Did you know that the products you clean your house with may be causing hormonal imbalance? “How”, you say? Many chemicals used in commercial cleaning products are known to negatively affect the endocrine system. Hormones deliver messages, the endocrine system coordinates hormones. When chemicals from the products designed to keep our lives clean alter hormonal balance, the body may no longer function as it should. This isn’t good for fertility, especially since the chemical signals known as hormones run the entire reproductive system.
Not only are many of these chemicals linked to hormonal disruption, but they affect the nervous system, irritate eyes, skin, and the airway. This is why you should learn to make your own cleaning products!
Household cleaning products get into your body because they are breathed in and absorbed through your skin. In the case of laundry detergents, fabric softeners and dryer sheets, the chemicals they contain often stay on your clothes, allowing for great exposure through your skin. The chemical residue evaporates and lingers around the home as it gives off gases throughout the day. According the Environmental Protection Agency, indoor pollution can be up to 100 times higher than outdoors, in part because of chemicals in household cleaning products.
Not only are these ingredients bad for your health, but are bad for the health of the environment, not only through manufacturing processes, but most are not safe for our water system. Almost all household cleaning products are poured down the drain, thrown in the trash or cleaned out of rags and sponges used for making our homes gleam.
How You Can “Clean Up” Your Cleaning Products!
Want to know a hormone harmony secret? Simply learn to make your own natural cleaning products. It is easier than you think, typically costs less, there is little to no harm to your health and it is something you have total control over!
Maybe making your own cleaning products just isn’t your thing; if this is you, learn what natural products to purchase by choosing the most ethical companies! While I commend companies like The Clorox Company® for choosing to make the Clorox Green® line, I am still wary of their practices and the other products they manufacture. While Clorox Green® may be a better choice than its other products, it still contains ingredients that are not natural. First of all, the Clorox Green® line is dyed with artificial dyes to make it the color green. I try to choose companies that are all about the health of the consumer.
Have you heard of the term “greenwashing”? This simply means we as “green” consumers are being duped; the wool pulled over our eyes. There are no real standards for labeling products. So, anyone can say something is “natural”, but that doesn’t mean it is non-toxic. You have to be a smart consumer, yes, even when it comes to choosing household cleaning items. Sheesh, all this can seem so complicated, right? But after a while, you will get the hang of it and you will never turn back to those old toxic products!
Natural Cleaning Product Companies to Choose From
- biokleen™ – their Bac Out is my favorite stain remover and smells like lime!
- Earth Friendly Products® – rated best for the water system!
- Seventh Generation™ – I love their kitchen and bathroom spray.
- Mrs. Meyer’s® – this company is all about natural ingredients with great smells from essential oils.
- Dr. Bronners Magic “All-One”™- their liquid soaps are great for just about any cleaning need.
- Bon Ami® – has a great powdered scrubbing cleanser and now makes spray cleaners.
Ingredients To Avoid
| Artificial colors Artificial fragrances Phthalates Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Triclosan Glycol ethers Silicones Butane gas |
Formaldehyde Phenols Chlorine bleach Phosphates Paraffin wax Petroleum Alkylphenol ethoxylates |
Natural Home Care Product Recipes
Laundry soap
In a large soup pot add:
- 2 cups Doctor Bronner’s liquid soap of your choice
- 8 cups water
- bring to boil on stove, stirring constantly, until well mixed, remove from heat
In a 5-gallon bucket add:
- 4 gallons WARM water
- 2 cup Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate)
- 4 Tablespoons grapefruit seed extract
- 2 Tablespoons lavender, orange, lemongrass or peppermint essential oil
- Add mixture from above to the 5-gallon bucket, stir well
Use 3/4 cup of the laundry soap for top loading washing machines and 1/4-1/2 cup for front loading washing machines. Add a little white distilled vinegar to your wash cycle to make clothes softer!
Simple Counter Top Spray
In a spray bottle:
- fill half with water
- half distilled white vinegar
- 40 drops of your choice of essential oil – Lavender, lemon, eucalyptus, orange, grapefruit and tea tree are good choices.
Wood Polish
- 2 Tablespoons oil of choice: grapeseed, olive, jojoba
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoons lemon essential oil
Antibacterial Spray for Kitchen & Bathroom
- fill 3/4 of a spray bottle with Hydrogen peroxide
- fill 1/4 with water
- 40 drops Tea Tree essential oil
- 10 drops eucalyptus, lemon or orange essential oil
Baking Soda
This stuff is super cheap, can be purchased in bulk and used for just about anything!
- Sprinkle on carpet, let sit 15 minutes, vacuum up, great carpet deodorizer.
- Pour into toilet bowl with a little distilled white vinegar (careful, will cause chemical reaction and bubble up) and an essential oil of your choice. Scrub inside of toilet bowl a bit. Let sit. Flush, toilet bowl is now clean and deodorized.
- Add to laundry wash cycle to cut out smells.
- Place a box in your refrigerator and it will absorb nasty odors.
Room Freshener Spray
In a 4 oz. glass bottle with a pump sprayer:
- Fill half way up with distilled water
- Add 80 drops of your favorite essential oils
2 of my own favorite blends:
Home Sweet Home
- 40 drops Lavender
- 35 drops Orange
- 5 drops Vetiver
Wintry Blend
- 40 drops Balsam Fir
- 20 drops Lavender
- 20 drops Orange
Glass cleaner
Fill spray bottle with:
- half white distilled vinegar
- half distilled water
Spray on windows, wipe off with a clean soft cloth or old newspapers.
Bleach alternatives
- Oxygen based bleach alternative, sold as a powder
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Borax
Floor cleaner
- Fill mop bucket with half vinegar, the rest water
- 20 drops balsam Fir, lemon, lavender or orange essential oil
- Fill mop bucket with a little pure castile soap and your favorite essential oil
Scented Candles and Tealights
Did you know that those lovely candles for purchase at grocery stores are full of chemicals that are constantly off gases, especially when burned? Most are made from paraffin wax, with lead in the center of the wick. Paraffin is a petroleum by-product that releases carcinogenic soot when burned. The lead-core wick, when burned releases five times the amount of lead considered hazardous for children. This also exceeds EPA pollution standards for outdoor air, says the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These types of candles also contain synthetic fragrances.
The best alternatives to these candles are 100% beeswax or 100% vegetable-based wax candles, though I am partial to beeswax. Be sure that these natural alternatives contain a pure cotton wick, free of metal. If you are going to choose a scented natural candle, be sure it also is made with 100% pure essential oils. Beeswax costs about 6 times as much as paraffin candles, but burn much longer and much cleaner.
Use an Aromatherapy Diffuser to Make Your Home Smell Fabulous
This is my go-to for making my home smell so nice. These come in ceramic, glass or stone. They are simple, put a beeswax tea light inside with a little water in the top pot, add 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil. Place in a safe area of your home. Light the candle and the heat from the flame warms the water and oil and your home will smell delightful!
Other important tips to consider:
- Always recycle or reuse the plastic and glass bottles you purchase your ingredients in.
- Purchase items in bulk or in the largest size container possible.
- Purchase refillable cleaning products.
- If you hire a cleaning company, make sure they use natural products in your home.
- The same goes for carpet cleaning companies; there are natural alternatives out there!
Want more tips on cleaning up your home environment naturally?
Learn why body care product choice is just as important as the foods you choose to eat…
Go organic and GMO-Free at the grocery store!
Estrogen mimicking chemicals are lurking in your environment!
- How to clean your house without hurting the planet. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://grist.org/article/possessions-cleaning/
- Zaki, H. (n.d.). GREEN HOME 101 – Guide to Green Cleaning. Retrieved from: http://inhabitat.com/green-home-101-guide-to-green-cleaning/
- 10 Dangerous Everyday Things in Your Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/23/10-dangerous-everyday-things-in-your-home.aspx
- Cosmetics & Household Cleaning Products: ‘Endocrine Disruptor’ Won’t Be On Label. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/cosmetics-household-cleaning-products-endocrine-disruptor-wont-be-label
- Are Your Candles Toxic? (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.greenamerica.org/green-living/are-your-candles-toxic
