Cleaning is essential to keep our homes, schools, and workplaces healthy. However, we must be mindful cleaning can have harmful effects on people the environment we live in. This is because some cleaning products include harmful chemicals. Even though some products are advertised as “green” products, some contain ingredients that can cause problems to our health and can cause damage to our environment. In addition, some cleaning products can be highly flammable or corrosive. To reduce exposure and risk your health, make sure you read the labels of your cleaning products, and be able to identify the harmful ingredients. Below are some examples of chemicals that can harm our planet and health.

As discussed previously, cleaning is important to our health, but we must be vigilant on which ones we use. Not all cleaning chemicals are safe for us and our environment. For example, some disinfectant cleaners and hand disinfectants include the ingredient of Benzalkonium chloride. This chemical is biologically active and can help the creation of new strains of bacteria that can harm our health. In addition, some spray cleaners and abrasive cleaners use ingredients such as Butyl cellosolve. This toxic synthetic solvent can irritate mucous membranes and can cause damage to the liver, kidney and to our nervous system. Another ingredient that is most widely poplar that has disastrous results on our health is chlorine. Poising from chlorine is one of the most common mistakes in US households. Furthermore, some cleaning chemicals include artificial fragrances to provide a pleasant smell in the areas that they are applied. However, few know that artificial fragrances are made from petroleum. These fragrances do not dissolve in our environment and have toxic affects on fish and mammals.

The list goes can go on and on, but I wanted to bring attention to the disastrous effects of ignoring cleaning chemicals. Always remember, when you go to the supermarket or to your current cleaning distributor to pick up supplies, check the labels. Make sure that the cleaning chemicals you purchase do not carry any harmful ingredients that might impair your health or harm our environment. After all, we put a great effort to clean our homes and workplaces for our own health, we should equally put the same effort to keep our planet clean.