There is a lot of news lately about natural cleaning products. What are some chemicals to watch out for when people purchase chemicals for their homes?
When people purchase chemicals for their home they should beware of the following chemicals:
Ammonia: Fatal when swallowed
Bleach: Potentially fatal when swallowed
Formaldehyde: Highly toxic; known carcinogen
Hydrochloric acid: Corrosive, eye and skin irritant
Lye: Severe damage to the stomach
Naphtha: Depresses central nervous system
Petroleum distillates: Highly flammable; suspected carcinogen
Phenol: Suspected carcinogen; fatal if taken internally
Sodium hypochlorite: Potentially fatal
Sodium laurel sulfate: Carcinogen, genetic mutagen
Trchloroethane: Damages liver and kidney
The three most dangerous cleaning products in most homes are drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acid base toilet bowel cleaners.
Most of them are appropriately marked as “Dangerous and Corrosive.”
These products can severely burn your eyes and skin and if they are accidentally swallowed, they can cause internal burns.
Many of these products can react violently if they are mixed with other products.
People should be very careful about having corrosive products in their homes.
People should also be careful of cleaning products that are frequently involved in poisonings, especially cleaning products that look like food.
For example, jars of Comet cleanser and Kraft Parmesan cheese may look alike. Other cleaning products such as lemon oil furniture polish smell like food.
Cleaning products are more often swallowed than other household products, so you need to either choose less toxic products or keep them out of the way of your child.
What are some of the natural chemicals people concerned about unsafe chemicals could substitute in their homes?
The following are common ingredients that can be used in making your own natural cleaning products:
• Lemon juice is a very effective deodorizer, bleaching agent and disinfectant.
• Borax, also known as sodium tetraborate, can be effectively used as a detergent and as a disinfectant.
• Vinegar also deodorizes, removes grease, and cleans surfaces. It can also be used to clean and polish metal surfaces.
• Baking Soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, has an alkaline pH and therefore, it neutralizes and buffers acid, it also deodorizes, as well as, cleans metal surfaces. It can be used to clean toilet bowls, comfort room tiles and other surfaces. It is a multi-purpose cleaner.
Making use of these natural cleaning products spares us from buying these commercial products, and lessens us from the burden of pollution.
Natural cleaning products are not only safe for our environment, but they are also safe for our health.
When you are shopping for organic greener versions of commercial products, be on the lookout for the following healthful ingredients:
Castle or olive oil soap
Essential oils such as orange, lavender, and lemon
Shea butter
Sweet almond oil
Olive oil
Aloe Vera leaf juice
Glycerin
Natural extracts such as calendula, marigold, and chamomile