There has never been a larger emphasis on cleanliness than there is today. From the spread of diseases to food bacteria, the daunting reality of germs are everywhere from the nightly news to the signs by the grocery cart wipes at your local supermarket. However, what we may have overlooked in our desperate war to kill every single living thing that may or may not actually be there was the reality that although these chemicals do a good job at killing germs, they may also be causing us more long-term harm than short-term good.
Most of us have felt the sting in our eyes and burning in our throats right after spraying down our shower with a bleach-based mildew spray, so it should be no surprise that these types of cleaners can be hazardous to long-term health. What you may not know is that some of the products we use everyday don’t just contain bleach, but a variety of other harmful chemicals that aren’t listed on the bottles.
Butyl cellosolve, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and a plethora of other hard-to-say chemicals show up in products like window cleaners, certain all-purpose cleaners, and abrasive powder cleansers. Some of these chemicals have even been linked to cancer risk later in life and can pollute indoor air quality.
This should be reason enough to make the switch to green cleaning solutions, but many common household cleaners also have negative effects on the environment with their plastic bottles ending up in landfills, and as you may imagine the residual chemicals that can make their way into ground water.
Thankfully, there are a variety of green cleaning solutions made from natural, less-harsh chemicals available at your local retailers as well as a number of online resources that can teach you how to use everyday household ingredients to make your own non-toxic cleaning kits. But, if you have no choice but to use traditional cleaning products make sure to crack a window and create good ventilation to reduce the amount of indoor air pollution.
This post was provided by ServiceMaster Solutions, a commercial janitorial service provider in Chicago.
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