If you live in a “typical” American home, there is a good chance that you have a good collection of household cleaners under your sink and in your garage that contain toxic chemicals that can possibly damage human health and the environment. Compounds such as triclosan, phosphates, alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), as well as petroleum-based surfactants and sudsing agents can be harmful to the soil, water, air, and our bodies, and are found in common store-bought cleaners, de-greasers, detergents and anti-bacterial products.

The potential health risks that these products pose are widely varied and include hormone disruption and reproductive harm, asthma and respiratory damage, skin damage and allergic reactions, neurological damage, and damage to internal organs. Risks to the environment include harm to soil and water quality, harm to aquatic life, and even chemical accumulation in the food chain resulting in more risk to human health. These cleaning products are also known to contaminate indoor air. By reducing or eliminating our use of toxic cleaning supplies, and by replacing them with environmentally friendly products, you can lower the danger to the environment and to your family. In addition, by being aware of packaging waste, and taking reusable shopping bags to the store when shopping for these alternatives, you can also help lower pollution created by the manufacture and use of plastics.

Anti-bacterial soaps and cleaners have been in the spotlight lately because of their potential negative impact on health and the environment. Many anti-bacterial preparations contain triclosan, which can interact with chlorine and sunlight to create dioxin, which in turn can accumulate in the food chain. Dioxin is also linked to certain cancers and can cause reproductive harm in animals. Your tap water source may be treated with chlorine, so any time you wash with anti-bacterial soap, the potential for dioxin to form exists. How does it get into the environment, then? Dioxin persists in water sources and in the in soil when sludge from wastewater treatment plants is applied as fertilizer. Water ecosystems are also affected because dioxin is highly toxic to algae, upon which those ecosystems depend in order to sustain life. Furthermore, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control (USCDC), we are not protected any better by using anti-bacterial agents than by simple good hand-washing with soap and warm water. In fact, we may be doing ourselves more harm than good in using them. Many experts are sounding the alarm that excessive use of anti-bacterial products not only keeps our own immune systems from being stimulated to fight diseases, but is also allowing bacteria that can survive the anti-bacterial ingredients to actually thrive.

Phosphates are another group of chemicals which can harm the environment and are commonly found in everyday cleaning compounds. Used to boost the effectiveness of certain detergents, as well as being in many lawn fertilizer formulas, phosphates lead to algae blooms when they end up in fresh water sources. In turn, algae blooms lead to eutrophication, meaning the water source is deprived of oxygen. This threatens the survival of many aquatic organisms, and even causes the water to become unfit for drinking, not to mention unfit for recreational activities such as swimming. Care should be taken to avoid products containing phosphates, even if you live miles away from any fresh water source. If you wash your car in your driveway or fertilize your lawn, runoff that contains phosphates can end up in those fresh water sources.

The easiest way for consumers to limit damage to health and the environment is to buy eco friendly products that are free of the harmful chemicals mentioned above. While manufacturers are not required to disclose all of the ingredients in their formulas, some product labels will state that they are “phosphate free” or “vegetable-based” (rather than petroleum-based), which makes it easier to choose an ecologically sound product. The US Department of Health and Human Services web site has a products database which provides the ingredients of a number of household cleaners and their potential effect on health. A quick web search will also yield many recipes for do-it-yourself cleaners which use mild and inexpensive ingredients such as castile soap and borax, and even common kitchen items such as baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice.

The next time you are at the store with your reusable shopping bag, load it full of eco-safe cleaners! But remember to contact your local government entity for advice on how to dispose of the toxic ones safely.

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