Howdy! Thanks for visiting! In this blog I am going to focus on cleanliness. I will touch on the health and environmental concerns associated with over-sterilization, harmful cleaning product ingredients, and the best way to reduce your exposure to cellular, immune and endocrine disrupting harmful chemicals.
What we put in our mouths and into our bodies is one of the most important things to be mindful about throughout our day. This not only meaning what we physically ingest but also what comes in contact with our food and also our skin.
Skin is the largest organ in our bodies and where it is so porous it absorbs anything it comes in contact with. Studies have shown that the skin absorbs about 70% of everything we put on it and only takes about 26 seconds for that absorption to enter your blood stream. Over-sterilization practices began to really take off in this country in the 60’s when “anti-bacterial” components were discovered and incorporated into our everyday cleaning and personal care products.
Today we use a wide range of cleaning products, detergents and soaps with dozens of combinations or cleaning chemicals which are far more hazardous together than a single chemical on its own. Research indicates that our excessive use of cleaning chemicals is promoting antibiotic resistance, a significant public health problem. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3366732/)
The anti-bacterial cleaners that “kill 99% of germs” lead to over sterilization of our environments, which destroy beneficial bacteria and germs as well as those that can be harmful. The hygiene hypothesis which was formulated in 1989 proposes that childhood exposure to germs and certain infections helps the immune system develop. Children who grew up in homes with more children and less sterilization were found to have better immune systems and less allergies than the latter. When we overuse these anti-bacterial products the bacteria develop a resistance to the cleaners and can cause our immune systems to “forget” how to deal with these bacteria on our own, leading to more frequent illness.
Dishwasher detergents and dish soap are main culprits as these products are used to clean your kitchenware. You would think these products would be less toxic since they come in contact with your food more than general cleaning products. However, dishwashing detergents are loaded with harmful ingredients such as Triclosan, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Disodium, Formaldehyde, Phosphates and synthetic dyes and fragrances. Not only are you ingesting these chemicals on a daily basis, you’re also washing them down the drain to be re-circulated in our water system and re-ingesting them when you drink tap water or use it for cooking.
Environmental Concerns
The other concern we face is how these chemicals and carcinogens affect our environment when reabsorbed back into our sewer systems and sprayed into the air. Water Pollution -Thousands of chemicals from cleaning products are washed into streams and rivers. Some persist in the environment and enter the food chain. Air Pollution – Volatile organic compounds (VOC) in cleaning products can affect indoor air quality and add to outdoor smog.
The Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Tap Water Database compiled 28 million water records and collected samples from nearly 50,000 water utilities serving 280 million people throughout the USA. They found more than 250 chemicals all across America’s drinking water. More than 160 of the contaminants found have no governmental limits set for them. Dozens of the other contaminants found are at levels that are legal, but still pose health risks according to scientists. 40000 water systems in America have been found with contaminants linked to cancer – that is more than 80%!
Whose effected the most?
Our children are most at risk with exposure to these harmful cleaning products. In an article written by Science Direct the authors state:
Because cells are rapidly dividing and organ systems are developing during childhood and adolescence, exposure to carcinogens during these early life stages is a major risk factor for cancer later in life. Because young people have many expected years of life, the clinical manifestations of cancers caused by carcinogens have more time in which to develop during characteristically long latency periods.
Their growing and developing organs can not keep up with filtering and eliminating these chemicals, and studies prove a host of long term effects of childhood over exposure. New research from the CHILD Cohort Study shows that frequent exposure to common household cleaning products can increase a child’s risk of developing asthma. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease and is the primary reason why children miss school or end up in hospital.
What can you do about it?
The best way to avoid unnecessary exposure is to make your own cleaning products! My go to concoction of all purpose cleaner is derived of vinegar, water and an essential oil of choice (lemon, lavender, etc.). I use a 1:1 ratio of vinegar to water and 20-40 drops of essential oil. For tough stains, grease, and grime I sprinkle baking soda and spray with the cleaning concoction, watch it fizz and scrub clean after a few minutes of letting the baking soda do its job. To disinfect my chopping block counter top, I let the vinegar spray sit for up to 10 minutes, which is how long it takes for vinegar to eliminate pathogens such as E-Coli, Salmonella, and Listeria – the most common food borne illnesses. This cleaner can be used in any room in the house, especially the bathroom! It is not advisable to use vinegar on surfaces such as marble, granite, soapstone, cast iron, aluminum or waxed wood. If the countertops in your home are listed above you can refer to EWG (https://www.ewg.org/)(insert link) for a list of the most non-toxic and eco-friendly cleaning products on the market.
Checking the labels is your next line of defense. The list below is a great place to start. These chemicals are added to products for a wide range of reasons like emulsifiers, which make things bubbly and suddsy, preservatives which extend shelf life, synthetic dyes which add a flashy color, synthetic fragrance which add that “clean” smell. These products alone are carcinogens, which disrupt our endrocine systems and may lead to disorders such as antibiotic resistance, hormonal imbalances, increase risk of developing tumors, breathing problems and asthma when inhaled, long-term digestive issues, headaches, and may kill marine life when washed into out streams and oceans.
Harmful ingredients to look out for are:
- Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs)
- Sodium hypochlorite (aka bleach)
- Glutaraldehyde
- Ethanolamine (DEA/MEA)
- Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
- Triclosan
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Phthalates and “fragrance”
- Formaldehyde
- Phosphates
- Disodium
- Synthetic Dyes (Any bright, neon colored cleaners)
Here is a list of resources and recommendations to help you decide what products work best for your household and family.
www.ewg.org
www.mamavation.com
www.puracy.com
www.charliesoap.com
www.drbronner.com