made from basic household ingredients. Before the Second World War, housewives used baking soda, lemons and vinegar to do most of their cleaning.
Saves space
Finally, making your own cleaning products frees up cupboard space! You’ll find that you only need a small range of ingredients to cover every cleaning job in your home – safely, efficiently and naturally. As you go through the various cleaning jobs in this book, you’ll realize that many products are all-purpose and you don’t need a separate product for each task.
Basic rules
Making your own household cleaning products is fun and rewarding, but bear in mind that natural doesn’t necessarily mean safe. Turpentine, used for thinning oil-based paints and producing varnishes, is a natural product obtained from the resin of trees. However, its vapour can burn skin and eyes. When inhaled it can damage the lungs and central nervous system, and if ingested, can cause renal failure. You’ll be pleased to hear that many of the ingredients used in this book are safe to ingest, such as vinegar, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and salt. Yet even these substances, in large enough quantities, can be toxic! Follow these simple rules when making your own cleaners to ensure you and your family stay safe and healthy.
Now that you’ve remembered these simple precautions, we can learn about some of the toxic ingredients in some conventional household cleaners.
Toxic ingredients
Many chemicals are used in commercial household cleaning products. Some of these can exacerbate conditions such as asthma; others may affect the skin if they come into contact with your hands or get splashed into your face, causing burns, rashes, irritation or dryness. Some chemicals have an adverse effect on the environment by polluting water and the air. Here are a few you may have heard of and may wish to avoid.
Chlorine
Which products contain chlorine?
Chlorine is found in some multi-purpose cleaners, liquid bleaches, toilet bowl cleaners, washing powders (laundry detergent), disinfectants and mould inhibitors. It is a general biocide.
Can chlorine harm me?
Chlorine irritates the eyes and lungs, can trigger asthma attacks, and aggravate respiratory ailments or heart conditions. It dries the mucous membranes and can burn the skin. If you accidentally splash it on dark clothing when working, chlorine bleach can take out the colour in the fabric. The harmful effects are intensified when the fumes are heated, such as from chlorinated water in the bathroom when you run a bath or shower or when you open the dishwasher door and get a waft of steam that contains chlorine.
Does chlorine harm the environment?
The 1990 Clean Air Act lists chlorine as a hazardous air pollutant. It is argued that chlorine is a safe product in the environment as it breaks down into harmless salt and water. The real issue is that the by-products of chlorine (organochlorines and dioxin) do not break down readily and remain in the environment.
These products get dumped into our streams and waterways, causing polluted waters. As a result, the fish become contaminated, animals eat the fish and humans eat the animals, creating a concoction of harmful chemicals in the food chain. It is believed that many of us ingest a daily amount of dioxin 300 to 600 times greater than the Environmental Protection Agency’s ‘safe dose’. When consumed, these chemicals accumulate in the fatty tissues, causing hormonal imbalances, diabetes, cancer, suppressed immune systems, endometriosis, reproductive disorders and detrimental effects on foetal development in the womb.
Detergents
Which products contain detergents?
Detergents are the main component of many household cleaners. You will find them in heavy-duty cleaning products that deal with food, grease and oily residue, such as dishwashing and laundry products. Detergents contain other components such as surfactants, enzymes, acids, caustics, bleaching agents and optical brighteners. These components all have their part to play in dislodging dirt and grease from surfaces and fabrics around your home.
Can detergents harm me?
The human body contains many sensitive mucous membranes located in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs. These require a delicate balance between water content and other bodily fluids such as sebum. If any of these mucous membranes comes into contact with detergents, this delicate balance can be disrupted. The moisture-retaining sebum is oily, and can be attacked by detergents because they are designed to dissolve oil. Once this happens, tissues can lose their natural elasticity and become easily torn or ruptured. You might notice that your skin is dry or irritated after using certain products, but for some people the outcome can be more serious and result in dermatitis or eczema.
It is easy to protect your hands, with gloves. However, many modern cleaning products come in spray bottles or require dilution in hot water. This leads to chemicals being sprayed in the air or being transmitted in hot, steamy fumes which can be inhaled into the lungs or reach the eyes and mucous membranes.
Formaldehyde
Which products contain formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde is used in a wide variety of products found in our homes. It’s a chemical used as a binder and preservative in literally hundreds of household products, including paper products like toilet rolls, sanitary protection, tissues and building materials. Additionally, formaldehyde is added as a disinfectant to some cleaners as it kills most bacteria and fungi.