Toxic Cleaners?

I am always blogging about natural and organic products and how important they are for health. Of course all my personal products from tampons to toothpaste are organic, but over the past 12 months I have swapped over all my cleaning products as well. This is stuff like washing detergents, soaps, toilet cleaners, general purpose cleaners etc. Not only are these products environmentally more friendly they are much easier on the health of my family.

I was recently at the supermarket and I had run out of the general spray and wipe type product and I picked up a non organic product thinking that once in 12 months would be OK. When I used it 2 things jumped out at me straight away; 1. the smell of chemicals, 2. how incredibly effective it was.

When you use organic cleaners you need to use elbow grease but the non-organic cleaner got the bench tops clean and sparkling immediately.

I was standing in the kitchen where my family spends a lot of time, and I was applying a chemical to my bench top where we prepare our food. If this product was getting my bench tops this clean so quickly what where they doing to me? Where they being absorbed into my skin? Was I breathing them in? Maybe this small amount just once was no issue, but I then cast my mind back just 12 months and realised I lived with this all day everyday and surely over time they would have caused a build up.

I always put my good health, clear skin and boundless energy down to my diet, training and reduced stress but yesterday's cleaning incident really made me think about my wider environment.

I am not an expert on the toxicity levels of household cleaning products, but I certainly can exercise my choice, and on this one my preference is clear; natural is best.

Lisa