{"id":12038,"date":"2021-03-16T04:31:37","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T04:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/?p=12038"},"modified":"2025-02-27T19:17:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T19:17:39","slug":"detox-your-home-are-you-breathing-in-your-cleaning-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecos.com\/live-cleaner\/detox-your-home-are-you-breathing-in-your-cleaning-products\/","title":{"rendered":"Detox Your Home: Are you breathing in your cleaning products?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As COVID-19 retains its grip on the headlines, keeping our homes clean and virus-free remain top priorities. But, does all the spraying, scrubbing, and disinfecting come at a cost to our health? The truth is \u2013 yes \u2013 all that deep cleaning can spread some nasty chemicals into the air of your home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Americans spend <\/span>about 90% of their time indoors<\/span> \u2013 even without a global pandemic \u2013 and our indoor air can be dirty. In fact, it\u2019s been found to be <\/span>2-5x more polluted <\/span><\/a>\u00a0than outdoor air. Much of our indoor pollution comes from what\u2019s called volatile organic compounds \u2013 a.k.a. VOCs \u2013 from chemicals in our cleaning products and other household items.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Notorious VOCs<\/b><\/h4>\n

Invisible and insidious, VOCs are toxic chemicals that vaporize or \u201coff gas\u201d and enter the air from thousands of common items like traditional cleaning products, disinfectants, air fresheners, aerosol sprays, paints, pesticides, and more. You not only breathe VOCs in while using these products, but they can continue to \u201coff gas\u201d while stored away in a cupboard or under the sink. As anyone who has used ammonia or bleach without proper ventilation can tell you, <\/span>VOCs can cause <\/span><\/a>\u00a0eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, and skin reactions, or more severely, trigger asthma symptoms or damage the liver, kidneys, or central nervous system.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthy Advisory: User Error<\/b><\/h4>\n

A recent CDC survey revealed that <\/span>1 in 3 respondents<\/span><\/a> have been using chemicals and disinfectants unsafely while trying to protect against COVID-19 and a related uptick in calls to poison centers since the start of the pandemic. They identified big knowledge gaps on proper preparation, storage, ventilation, and a host of other high-risk behaviors like misting the body with disinfectant and purposely inhaling cleaning product vapors. Yikes.<\/span><\/p>\n

All this exposure to toxic VOCs and chemical substances on any given day, week, or year can accumulate over time, adding to the body\u2019s overall toxic burden and can contribute to a variety of health problems. Despite obvious health concerns, there is no national requirement to list ingredients on cleaning product labels. This leaves consumers in the dark, unknowingly bringing potentially harmful chemicals into their homes. According to the Environmental Working Group, over 53% of household cleaners include one toxic ingredient, 22% contain chemicals reported to cause asthma in otherwise healthy individuals, and over 93% of manufacturers won\u2019t even list their ingredients!<\/span><\/p>\n

Know Your Clean<\/b><\/h4>\n

Cleaning and disinfecting smart starts with learning what to avoid, and swapping out conventional cleaners with products that contain safer ingredients, so you aren\u2019t spraying toxic chemicals into the air. Some common toxins and VOCs to steer clear of include:<\/span><\/p>\n