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Cleaning products may pose health risks to us in two ways – in the initial contact in our homes and then again as pollutants in our environment and waterways.
Why do you care?
- Household products contain ingredients that may be carcinogens or reproductive toxins. While others may be endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can affect both humans and wildlife.
- The most hazardous cleaning products are: corrosive drain cleaners, oven cleaners, acidic toilet-bowl cleaners and anything containing chlorine or ammonia.
- Household cleaners, unlike personal care products and cosmetics, do not require product ingredients to be listed. Partly because manufacturers claim they need to protect their trade secrets. Good for them, not so good for us.
- Last year, Canadians spent more than $275 million on household cleaning products.
The Know How
- Take note of the image labels on cleaning products. They
are required, by law, to indicate if any ingredients are considered
“dangerous”. A skull is not good - No need to say more.
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| Corrosive |
Reactive |
Explosive/Flammable |
Toxic or Poisonous |
- Most cleaning chores – (who said chore?) can be easily handled
without toxic products. Take a look at the Healthy
Home Workbook, which shows how to make your own cleaners
with everyday ingredients like baking soda, vinegar and a
slew of others that worked for Grandma.
- Want to go one-step further - buy eco-friendly cleaning
products that don't contain harmful chemicals. Good and
better choices are noted in The
CancerSmart Consumer Guide, Guide
to Less Toxic Products and The
Green Guide.
- See the Pure Know How Cleaning
Bucket for a complete list of the barebones items you
(or others!) need to undertake household cleaning. We really
mean clean.
- Check out The
Big Green Purse movement. It encourages women, who spend
$.80 of every dollar in the marketplace, to intentionally
shift at least $1,000 of money they already spend
to products and services that offer the greatest environmental
benefit. What a great concept!
Know and Tell
- Tamey has been off the mainstream cleaners for a few years; instead she has turned to her micro fiber cloth, vinegar and baking powder.
- Patti 's dilemma was to either use up the remaining “not so good” cleaning products then replace with healthy and environmental choices OR round-up all at once, safely dispose and replace the whole kit-and-caboodle. Patti now has a well stocked Cleaning Bucket .
- Favourite store bought eco-friendly products include: Nature
Clean All Natural Cleaning Lotion for bathrooms, Citra-Solv
for floors (it has a clean orangey scent which overpowers
the “big hairy dog” scent). See Product
Reviews for more.
- A simple rule of thumb for your cabinet clean-up: If something makes your eyes tear, your nose crinkle, or your skin itch, get rid of it.
- Please dispose unused household products safely. Corrosive, flammable or poisonous products are hazardous waste. Local municipalities usually have Hazardous Waste disposal sites. Two useful resources: Environment Canada and The Green Community.
1 Toxins in Household Products, Labour Environmental Alliance Society.
2 Washington Toxics Coalition Web site.
3 In Canada all household general-purpose cleaners are classified as consumer chemical products, which must comply with the Hazardous Products Act and Consumer Chemicals Containers (CCCR) 2001 Regulations. |
