteria is beneficial to our ecosystem, these household cleaners don't care! 🌊

Some chemicals cannot be tested for at treatment plants & enter our Great Lakes directly, like triclosan. Found in so many conventional products and linked to health problems for humans & animals 😔

Cleaning Alternatives

Moving forward, I liked what I read the most about safer cleaning alternatives that are the bare minimum such as; warm water & soap, baking soda for scrubbing, white vinegar & certain essential oils (tea tree) or citrus rinds can be a less abrasive way to clean. They can also be more gentle on ourselves and the environment.

HOWEVER, there's conflicting evidence on how effective they are at killing germs 🤔