When looking at wood and dust cleaner, it is best to use natural products. Furniture Polish is listed among the top ten hazardous household chemicals by the Global Healing Center. Right along with drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and air fresheners. Why? Because it contains petroleum distillates, which are highly flammable and can cause skin and lung cancer. They also contain nitrobenzene, which is easily absorbed through the skin and extremely toxic. All are great reasons to select eco cleaning products that are natural product,s safe for the environment and good for your natural green home cleaning chores.
Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks poor indoor air quality among the top five environmental risks to public health. While much attention is paid to outdoor air pollution, we actually spend more time indoors, in fact nearly 90 percent of our time! More reasons to select natural eco cleaning products.
As if that is not enough to pursue natural green home cleaning, the Safer Products Project found that there are concerns with the volatile nature of traditional petrochemical based cleaning product chemicals since they evaporate into the air we breathe. Their study has found that household dust has shown high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), asthmagens and other toxic chemicals.
Cleaning chemicals have been found to end up in household dust. Women’s Voices for the Earth has concluded in their Hazards Report that one of the greatest concerns in our homes is that pets, babies, and young children play and crawl on the ground and frequently put their hands (or paws) in their mouths, thus transferring chemicals from dust, floor and carpet finishes and other non eco cleaning products directly into their mouths. Selecting eco cleaning products is paramount to protect our pets and babies, this is why you should demand pet and baby safe cleaning products.
This concern is so high that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works warns residents to dispose of conventionally formulated furniture polish in accordance with the county hazardous waste guidelines!
Not only are these non eco cleaning products hazardous to our health as irritants with health effects to humans breathing their vapors or coming into skin contact with these harsh traditional cleaners, they can also be hazardous to waterways, wildlife, soil and air when dumped in the trash or down the drain.
So what can one do to obtain natural green home cleaning strategies?
- Vacuum with a HEPA filter which can pick up even the smallest particulates containing the toxins which can lurk in dust.
- Use microfiber, one of the best innovations in cleaning industry
- Select an eco cleaning product made of natural, bio-based, sustainable, and nontoxic ingredients that are pet friendly and baby safe, such as the WowGreen Wood & Dust Cleaner
Barber H says
Very helpful information. Having dust around us is always not good for health. Thanks for sharing!