Home cleaning is more than just getting rid of garbage and dirt, simply to make your house look clean. Your home may look clean, but unfortunately it may hosting tons of bacteria and germs all over the place. It is important that the cleaning products we use is safe, not only to get rid of germs and bacteria but to protect us from compromising our health.

There are tons of cleaning products out there, a lot of them promise to do the job but most of them contain harmful toxins that may cause a long-term hazardous adverse effect to our health, pets, and the environment. Green, natural and non-toxic solution is the ecological way to cleaning, especially with the increase of respiratory problems, environmental concerns, and diseases related to exposure to chemicals. A lot of cleaning products out there have been linked to asthma, cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, allergies and irritations, accidents (burns & poison). From laundry products, dish washing soaps & detergents, bathroom cleaners, all purpose cleaners, Air fresheners and other product, there are safe green cleaning products in the market that you can choose from.

There are so many cleaning products sold all over the world, and it is very important to know what products are safe for cleaning your home. Every time you use a cleaning product, chances are you may be compromising your personal health, the health of your family members and pets, polluting the environment, and water supply.

According to the environmental working group (EWG) findings, about 53% of cleaning products they tested can be harmful to the respiratory system (lungs), while 22% can cause asthma. Many of these products that we use, from cleaning solutions, disinfectants, all-purpose cleaners, soaps, detergents, air fresheners, drain cleaners, oven cleaners, surface cleaners and polishers and many more, promise to make our homes cleaning and smell fresher. But what most consumers are not aware of are the short-term, long term adverse effects, and hidden dangers that these products could potentially cause.

CUSTOMERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW!!!!

The food, drug and cosmetic industry have made it mandatory for manufacturers to disclose the ingredient label, but not for the cleaning product. You would be surprised to know that many manufacturers of cleaning products do not disclose all ingredients in their cleaners. Also consumers should watch out for some “Natural” products because natural does not mean non-toxic. Some plant based product may cause allergic reactions, and some chemicals used in green products may not have been thoroughly tested.

With that being said, here are my Top 5 reasons for using non-toxic, eco-friendly products:

1. Safety of your personal health: The truth is that many household products we have grown to love and trust are harmful to our health. Repeated exposure to theses chemicals increases the bio-accumulation of chemicals in the body. Our skin and respiratory tract are common methods of exposure to these toxins. The Elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune system are a high risk population for chemical exposure. It is important start reviewing cleaning products because preventing health problems caused by chemical exposure is not only wise, but beneficial to us.

2. Safety of your children and loved ones: Most cleaning products come with the “keep out of reach of children” warning label. However, house cleaning products rank withing top 5 causes of childhood poisoning case. We often believe that damage can only be done to our children, if they ingest the chemical, but that is not the case. Simple exposure of the residue that the home cleaning products leave behind, while our infants and toddlers are crawling and playing around the house after cleaning. Infants are known to touch every surface and put almost everything in their mouth, increasing the risk factor for exposure.

3. Safety of your pets: For people who own pets, they are equally our family members. Cleaning products with bleach, ammonia, chlorine, gycol, ethers or formaldehyde can cause many problems in adults and children, but infants and pets are particularly at risk for things such as cancer, anemia, liver and kidney damage.

4. Safety of the environments: Kitchen clean-up, using common household cleansers, wipes and sprays dramatically increase harmful air pollution, according to a new study by an environmental advocacy group.

5. Safety of the water system:While waste water treatment is effective in removing biodegradable food and human waste, but new chemical constantly introduced to the market will pose a treat to waste water treatment facilities.