Disadvantages Of Cleaning Products

Have you ever seen a toddler drop food on the floor and immediately put in their mouth? Presumably, most parents would take the contaminated food away. Unless, of course, they are in their own home. Often times, the handy five second rule will come into play. Even in homes there are toxins and chemicals sitting on the floor and surfaces - not just germs and bacteria. Overlooked are the cleaning products used - harmful, toxic products at that. How often do people, not just parents, overlook what is sitting on the surfaces in their home because they have cleaned it? Cleaners laden with toxic chemicals are used to sanitize or disinfect surfaces. These chemicals are then in contact with products, food, and the human body. Many cleaners are also drifting about in the air and then come in contact with the human body in ways not originally intended. Even “environmentally friendly” companies provide cleaners with some type of chemical or filler that could be potentially harmful. Some chemical cleaning companies focus solely on their ability to clean, while others suggest the low expense, but fail to elaborate on why it’s cost effective. Our culture is programmed to believe cleaning methods are safe despite the growing number of safe, alternative cleaning methods.

For many consumers the eco-friendly market poses intimidating, complicated solutions when in reality, they are quite simple. Terms like “green cleaning,” “non toxic,” and “environmentally friendly” can be confusing. All these terms essentially lead to one idea: less harmful products for the environment and consumers. In his article on the effectiveness of green cleaning products, Ed Light describes green cleaning products as “natural materials to replace ‘highly toxic’ disinfec...

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...eneral bathroom cleanings with measurement of volatile organic compounds and ammonia air concentrations. This study showed evidence “that workers who perform institutional and domestic cleaning are at increased risks for asthma and other respiratory diseases” (Bello 1).

The general public typically assumes they can rely on well known companies. It’s assumed that these supposedly reliable companies are providing safe, effective cleaning products. Schoffro Cook points out that companies, such as Proctor and Gamble, display their products in a way that tricks the public into believing they are creating a healthy environment. She gives the example that one of their leading products, Febreze, is marketed to “make the world breathe happy” (Schoffro Cook). Instead, this product that claims to eliminate odors only masks them all while spreading around dangerous chemicals.