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The most common cleaning products on the market are filled with artificial dyes, fragrances and chemicals.
Most companies that make cleaning products don’t have to disclose all their ingredients, making it hard to determine just how toxic they actually are.
This study really highlighted the dangers that lie within our cleaning products,
“The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studied 2,983 ingredients in our products at home and found
884 toxic ingredients. 314 caused biological mutations, 218 caused reproductive problems, 146 (they knew) caused cancerous tumors, but were allowed in the United States, even though they were banned in other countries around the world. Twenty-six seconds after exposure, chemicals are found in measurable amounts in the human body.” So please make the switch its critical to your health!
One other thing to consider when it comes to chemical cleaners is the impact on the environment. These chemicals go into the water system, down the drain and even in the land fills so it's important to go chemical free not only for your own good but the safety of the environment.
I just discovered this company but I love their commitment to sustainability and full disclosure on their ingredients lists. Their laundry strips smell great because they’re scented with essential oils. Plus I love the fact that they come in strips and they’re not packaged in plastic. If you think about how many bottles of laundry soap you go through a year and then how many everyone else goes through its a TON of waste that ends up in land fills. Plus the silliest part is that laundry soap is MOSTLY water anyway so you might as well stop paying for watery chemicals and opt for the concentrated strips
I use this cleaner for everything! What I love about it is that this comes in a box of 8 strips that can make up to (4) 16 ounce bottles of all purpose cleaner.
The companies commitment to avoid harmful chemicals is a note worthy mission, "In support of our mission to protect the planet, our Nantucket Footprint cleaning products are free from sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, phosphates, phthalates, parabens artificial fragrances, triclosan, methylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone. Also made without vinegar, bleach, palm oil, and are nonabrasive.
Ingredients: Polyvinyl Alcohol, glycerin, aqua, glycereth cocoate, coconut betaine, capryl glucoside, sodium gluconate, potassium sorbate, sodium citrate, decyl glucoside, grapefruit oil and bergamont oil.
Nantucket Footprint for the win! Not only is it incredibly eco friendly packaging it will leave your toilet sparkling without all the harsh chemicals.
This is their statement on their website "There are no strict standards for cleaning product ingredients in the USA so we decided that all of our ingredients needed to not only be on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Safer Choice list but also must have the lowest (safest) ratings on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep Database (no ingredient should have a higher rating than a 2). In addition, none of our ingredients appear on the Suzuki Dirty Dozen List – Our thinking is that products used in your home should have ingredients that would be safe enough to use on your body"
Ingredients: Polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, aqua, glycereth cocoate, capryl glucoside, sodium citrate, sodium carboxymethyl inulin, citric acid, potassium sorbate, blue gardenia natural color, peppermint and rosemary essential oils
Nantucket Footprint is also committed to leaving out all the artificial fragrances out of their products, even the glass cleaner! They say "the only way to achieve highly fragrant laundry and cleaning products is to use artificial fragrance ingredients. Such ingredients are a significant source of household toxins, and we have opted not to use any in our formulations.
For a healthy clean with low toxicity, we lightly scent our Glass & Window Cleaning Strips using only a hint of cold-pressed essential oils from rosemary and mint."
This detergent leaves your clothes smelling amazing with no harsh chemicals and the scents are derived from essential oils and not a bunch of synthetic fragrances! As you can see this is one of the simplest ingredient lists when it comes to detergents.
Ingredients: water, potassium cocoate (saponified 100% coconut oil), sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), fragrance (essential oils) and glycerin (vegetable)
A lot of the time I do
make my own all purpose cleaner. I have a Kangen water machine so I use the acidic pH water with some Five Gaurds essential oil which is based around the tale of the four French thieves who survived robbing people with the plague by covering themselves in this essential oil
blend. These specific essential oils have strong antimicrobial effects, so in combination with the 2.5 pH water it is able to disinfect surfaces. However, Kangen water is a huge investment- I do love mine- but if you’re not ready to spend that kind of money on a water ionizer you can also use 1 part rubbing alcohol to 3 parts distilled water with a Tbsp of Castile soap and about 20 drops of essential oils.
Regardless, you should have this Five Guards essential oil on hand because it can also be useful in a diffuser if someone in your home is sick, instead of spraying lysol!
The BEST way to go chemical free in your home is investing in a steam cleaner! You don’t need to buy any fancy cleaning sprays, because a steam cleaner is an all in one solution. The steam kills the germs and the only thing you need in order to operate it is water! This is perfect if you have kids around the house and you want to disinfect their toys and stuffed animals without using chemicals. I love this steam cleaner because it is portable and it has all these wonderful attachments to get into all the tight spaces!
This one is essential for me around the house! I used to be notorious for blowing through paper towels to clean spills but that can be not only a really expensive habit but also terrible for the environment. I keep them in different locations around the house, one for bathrooms, one for kitchen sinks, one for counters etc. They also dry super fast which is great because that means there is not a lot of time for bacteria to grow on them therefore they don't develop any bad odors.
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