Cleaning Chemicals

 I watched "Comerical: Redefining Clean for a New Generation" on Netflix.  Now, it is not the greatest movie; it is poorly produced and didn't state where they got their facts from, but it did make you think twice about what you are cleaning the house with and/or putting on your body.  I would still recommend for anyone to watch it.


Some of the interesting facts that got me thinking were:
*  A adult will come into contact with 72,000 chemicals on a yearly basis.
*  Stay at home moms have a cancer rate 54% higher than working moms.
*  Chlorine is the #1 toxic household poison

I am a stay at home mom, and since I am home all the time naturally I want to make sure my house is clean since I have to live in it and see it all day every day.  With a baby and two crazy dogs, I am always cleaning.  I never really thought about how it affects my health or my baby's.  In fact, my thinking was the opposite.  I thought that if I had a clean house (I am not talking about a sterile house since I believe that germs and some allergens are good for you) we would be healthier.  By cleaning the house on a daily/weekly basis, I am actually hurting myself and baby because of the toxins we are breathing in and being absorbed through our body.  Who knows if cleaning products are actually linked to cancer, but it's fair to say that it's probably not good to be around toxic chemicals.

The movie followed a family as they gave up the store bought chemical cleaners and switched to a more healthy/non-toxic/green alternatives.  From watching the movie, I realized that I didn't have to give up cleaning, or live in filth, but rather just change what I cleaned with.  Most of their new cleaning products were vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, and peroxide based.  Same with their personal hygiene products.  Then the light bulb went on in my head, if something is not safe to ingest then why would I want to breathe it or put it on my body; it will still be absorbed.  Anything that happens to the outside of my body should be safe for the inside of my body.

At the beginning of the movie, they asked the family how many cleaning supplies they thought the had in the house and the mom severely underestimated the number.  Of course I started thinking about how many I had in the house, I thought it was about 20 all together.  I too severely underestimated the number.  I have 58!  I was amazed by how many store-bought stuff I had on hand for my baby.  About a month ago, I actually had to switch brands because she was having an allergic reaction to something in our first product.  I can't believe that I didn't just go homemade at that point, instead I am now subjecting her to other chemicals.  And to think that I was trying to do the right thing, by buying the more expensive product too! 

I am slowly going to switch over to toxic-free, chemical-free cleaners and personal products as I need them.  In the movie, the family went cold turkey and tossed all their cleaners and switched immediately.  I feel since I have already paid for the products  I am going to use them up and then reuse the bottle/packaging if I can.  In the mean time I am just going to be more conscious of opening up a window while cleaning and toss all of my air fresheners right away.

More will follow when I actually start making switches.  I think the biggest switch will be my window cleaner, I swear by Windex.  I think it is the greatest and nothing else can compare...we'll see.