Hidden Toxins: What’s Lurking in Your Cleaning Products? part 2. No one can avoid exposure to toxic chemicals altogether, but it is possible to reduce it significantly. In the following pages, Greer, Sutton and other experts weigh in on the worst toxic offenders commonly found in household cleaning products, and offer ways to swap them for healthier, safer options. Phthalates Found in: Many fragranced household products, such as air fresheners, dish soap, even toilet paper. Because of proprietary laws, companies don’t have to disclose what’s in their scents, so you won’t find phthalates on a label. If you see the word “fragrance” on a label, there’s a good chance phthalates are present. Health Risks: Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors. Men with higher phthalate compounds in their blood had correspondingly reduced sperm counts, according to a 2003 study conducted by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Harvard School of Public Health. Although exposure to phthalates mainly occurs through inhalation, it can also happen through skin contact with scented soaps, which is a significant problem. Unlike the digestive system, the skin has no safeguards against toxins. Absorbed chemicals go straight to organs. Healthier Choice: When possible choose fragrance-free or all-natural products. Perchloroethylene or “PERC” Found in: Dry-cleaning solutions, spot removers, and carpet and upholstery cleaners. Health Risks: Perc is a neurotoxin, according to the chief scientist of environmental protection for the New York Attorney General’s office. And the EPA classifies perc as a “possible carcinogen” as well. People who live in residential buildings where dry cleaners are located have reported dizziness, loss of coordination and other symptoms. While the EPA has ordered a phase-out of perc machines in residential buildings by 2020, California is going even further and plans to eliminate all use of perc by 2023 because of its suspected health risks. The route of exposure is most often inhalation: that telltale smell on clothes when they return from the dry cleaner, or the fumes that linger after cleaning carpets. Healthier Choice: Curtains, drapes and clothes that are labeled “dry clean only” can be taken instead to a “wet cleaner,” which uses water-based technology rather than chemical solvents. The EPA recently recognized liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) as an environmentally preferable alternative to more toxic dry-cleaning solvents. Quarternary Ammonium Compounds, or “QUATS” Found in: Fabric softener liquids and sheets, most household cleaners labeled “antibacterial.” Health Risks: Quats are another type of antimicrobial, and helps breed antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They’re also a skin irritant, and also suspected as a culprit for respiratory disorders: “There’s evidence that even healthy people who are [exposed to quats] on a regular basis develop asthma as a result.” Healthier Choice: MelaSoft: Naturally softer, fresher-smelling clothes. Made with a biodegradable, plant-derived softening agent and fragrant essential oils. 2-Butoxyethanol Found in: Window, kitchen and multipurpose cleaners. Health Risks: 2-butoxyethanol is the key ingredient in many window cleaners and gives them their characteristic sweet smell. It belongs in the category of “glycol ethers,” a set of powerful solvents that don’t mess around. Law does not require 2-butoxyethanol to be listed on a product’s label. According to the EPA’s Web site, in addition to causing sore throats when inhaled, at high levels glycol ethers can also contribute to narcosis, pulmonary edema, and severe liver and kidney damage. Although the EPA sets a standard on 2-butoxyethanol for workplace safety, Sutton warns, “If you’re cleaning at home in a confined area, like an unventilated bathroom, you can actually end up getting 2-butoxyethanol in the air at levels that are higher than workplace safety standards.” Healthier Choice: Clear Power® Glass Cleaner, powered by natural white vinegar instead of caustic ammonia, no harsh fumes or residues. Ammonia Found in: Polishing agents for bathroom fixtures, sinks and jewelry; also in glass cleaner. Health Risks: Because ammonia evaporates and doesn’t leave streaks, it’s another common ingredient in commercial window cleaners. That sparkle has a price. “Ammonia is a powerful irritant,” says Donna Kasuska, chemical engineer and president of ChemConscious, Inc., a risk-management consulting company. “It’s going to affect you right away. The people who will be really affected are those who have asthma, and elderly people with lung issues and breathing problems. It’s almost always inhaled. People who get a lot of ammonia exposure, like housekeepers, will often develop chronic bronchitis and asthma.” Ammonia can also create a poisonous gas if it’s mixed with bleach. Healthier Choice: Vodka. “It will produce a reflective shine on any metal or mirrored surface. Chlorine Found in: Scouring powders, toilet bowl cleaners, mildew removers, laundry whiteners, household tap water. Health Risks: “With chlorine we have so many avenues of exposure, through fumes and possibly through skin when you clean with it, but because it’s also in city water to get rid of bacteria, you’re also getting exposed when you take a shower or bath. The health risks from chlorine can be acute, and they can be chronic; it’s a respiratory irritant at an acute level. But the chronic effects are what people don’t realize: It may be a serious thyroid disrupter.” Healthier Choice: To reduce your exposure to chlorine through tap water, install filters on your kitchen sink and in the shower. Sodium Hydroxide Found in: Oven cleaners and drain openers. Health Risks: Otherwise known as lye, sodium hydroxide is extremely corrosive: If it touches your skin or gets in your eyes, it can cause severe burns. Routes of exposure are skin contact and inhalation. Inhaling sodium hydroxide can cause a sore throat that lasts for days. Healthier Choice: You can clean the grimiest oven with baking-soda paste — it just takes a little more time and elbow grease . Unclog drains with a mechanical “snake” tool, or try this approach pour a cup of baking soda and a cup of vinegar down the drain and plug it for 30 minutes. After the bubbles die down, run hot water down the drain to clear the debris.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 10:50:42 +0000
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