Keeping the homestead in shape is job one for most homeowners. Whether it is cleanup after a project or the routine maintenance a home needs, a homeowner’s work is never done. Unfortunately, some of the tools we use to maintain our happy homes can be toxic.

Modern-day cleaners and detergents contain powerful and potentially harmful chemicals. Additives to increase brightness, kill bacteria, and reduce the need for scrubbing are often caustic to the person cleaning as well as to the rest of the family, pets, and the environment at large.

Take, for instance, those nifty additives called optic brighteners that are commonly added to laundry detergent to make your whites whiter. These fluorescent whiteners don’t actually get the clothes any cleaner, they simply mask the yellowing of fabrics that naturally occurs by absorbing certain ultraviolet rays and then reflecting back visible blue light. This gives garments the appearance of being cleaner, even if they are not. The trouble with this optical illusion is that these brighteners are washed down the drain once the rinse cycle is done and enter the local water supply where they can be toxic to fish. Some people also find that this additive can be irritating to sensitive skin and eyes.

Along with the ingredients designed to improve the performance of cleaning products, dyes that dress up color and perfumes that help deliver an artificial lemony or piney fresh scent can also be troublesome for a home’s occupants. While some products naturally have a pleasant deodorizing effect, like those that use citrus oil, many cleaners and degreasers have petroleum-based fragrances to mask the smell of the cleaning solvent. This means that while you are cleaning your home of the normal dirt you would expect to find, you are actually introducing new and potentially harmful materials into your living space.

Helping to confound the homeowner trying to keep a healthy home are claims by some products that their cleaning materials are safe because they contain “organic” ingredients. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), many cleaning, disinfecting, and degreasing products contain organic solvents that can release organic compounds while you are using them and, to some degree, when they are stored. This means that you are potentially introducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your home, not only when you are actively scrubbing but even when these products are sitting under the kitchen sink. Organic in cleaning products doesn’t always mean safe and healthy.

The overall negative health effects of VOCs on a home’s occupants can be staggering. VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; allergic skin reactions; dyspnea; loss of coordination; nausea; fatigue; dizziness; and damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. And the trouble doesn’t stop there—it flows downstream.

Chemicals used within the home for cleaning are almost always dumped down the drain and end up being released into local waters. Phosphates, which are sometimes used in laundry and dish detergents, have been found in increasingly strong concentrations in oceans and lakes. Abundant amounts of phosphates can cause eutrophication and destroy local wildlife habitats. Eutrophication is the scientific term for when an excess of nutrients encourages an unhealthy algae bloom. These blooms create a suffocating, slimy mess for the local ecosystem and, according to the EPA, are now present in 48% of America’s lakes.

There is, however, hope for the homeowner who wants to protect the indoor and outdoor environment while also maintaining a clean and healthy home. See Green Cleaning Solutions.