Is YOUR Home a Death Trap?
Keeping our homes clean and beautiful is a priority for most of us. And we all know that being clean keeps us healthy. But, does it really? Do you have asthma, suffer from headaches, have cancer, suffer skin rashes, or have nosebleeds? These are just a few of the problems we can cause ourselves from keeping a clean house.
Glass cleaners, all-purpose cleaners, and disinfectants are some of the cleaners that have ammonia, that is also known as ammonium chloride, ammonium hydroxide, benzalkonium chloride and quatemary ammonium compounds, in them. What does ammonia do? It is an irritant that affects the skin, eyes and respiratory passages and it is extremely toxic when inhaled in concentrated vapors. Being exposed to it repeatedly may lead to bronchitis and pneumonia. It can cause chemical burns, cataracts and corneal damage and has been shown to produce skin cancer!
Akyl Phenoxy Polyethoxy Ethanols (nonylphenol, nonylphenol ethoxylate) are also found in all purpose cleaners and air fresheners. They have been linked to chronic health problems. Chronic means recurring or constant. They have also been found to be gland or hormone disruptors! Definitely not good for us!
A skin irritant and neurotoxin causing central nervous system depression is found in furniture polishes!
What about disinfecting hand soaps, dishwashing detergents, disinfectants and cleaners? Benzalkonium Chloride is found in these, and the wide use is causing new strains of resistant bacteria that negatively affect living organisms! Thats us!
Benzene is a carcinogenic that is absorbed through the skin. It is irritating to mucous membranes and is poisonous when ingested. Even the inhalation of fumes may be toxic. Where is this found? Oven cleaners, detergents, furniture polishes, and spot removers to name a few.
Here is the one that scares me the most! Chlorine! It has several more and longer names too. It is a powerful irritant and can be fatal upon inhalation. In the U.S. this toxic chemical causes the most household poisonings and ranks first in industrial injuries and deaths. In addition there is growing evidence that chlorinated drinking water causes bladder and rectal cancer! Chlorine and compounds are environmentally damaging, is the prime cause of atmospheric ozone loss and is listed in the 1990 Clean Air Act as a hazardous air pollutant. Have we outlawed its use? NO! We find this in household cleaners, including dishwasher detergents
, tub and tile cleaners and more.
I could go on and on and on about how harmful our cleaning agents are. No wonder we all have allergies and other ailments! Do we stop cleaning our houses? Of course not! But we can choose to use the really safe cleaning products that are being made and offered. Our houses will be cleaner and safer if we choose these products!