Habit #24 Stop wasting money on toxic chemicals to clean your home

Who should get the toxic chemicals out of their homes? Everyone. In particular, if you are trying to conceive or if you have young children, it is especially important, but the bottom line is these toxic chemicals are bad for everyone. So…

For the love of all things clean, stop wasting your hard earned money on chemicals for  your home that will just make you SICKER.  Yes, that is right. All those plug-in air fresheners, toxic freshening sprays, perfumed dryer sheets, the bottles and bottles of cleaning chemicals, and even that fancy shampoo! Toss them! Stop putting those cancer-causing chemicals on your body and in the air that you breathe!

We are down to the last week of our #31habits series!  I’m about to get on my soap box now!  Now we are about to touch on a subject that I am very passionate about.

I know how much everyone loves to smell the chemicals because fragrance = clean, right? Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Perfume does not equal clean. Consumers have simply been programmed to believe that a strong fragrant scent of “floral bouquet” or “mountain fresh” actually means their home is clean.  What it really means is that your home is brewing with toxic chemicals.

Let me ask you, if you didn’t smoke cigarettes would you want second-hand smoke billowing through your home? No? Well, get this, according to research the constant barrage of fragrance you unleash in your home is just as bad as breathing second-hand smoke.

Air fresheners can work by interfering with your sense of smell by coating your nasal passages with an oily film, or they can contain nerve-numbing agents. (source -http://www.zabadaclean.com/blog/ harmful-chemicals-in-cleaning-products/)

If people choose to spray perfumes in their homes it’s mostly their own health that is affected. However, when it comes to body perfumes, many other unsuspecting people can be affected as well causing health problems for others.  The ones most at risk are those with asthma, chemical sensitivities, respiratory illnesses, chronic fatigue, and immunological illnesses.

What to look for and avoid

Styrene, a chemical fragrance that masks any unpleasant smells in beauty products, is a carcinogen, yet it is found in many products on the shelf, but you probably won’t know it’s in there due to a labeling loophole.

Although all other ingredients in your lip gloss, body wash and other scented cosmetic products must be disclosed on the label by specific name, the so-called “fragrance loophole” in federal labeling law means that ingredients added to provide a pleasant scent, or to mask a bad one, need only be listed under the generic term “fragrance.” (source)

At this point, the only thing you can do to avoid the risk is to stop buying products with “fragrance” in the ingredients list.

Other toxins to avoid in the home are listed in this post: Top 13 Chemicals to Avoid in Your Home.

Again, it’s not just perfume. Literally, thousands of household products contain chemicals that are not listed on the label.  These products include dryer sheets, scented candles, air fresheners, hair sprays, and shampoos. Why? Because manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients in fragrance blends, so it’s up to you to protect your health.

Furniture, paint, flooring and other building materials already have enough toxic chemicals in them that continually poison your environment on a daily basis without us adding extra chemicals in our cleaning products. In a recent research, 45 toxic chemicals were found in indoor dust, 10 of which were present in 90% or more of the dust samples – these included flame retardants, fragrances, and phenols.

How to reduce the toxic load in your home

• Use beeswax candles in your home instead of scented candles
• Go natural with cleaners, vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, essential oils
• Check labels. Spend time reading the ingredient list. If you’re not sure, download EWG’s app Healthy Living so you can scan products with your smartphone right in the store!
• Avoid wearing perfume, as well as spraying it in your home or plugging it into your outlets.
• Vacuum frequently to eliminate toxic dust.
• Wash hands before eating to avoid toxic dust
• Choose natural air fresheners such as plants, flowers, and essential oils.
• Choose oxygen bleach in your laundry room instead of chlorine bleach
• Instead of dryer sheets use Wool Dryer Balls to soften clothes, if you like a scent use a drop or two of lavender essential oils on the dryer balls

I make my own cleaning solutions from a few basic ingredients such as vinegar and baking soda. The Organically Clean Home has all the formulas I need to keep my house clean. If you have Kindle Unlimited you can read it for free (at the time of this post) so make sure to check it out.  Anyone can make the switch to less toxic cleaners. It’s safer for everyone in your family. All you have to do is take the first step.

Suggested starter baby steps to getting out the toxic chemicals

1. Unplug all of the air fresheners you have in your electrical outlets 
2. Download EWG’s app on your smartphone and start scanning products when you shop
3. Make your own window and glass cleaner (it’s so easy!) Try this basic formula
4. Replace your dryer sheets with wool dryer balls, buy them or make your own
5. Ditch the perfumed candles, try salt lamps for a warm glow