Household Cleaners Are Loaded With Toxins Too, Says a New Report
OK everyone, put on your serious hats. A new report analyzing the chemical makeup of household cleaning products—you know, the stuff crammed under your sink that you pull out, grudgingly, when it’s time to clean the floors and stuff?—found that many common products contained carcinogens and reproductive toxicants not listed anywhere on the label.
Regular readers will know that household cleaners, unlike cosmetics, do not need to bear ingredients lists on the bottle. There are new and ongoing efforts underway to change that, but for now: The stuff you use to clean the counters, freshen your air, wash your clothes, polish your wood, and disinfect your toilet and floors does not have to come with an ingredient list. Still, some do. Does that mean the ingredient list is complete?
Le sigh. If only it were so.
That’s why the nonprofit health-advocacy group Women’s Voices for the Earth took 20 popular cleaning products from five top companies to the lab and produced a report, which you can download in full here.
They wanted to see what was really in these bottles—beyond what had been disclosed by the companies—and found some pretty toxic ingredients.
They analyzed all-purpose cleaners, laundry detergents, dryer sheets, air fresheners, disinfectant sprays, and furniture polish from Clorox, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, SC Johnson and Son, and Sunshine Makers (Simple Green). In them, researchers found:
—A fragrance- and dye-free product marketed to people with sensitive skin and mothers of infants was found to contain 1,4-dioxane, a probable human carcinogen
—A so-called natural cleaner was found to contain phthalates, a chemical associated with reproductive disorders and birth defects.
—Allergens were found in products marketed as “fragrance-free”
—Hidden reproductive toxins and carcinogens such as phthalates, toluene, 1,4-dioxane and chloroform were found
Not surprising, at least to me, but another reason, in case you needed one, to swap our your household cleaners, too—especially the ones you use that come into contact with food, babies and animals.
Do you use conventional cleaners?
Image via
Nope, and haven’t for a few years now. This all came to light for me around the same time as I learned about all the nasty stuff in mainstream body products. As with body products/makeup, it can be expensive to switch but here’s was I use:
- Soap nuts (actually very cost-effective), use for laundry, shampoo or make a solution to use around the house. I love that my clothes smell like NOTHING, which to me is what clean should smell like….
http://www.buysoapnuts.com/
- Norwex (pricey to start but will last you a long time, cloths come with a warranty!!), clean AND DISINFECT everything in your house using just water. Launder cloths using soap nuts! They have cleaning solutions too, but not sure if Norwegian regulation demands full disclosure….
http://www.norwex.com
I really try to keep it that simple…..we don’t need a different product for each and ever fixture/surface in our homes, contrary to what marketing leads us to believe.
Cleaning product companies are hiding their ingredients?? No way!!
I actually cut out all conventional cleaners after reading your book and cutting out my toxic beauty products! I’ve been making all of my own cleaners for about 8 months now and I couldn’t be happier. I use combinations of water, vinegar, baking soda, and lemon, and occasionally dr. bronners. I hate the smell of vinegar so I also add a few drops of essential oils sometimes just for fun. Conventional cleaners have always rubbed me the wrong way because they smell awful and toxic, and I was always afraid to put my food on the kitchen counter right after using one. Now everything I use is food safe and it works perfectly. It’s also waaaayyy cheaper. There are tons of great recipes online for making your own – I highly recommend it.
I use vinegar, baking soda, and Dr. Bronner’s soap for almost everything….except for the bottle of Tilex I keep on hand. I am ashamed of how much I love it. Nothing else has killed the mildew that otherwise grows in my bathroom (I rent in an old building). I try to use it judiciously because I hate using something so obviously toxic. On the other hand, with less mildew in my place, I breathe a lot better…
I don’t see how this is surprising at all. You can smell how toxic most commercial cleaning products are just by taking one sniff! I mostly make vinegar solutions to clean (great for glass and super cheap!) but I also purchase natural cleaning products every once in a while. I actually switched to natural cleaning products before completely switching over to natural body products.
I keep reading about the benefits of steam cleaning…with no products whatsoever. Does anyone have any recommendations for vapor steam cleaners?
I found this Canadian site that sells a make it yourself green home cleaning kit. With the recipes provided ( there’s more listed on their site), I use vinegar, baking soda, Dr. Bronner’s peppermint castile soap, salt, olive oil, H2O and tea tree oil for most of my cleaning needs.
For $20.00 (shipping included), this MIY Green Home Cleaning Kit includes:
2 1000ml plastic bottles with trigger sprays
1 16oz PP1 plastic container with screw lid
1 15ml bottle of our original blend of Tea Tree, Lavender, Orange and Basil pure essential oil
1 suede microfibre cloth
1 scrub brush
1 stir stick
1 MIY Green Home recipe booklet
1 100% multi-use organic cotton drawstring bag
You can purchase this at: http://www.planetforward.ca/miy-green-home-home/cat_5.html
I’ve been using “clean” cleaning products for a long time. I guess I should be more diligent about checking specifics, but I use brands I get at Whole Foods like Seventh Generation and Planet. I will rarely use bleach, only if I can’t kill mold any other way. I think my first realization of toxics in cleaners was as a kid – I could actually TASTE the dishwashing soap in all my food, when others in my family didn’t notice and the dishes were rinsed thoroughly. Gross! Fortunately there are cleaner options out there. Maybe one day I’ll get into DIY for cleaning products like I am for skin products.
Just baking soda and vinegar. We have a steam mop for the floors.
Our clothes soap has borax, washing soda and half a bar of soap. I’ve read conflicting reports as to the toxicity of borax.
how random – I just ordered soap nuts today for the first time. excited to try them out!
I’m not sure I have the patience, skill or stamina to make my own cleaning products…but what’s the deal about Seventh Generation and Planet? Because I pay a lot to feel better about my choices (and my husband grumbles about the cost and my sweet mother in law still leaves giant vats of fluorescent, crazy-smelling Tide at our house (which I will totally use, in a pinch btw..).
But seriously folks, can you all please make me feel better about 7th Generation et al? Please?
My husband and I are big fans of vinegar. For everything! Though, we do have other products on-hand, remnants from the days before we made this great vinegar discovery.
I use vinegar for so many things. I use a lot of Method products, but I’m trying to find alternatives because they’re not the cleanest (SLS, anyone?!…why?). I JUST found this marvelous alternative to AJAX … Bon Ami (got mine on Amazon, but I think they sell it at Ace Hardware). Been around forever, and has always been clean! Great for the shower/tub.
I second Soap Nuts:) Great and quite cost effective(as you can use and re-use the nuts a few times before they basically desintegrate:)They work great and clothes smell clean. I’ve been using soap nuts for more than a few months and I’m very happy about. Other than that my staples are water and vinegar, baking soda and a steam cleaner for the floors(no carpet or hardwood floors here). And by the way, since switching to a cleaner routine( beauty and household items) I have to skip the aisle where household cleaners are displayed because of the strong smell (more like fumes to me)..
Been using natural products around the house for a while now. We use vinegar, baking soda, lemon, tea tree oil, lavender oil, Dr Bronner’s and a few other natural products found here in Australia. And we don’t use all those chemical air freshners anymore either. I can’t stand them! They always smelt so toxic and nasty. We now make up our own bottle of room spray.
Except for the skull and cross bones toilet bowl cleaner, everything else is clean: Dr. Bronners, Vinegar and water, lemon, baking soda, Bon Ami, etc.
Just stumbled upon this article from the Huffington Post… Pretty much everything you guys have been saying! Happy about this :) the more awareness the better
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/14/toxic-household-items_n_962279.html#s366723&title=Towels
I was also inspired to change over to “clean” cleaning products after reading your book. I was buying “cleaner” brands such as Ecover, Earth Friendly Products, Earthworm, and Enzyme Fresh Home but I actually just found the below website last weekend when I was searching for DIY cleaning products. They have many DIY cleaning “recipes” that only require very few ingredients. I already tried out 2 of them and was pleased with the results. I mopped my kitchen floor with 1 cup of white vinegar mixed with 1 gallon of warm water, and yes the vinegar smell disappears after it dries. I also cleaned the tiles in the shower with 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 2 parts water and put it in a spray bottle.
http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm
I do not use conventional cleaners. I’ve used Natura’s Tea Tree cleaner for, oh, ten years now? That’s my all purpose cleaner, water and vinegar for windows, and Nature Clean tile & bath for well, tiles and bath. I ran out of my tea tree cleaner and opted for an natural (with ingredient list) orange cleaner. The tea tree makes rubber gloves really sticky (and will damage certain plastics) and I always worry about using it all the time since tea tree is toxic to cats. (Which I have two.) The dish soap we use is a boutique local natural brand also with an ingredient list on the back.
“Natural” or “All Natural” doesn’t mean anything, since anthrax and ebola are natural. I’m always wary of companies (especially large companies like P&G who have a “natural” line) unless they list their ingredients on the packaging. From there, I can make an informed decision if I will purchase the brand.
You can also check out company profiles on GoodGuide.com
@ philosophotarian – Have you tried tea tree oil? You can buy it as a concentrate or as a spray. If you’re Canadian, there is a brand called “Natura” that is sold at Home Hardware which is just a tea tree oil and water mix. You can make your own with the concentrate – a Internet search brings up a few different recipes. (Though, if it’s really bad, I’d try just using it straight on there.)
We use Seventh Generation for just about everything- laundry, dish, surface and really like their products. (Hope there aren’t hidden nasties!) Like Elizabeth above, I used natural cleaning products (beginning with Method), before I made a full switch with my personal care products. Whereas I liked using Dove, Pantene, etc…I never, ever liked conventional cleaning products. The chemically smells always got to me. Now I happily seek out clean alternatives for both! These comments have definitely got me thinking about making my own surface cleaner though–will have to look into it.
Nope!
After cleaning up my skin care/make-up/hair care products at the start of the year I then turned to my cleaning/household products.
I now either make my own…
my fave’s include:
- Liquid castille soap, baking soda, water and a few drops of essential oil to clean the bath and shower
- Liquid castille soap and then borax/baking soda for cleaning the toilet
- And of course vinegar as an ace all-round cleaner
… or I buy the cleanest products I can get – dishwahing liquid, washing machine liquid, sprays etc.
I think that if you make the decision to clean up your skincare then the next logical step is to clean up your home. It’s terrible to think of the crap that’s put into our eveyday cleaners!
@ Rebecca- I could taste the dish soap in my food too when no one else could!!! I cleaned up my cleaning products at the same time as cleaning up my beauty products. It’s still a work in progress. It’s amazing how I was such a perfume lover and now that I’m away from it, scented stuff really bothers me. I use seventh generation free and clear laundry detergent, vinegar and water, and Better Life counter spray. I want to try Shaklee products. I was trying to figure out how to clean my nasty oven that so desperately needs cleaning.
Hey, somebody mentioned using tea tree oil for cleaning. If you have cats, stay away from mixing essential oils in your cleaning products, okay? Check with your vet first, as I’m 99% sure that oils are toxic to cats. Not sure about other pets.
But speaking of kittens, an added bonus to using vinegar on your kitchen counters? Cats–at least mine–absolutely hate it. In the summer, I caught one of my two cats cooling off on our granite counters in the morning (very gross to me). A few days of wiping up with vinegar totally cured her of this annoying habit.
@Lindz, I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I used to be very bothered by people thinking I’m nuts because I’m sensitive to so many things others are not. I’ve adjusted now but it’s still good to hear I’m not alone : )
I love natural stuff for laundry but for everything else I use conventional cleaners. I hate cleaning, and natural products require much more elbow grease to get things clean. I refuse to scrub and scrub and scrub my tub with the latest homemade concoction that has the internet all abuzz when I could just spray on scrubbing bubbles, let it sit for a while, and then wipe off to reveal a beautifully clean surface. I’m not going to go through a half a bottle of natural dish detergent to wash my dishes when a few squirts of Dawn will do the job much more effectively. And don’t get me started on Earthworm–that crap did nothing for my clogged sink.
I was raised in a household without commercial cleaning products. It seemed like a total pain when I was a teenager being forced to help out with chores – everything took longer and I felt a bit “weird” compared to some of my friends who had proper Betty Draper mums (I also felt like a freak in the lunchbox department – raisins and fruit instead of chocolate bars and crisps) . When I moved away for university I started using whatever cleaning products I liked the look of and whatever I could afford. I’ve always had fair, dryish skin, but it was never sensitive until I started using those products and cosmetics. I made the link with my skincare fairly quickly and began to switch to clean beauty products or making them myself. It was quite successful for a few years but it wasn’t until I moved back to my home town and started spending more time with my mother as an open-minded adult, instead of a bratty teenager that I cut all toxic cleaning products out of my house and finally sorted my skin out. I also changed to a whole food diet and overall the difference I’ve experienced with everything from my skin and hair to my moods, overall health (I never get colds or flu any more) and sleeping patterns has been huge.
I use this book – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Clean-Friendly-Cleaning-Home/dp/1843978997/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321643468&sr=1-4
It has recipes for everything from kitchens to laundry and stain removal and you could probably buy a total set of all the ingredients you need for next to nothing.
Having lived both ways there is absolutely no way I’d go back to using commercial cleaning products. When I start a family I fully expect my kids to be driven as nuts by it as I was though!
What about cleaners from Wholefoods? Their home brand?
Are they clean and safe to use?
I use soap nuts for laundry and only cleaners made from natural soaps and essential oils for fragrances, I found Chartreuse products and will never look back. Too many people don’t realize all the horrible ingredients that are in their products and what they can do to our bodies, and that their children/pets are even more susceptible. It took me a lot of time and research to get to the point we are at in our home, and I am sure we still have a lot more to learn. If I can’t get my products from a trusted source with non-toxic ingredients then I make my own or go with out.
I hate to admit, but I definitely still use conventional cleaners. I’ve been starting to cut back, and have been using white vinegar a lot more lately to disinfect, but still haven’t made the full switch. I try to avoid things that I know are really harsh, like bleach. I really wish these cleaning companies were required to list their ingredients.
@Lena, I still use Mr Clean Magic Eraser for tub and super tough cleaning jobs. I agree with you about not putting up with excessive work to clean! I did look up a bit about it, and though I’m sure it’s not the most environmentally sound choice, the Magic Eraser seems safe to use on a few surfaces in my house (anyone else have an opinion on that?). It keeps me from wanting to use toxic sprays that are probably worse and it really cleans well without much work. Though there are some great scum-busting low or nontoxics I’ve found at whole foods, and I use those too. Method is one. As for dishwashing, I love Planet. It works as well or better than any other dish soap I’ve ever used. There is no such thing as a really good natural drain cleaner in my experience. We have to snake out our drains occasionally – gross but I try not to give in to chemicals there.
The magic erasers contain formaldehyde.
http://www.goodguide.com/products/382889-mr-clean-magic-eraser
As I’ve said above, I use all natural cleaners and always scratch my head when people say they “don’t work”. I’ve used them for ten years now and my house is spotless.
Nature Clean Tile & Bath with a green scrubby is enough to get the bathtub completely grime free, kitchen spotless and as well as the rest of the bathroom (sink, tiles, etc.) Rinse off with water and you’re done. I do a thorough clean once a week, so maybe it’s because I don’t let it get really dirty that I don’t have a problem.
@ Jen re: Whole Foods: Whole Foods has their own system for determining what is “good”. It’s not infallible, but given their entire brand is riding on how environmentally minded they are, I’m sure they take care about what they sell.
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/values/
Also, here’s another great link to make your own cleaners. I’ve been cleaning this way for years!
http://www.macheesmo.com/2011/01/four-homemade-cleaners/
@Ruth, re: the magic erasers: http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/eraser.asp
I was satisfied they are safe to use based on my own searching several months ago, though I don’t use them to wash dishes and I wouldn’t take a bite out of one. Though a product purist probably wouldnt use the magic eraser, for me it’s worth the occasional use they get at my house.