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The Green Cleaning Products E-book
Why Use Green Cleaning Products?
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Introduction
Why use green cleaning products? That was my question when my two-year-old son's pediatrician mentioned them to me. My son had eczema and I hadtried lotions and special detergents for his clothes, as well as avoiding certainfoods, but nothing seemed to work. I really didn't believe that the cleaningproducts I was using could possibly be causing his discomfort, especially because,let's face it, as a busy, single mom, I really wasn't using them that often! Who hadtime to clean? Also, I had been using these products for years, and so had mymother, and her mother. And we were all fine.But I started doing some research. It wasn't hard to find information aboutthe traditional toxic cleaning products that I'd been using since, well, forever. Ididn't know that these products contained chemicals like 1,4-Dichlorobenzene(found in room fresheners and home deodorizers) , which, when inhaled, evenbriefly can cause irritation of the skin, throat, and eyes. And if you've beenbreathing in this chemical for a while, you can suffer liver, skin, and centralnervous system (CNS) damage. A study performed by the National ToxicologyProgram (NTP) study reported that 1,4-dichlorobenzene caused kidney tumorsand liver tumors in rats and mice. In an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)study, this chemical was found in the fat of 100% of the people tested.I learned that certain household and personal care products releasecontaminants into the air right away. Others do so gradually over a period of time, and even storing them in your home is dangerous - that would explain why
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they may harm you even if you aren't using them. Some of these chemicals stay inthe air for up to a year, and can cause dizziness, nausea, allergic reactions,eye/skin respiratory tract irritations and even cancer (American Lung Association).I learned that over-exposure to ammonia, found in floor and windowcleaners, can cause death, coma, blindness, lung damage, collapse, and seizures.Breathing in too much ammonia can cause fluid in the lungs to build up, andpossible lung damage. It can burn your eyes, skin, throat, and lungs. Even just alittle exposure to ammonia can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath,laryngitis, headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting, pink frothy phlegm, chest pain,asthma, rapid pulse, and increased blood pressure. If. God forbid, you or yourchild swallows ammonia, it will burn your mouth, throat, and stomach, and causesevere abdominal pain. If it spills on your skin, it can blister or severely burn yourskin, or cause dermatitis. Eye exposure may cause conjunctivitis, corneal irritationor damage, and temporary or permanent blindness (Toxtown website).I learned that formaldehyde, found in disinfectants and some cleaners, islisted as a substance which is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen"(Eleventh Report on Carcinogens published by the National Toxicology Program).And Long-term exposure has been linked to increased cancer of the nose andthroat. If your child, again, God forbid, drinks large amounts of formaldehyde, heor she could go into a coma or die of respiratory failure. Drinking formaldehydecan cause convulsions, severe mouth and stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, signsof shock, vertigo, stupor, and diarrhea. If formaldehyde gets into your eyes, it cancause permanent damage or loss of vision. Over-exposure to high levels of formaldehyde can cause fluid build-up in the lungs, acute shortness of breath,
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