From Breast Cancer Prevention Partners: "Are the products we use to clean our homes and workplaces—dish soaps, laundry detergents, disinfectants, glass cleaners, carpet cleaners, stain removers, air fresheners, all-purpose cleaners, and more—truly safe? When we breathe in a fresh scent, most of us don’t realize and the labels won’t tell us that chemicals found in some ordinary cleaning products are known or suspected to cause serious health effects including cancer."
How to reduce your exposure to harmful ingredients around the house:
Choose safer cleaning products.
Conventional cleaning products take away dirt but may leave behind harmful chemicals. Try cleaner brands like Seventh Generation (a fellow B Corp) and Squeak (applied for B corp status). Vacuum with a HEPA filter to reduce the chance of sending chemicals into the air—and into your lungs.
If you don’t know what’s in something, don’t use it.
Labeling loopholes allow companies to avoid disclosing ingredients on cleaning product labels. Only buy and use cleaning products which disclose all ingredients on the product label to avoid possible exposure to harmful chemicals.
Go DIY when you can.
Use baking soda to neutralize odors and soak up dampness, and vinegar to clean and deodorize. Add a cup of vinegar to your laundry to brighten up whites, remove odors, and lift tougher grime off fabrics. Add a few drops of your favorite citrus juice (think lemons and oranges) or essential oils (try eucalyptus) to a vinegar-based cleaning spray to fill your home with a fresh scent. I love Squeak's Everywhere Mists for a fresh, clean scent from a spray.
Use code CLEANANDBRIGHT10 to get 10% off Squeak products!
