1. Chemical Accidents Can Be Fatal
Each year tens of thousands of children die or are severely injured due to accidental poisoning from toxic household cleaners. There are over one million accidental poisonings every year in the US alone and 80% of them occur in children from birth to 6 years of age. A product that warns you to keep it out of reach of children is an accident waiting to happen. If your toilet bowl cleaner can kill your child or your dog, why are you risking it?
2. Chemicals Pollute The Environment
When we think of pollution, we probably picture car exhaust or large factories dumping pollutants into the air & water. The real truth is households are the greater polluter and no government agency controls what homeowners dump down the drain.
The ordinary cleaning chemicals found in every cleaning cupboard pose an even bigger threat to our environment than big industries. An average of 25 gallons per household per year of waste, that's not even remotely biodegradable, goes into the world's ground water system.
"These chemicals can be found in virtually every home and they seem very safe, but make no mistake, they can be very dangerous," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Regional Administrator. "Routinely used products can harm you if you mix them or otherwise handle them improperly. If you throw them out in the trash or dump them down the drain, they can also contaminate groundwater, upset sewage treatment operations and contaminate the air."
Chemicals considered household hazardous waste include pesticides (including indoor bug spray), kitchen and bathroom cleaners, toilet bowl and sink cleaners, drain openers, aerosol cans, caustic cleaning compounds, fertilizers, paints and varnishes, waste oil, automotive batteries, de-greasers and automotive coolant.
3. Chemicals Cause Allergies And Other Health Problems
Some chemicals cause mild allergic reactions like coughing while using aerosol cleaners in unventilated rooms or rough, red hands when wringing out a rag dipped in sudsy water, but mixing ammonia with chlorine bleach produces a very dangerous gas that can burn and scar your eyes, skin, esophagus, and lungs. Prolonged exposure to many common household products has even been shown to cause cancer! Clean is good but at what price?
4. Chemicals Leave Residue And Streaks
Petroleum and mineral compounds in products like glass cleaner and furniture polish leave surfaces dull & streaky. They also leave sticky residue that attracts more dirt. Polishing and rubbing just pushes the chemicals deeper and soon you have so much build up you need a stripper solvent. It's a never-ending circle of "wax on and wax off" designed by, you guessed it, the chemical manufacturers.??Ever have a spot on the carpet that just won't go away no matter what chemical you use? Well, carpet shampoo contains soap and any soap left in the carpet fibers just sits there doing its job...attracting more dirt.
5. Chemicals Can Harm Surfaces
Ever take the finish right off when you really only wanted to clean it? Is there something in your home with a permanent discoloration from spilling bleach on it? Household cleaners can do damage even when used according to manufacturers suggestions. Chemicals are by design intense and it's often difficult to adjust the level of intensity...seems like it's all or nothin'.
6. Chemicals Are Expensive And Consumable
The average household spends .00 per month (0.00 per year) on a variety of cleaning chemicals that get flushed right down the drain! Now that's no investment, that's a non-recoupable expense year after year. Add to that the professional services like carpet cleaning, dry cleaning, and car detailing that really dip into your budget and must be repeated several times each year and you're up to about 0.00 per year. You're going to spend ,000.00 over the next 10 years! Wow, that's EXPENSIVE!
7. Chemicals Are Known To Cause Birth Defects
The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports, "Of chemicals commonly found in homes, 150 have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, and psychological abnormalities." Read the labels on the products you use to clean your home and if it says women who are pregnant should not use this product, no one should. Prolonged exposure to toxic substances put you and your family's health at risk.
8. Chemicals Strain The Planet's Natural Resources
It is just not logical to assume our planet will continue to support our current consumption of chemicals and their packaging. Household chemicals are hugely expensive to produce, package, ship, store, and dispose of...our planet's future depends on finding a better way.
9. Chemicals Rarely Offer Extra Value For Your Money
Plastic containers, packaging, and advertising are a very large portion of the household chemical purchase price. The actual chemical inside is not where manufacturers make their money. Unless every plastic bottle and aluminum can is recycled, and we all know they are not, new containers must be manufactured again and again. The cost is then passed on to the consumer and in the end we all pay the price.
10. Cleaning Chemicals Take Up A Lot of Space
Picture your cleaning cupboard. Is it overflowing with the many different types of products for all different types of cleaning? Is it organized or are things just packed into any space available? Do you even remember why you bought the can stuffed way in the back? Is there a grimy, chemical soaked rag draped over any of the bottles? Do you have to lock this cupboard or use one that's up high out of your children's reach? Would you like your space back?
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