What’s In Your Cleaning Products: 5 Hidden Toxins

Whether it is spring cleaning or end of lease cleaning, many people decide to do it on their own. They purchase mops, brooms, and various branded commercial cleaning products. However, they don’t realise that most of these products with beautiful pictures of colourful flowers and lemon are loaded with harmful chemicals.

These chemicals can cause several chronic health issues and affect the environment. Health experts often advise people with asthma and other similar health problems like sensitive skin to avoid such products. Thus, for a clean and healthy home, you should always go for environmentally-friendly cleaners.

If you want to hire the end of lease cleaners in Gold Coast, conduct a little research and choose only those cleaning companies which follow green cleaning. If you want to know why you should keep commercial products at a distance, here is a list of hidden toxins that your cleaning products contain. Let’s have a look.

1. Chlorine

Chlorine is a harmful chemical that is found in scouring powders, mould and mildew removers, household tap water, toilet bowl cleaners, laundry whiteners, and so on. Contact with chlorine can lead to health issues like coughing, sneezing, wheezing, or even pneumonia, as it causes respiratory problems.

You can also experience vomiting, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea, skin irritation and blisters. Instead of going for chlorine-based products, you can opt for natural alternatives.

Try baking soda for scrubbing, while vinegar for laundry as it whitens the clothes. To eradicate exposure to chlorine present in the tap water, fix filters on the shower heads and sinks.

2. Ammonia

Ammonia is commonly found in cleaning products such as window cleaners, floor waxes, bathroom cleaners, and other products used for outdoor cleaning of your house. People are not aware of the fact that this chemical is used for the preparation of other harmful substances such as cyanide.

The vapours from ammonia-based cleaners can be responsible for coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, laryngitis, fever, headaches, nausea, asthma, increased blood pressure, vomiting and rapid pulse. The doctors in Gold Coast often recommend asthma patients to strictly avoid contact with ammonia-based products.

Do a little bit of research and go for organic, all-natural products manufactured by reliable companies or use a DIY cleaner. In case you don’t know, vodka can give your window glass a magnificent shine.

3. Phthalates

Phthalate is another harmful chemical that is found in fragranced household products, such as dish soap, air fresheners, laundry detergent and even toilet paper. As the companies are bound to disclose the source of their scents, you don’t find phthalates on the product label.

Phthalates disturb your endocrine system, which affects most significant functions of the body, including tissue function, metabolism, sleep and your mood. To avoid harmful phthalates, you must go for fragrance-free and all-natural products.

Strictly avoid air fresheners and choose a diffuser with your preferred organic essential oils to perfume the home. The best end of lease cleaners in Gold Coast use only natural products for cleaning. To find them, all you need to do is start your research a bit early.

4. Sodium Hydroxide

This hazardous chemical is found in drain openers and oven cleaners. Also known as lye, sodium hydroxide, it is highly corrosive. So, if it comes in contact with the skin or gets into the eyes, it can give you severe burns.Inhaling this specific chemical can cause a sore throat that lasts for days.

But like any other cleaning product, this one also has a natural alternative. You can use a mixture of baking soda and water to get rid of stubborn grease and kitchen oil from your oven. And if you want to unclog the blocked drains, pour a cup of baking soda down the drain followed by vinegar. After 20 to 30 minutes, run hot water down the drain and unblock it.

5. Perchloroethylene

Also known as PERC, it is the primary solvent used in the dry-cleaning solution. It is also found in numerous household cleaning products like wood cleaners, carpet cleaners, spot removers, aerosol products, and even in solvent soaps.

Exposure to PERC can cause shortness of breath, vomiting, sweating, nausea, headache, sleepiness, confusion, light-headedness, dizziness, difficulty in basic activities like speaking and walking. Its long-term exposure can harm the developing foetus in pregnant women.

Therefore, instead of dry cleaning, you can take your drapes, curtains and clothes to a “wet cleaner” that uses a water-based technique for cleaning. For the stubborn stains on fabrics, use the natural soap and always pre-treat the stained area before you wash it.

Conclusion

The market is flooded with cleaning products of different brands, but most of them contain harmful chemicals that are mentioned above. So, if you want to clean your home and at the same time, do not want to come in contact with the hazardous chemicals, opt for the natural cleaning products. If you are hiring professional end of lease cleaners in Gold Coast, make sure they are also using only environmentally-friendly products.