Killers In The Home: 6 Types of Household Products That May Be Poisoning You
Americans spend more than $20 billion a year on home security systems – an industry that’s expected to grow to a more than $34.5 billion by 2017. With as invested as we are as a country in keeping our homes safe, what many of us don’t realize is that some of the products we bring home, past our physical barriers and alarm systems, may be just as dangerous for us, long term, as the threats that we devotedly lock out each night.
Among these:
Cleaning Supplies
Cleaning supplies regularly pop up on top ten lists of most dangerous household products, and with good reason. The American Association of Poison Control Centers reports that more than 120,000 children under the age of five have been involved with poisoning incidents in the past 10 years. But it’s not just little ones who are at risk of poisoning by household cleaners: many of the ingredients contained in traditional household cleaners contain chemicals that wreak havoc on nearly every system in our bodies. Among the most toxic cleaners in your home, according to OrganicConsumers.com, are:
- Drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners: When you consider how corrosive these products are, it’s no wonder they can cause chemical burns on the eyes and skin, or that they produce toxic fumes that can damage our lungs and respiratory systems.
- Anything with ammonia: Often present in all-purpose cleaners, is a strong irritant that has been clinically linked to both liver and kidney damage, and products that contain both ammonia and bleach can produce lung-damaging gases.
- Any product with heavy fragrance: Artificial fragrances in cleaning products, such as laundry detergents or fabric softeners, can cause respiratory irritation, headaches, and other allergic reactions, and more than one third of the chemicals used in the industry have been determined to be toxic.
The Fix:
Don’t be fooled by marketing language. According to Environmental Working Group’s Cleaners Database Hall of Shame, “Cleaners labeled ‘safe,’ ‘non-toxic’ and ‘green’ can contain hazardous ingredients.” To minimize your exposure, check your products’ ingredient labels carefully, and read instructions. EWG.com further notes that companies often advise users to dilute products before use, even when they are being sold in a spray bottle, implying that they should be used at full strength. Be sure that you aren’t purchasing any household cleaners that have a skull and crossbones warning, indicating a poisonous formula. And whether you’re disposing of old cleaners or getting rid of mostly empty bottles – check on proper disposal. Many of these products should not be poured down drains.
Another easy option is to spend some time researching truly natural alternatives to commercial cleaning products. Baking soda, Borax, soap powder, vinegar, lemon juice and even hot water have all been shown to be as effective at cleaning, without spreading toxins around the surfaces in your home and into the air you breathe.
Antibacterial…Everything
This category of products seems counterintuitive, because advertising stresses to us daily the importance of maintaining a “germ free” home, especially during the school year and flu season. The reality is far less simple: antibacterial products create the illusion of a germ-free home, and while triclosan (the most common antibacterial additive found in household products) may be effective at killing the bacteria it was formulated to attack, what’s actually happening is that these products are contributing to the development of new, stronger, antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, or “super bugs.”
How is that possible? When one is prescribed antibiotics to treat an infection, doctors and labels warn of the importance of taking the products until they’ve run out, even if the patient starts to feel better. This is because early doses will wipe out the weaker, more common bacteria that aren’t as immune to the antibiotic’s effects. Stopping antibiotics early just gives the stronger bacteria an opportunity to survive and replicate – and now these strains have developed an immunity to the treatments we have to fight them. The same works with antibacterial hand sanitizers and cleaners: we may be managing the weaker bacteria, but the result is stronger, more dangerous strains.
The Fix:
The goal of cleaning a home is to keep it clean, and not germ free. Exposure to bacteria, especially weaker strains, help build our immune systems and help our bodies develop a response to these foreign invaders, so that we minimize our chances of becoming ill, or minimize the severity of that illness, when we are exposed to the bacteria in the future. Soap and water, or natural cleaners, are all we need to clean most surfaces.
Fertilizers, Insecticides and Herbicides
If you are lucky enough to live in a home with a yard, that outdoor living space can become as much a part of your home as what’s encased within your four walls. The facts support our obsession with maintaining our green spaces: Americans spend more money each year on lawn care than we do on foreign aid ($40 billion dollars a year). But the dangerous products we’re using are killing the environment, and they may be poisoning us. According to the book, American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn:
- 10 times more herbicides per acre are dumped on lawns than on the fields of agribusiness in America
- Approximately 7 million birds are killed each year because of lawn care pesticides
- The honey bee colony collapse disorder has been linked to the use of pesticides
- 30 percent of the water used on the East Coast of the United States does to lawn irrigation
- Runoff from lawn fertilizer causes algae blooms that such oxygen out of bodies of water, suffocating fish
If the environmental dangers aren’t enough to dissuade you from using these products, keep in mind that the ingredients in pesticides and herbicides are formulated to kill pests – so most are also harmful to humans and our body systems. An ingredient in Round-up has been linked to kidney damage and reproductive harm in mice. By coating our lawns in these chemicals, and then spending time outdoors, we’re not only exposing ourselves to them, but we can track them indoors on our clothing and shoes, where we will breathe them in and come in regular contact with bare feet.
The Fix:
There are many natural alternatives on the market for treating lawns and pest problems. Diatomaceous earth is a safe, natural alternative to pesticides, and can be spread on lawns, around foundations, or in problem areas, even if you have pets or small children. Boiling water is a simple and safe way to eliminate weeds on sidewalks, driveways, and patios, while borax, salt, or vinegar solutions applied to the leaves of weeds, with a little dish soap added, are just as effective as commercial herbicides (be careful not to soak the soil with these solutions, though, especially in garden beds, because they will kill other plants).
Air Fresheners and Scented Candles
It’s ironic to consider that products designed to create a living space that’s not offensive to the nose are actually quite dangerous to our respiratory systems. More than one third of the additives in fragrances are considered toxic. And because the formulations for these products are considered trade secrets, they don’t have to be disclosed on product labels – they are just marked “fragrance.” Even products that are labeled “natural” or “pure” can contain these toxic chemicals, which can be linked to respiratory irritation, hormone abnormalities, reproductive problems and even birth defects.
The Fix:
There are countless natural ways to add fragrance to your home. Simmering water on the stove that has cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, or other fragrant ingredients will fill your home with a warm, inviting fragrance, and essential oil burners offer natural fragrance alternatives in those rooms that are too far from the kitchen. Opening windows and doors on a breezy day can also clear out the musty or old smell in a home and fill it with a fresh, clean fragrance.
Cosmetics
From shower essentials to lip gloss, an American woman applies up to 12 personal care items to her body each day, and the average American man up to six, according to Environmental Working Group. These products can contain a number of dangerous toxins, including:
- BHA and BHT: Used as a preservative, these ingredients are known endocrine disruptors and may be linked to certain cancers.
- CI Pigments: These dyes, labeled “CI” followed by a five-digit code, are potential carcinogens that are often contaminated with heavy metals (and not the musical kind).
- DEA: this ingredient, which can react to create nitrosamines, is often found in creamy or foaming products, from lotions to shampoos, and is a known carcinogen. It’s also harmful to fish and other wildlife, so as it rinses away down the drain, it’s contaminating the environment.
- Parabens: These ingredients are used in a wide range of products as preservatives, and they are linked to potential interference with male reproductive function.
The list of potential toxic chemicals is lengthy. From PEG compounds to petrolatum, a petroleum-based additive, the products we apply to our body are absorbed through the skin, where they can cause organ disruption, increase our risks for cancer, or build up in our bodies over time.
The Fix:
Opt for natural products that are paraben-free, sulfate-free, and fragrance-free. To determine whether your favorite products contain any toxic ingredients, visit EWG.com’s SkinDeep Cosmetics Database to check out the ingredient lists.
Sunscreens with oxybenzone
Sunscreens deserve special recognition on this list. While the benefits of sunscreen – protecting against skin cancers – have been well-spread, new studies show that 75 percent of American adults and teenagers are deficient in vitamin D, otherwise known as “the sunshine vitamin.” This deficiency has a wide range of health implications, and it has been linked to the increased use of sunscreens and long-sleeved sun clothing to protect against cancer. While there is still debate about just how much vitamin D is needed, experts generally recommend that we get at least 15 – 30 minutes of sun exposure during the day, in addition to eating vitamin-D fortified foods. And for this amount of exposure, unless you’re in a tropical or subtropical climate, they recommend foregoing the sunscreen, which can prevent the formation of vitamin D.
If you are heading to the beach or pool for the day, or if you’re packing for a tropical getaway, you shouldn’t skip the sunscreen altogether. However, you should check your ingredient label and avoid a product that includes oxybenzone, which has been shown to cause a range of health problems, because it acts like estrogen in the body. This chemical has been linked to everything from endometriosis in women to decreased sperm production in male animals. Aerosol sunscreens can contain respiratory irritants, which can be inhaled during application.
The Fix:
If you’re going to be spending a short amount of time outdoors, skip the sunscreen. If you’re going to be getting extended, strong sun exposure, opt for a cream version instead, particularly one that uses zinc oxide or titanium dioxide as an active UV filter.
References:
http://www.ewg.org/cleaners/hallofshame/
https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/how-toxic-are-your-household-cleaning-supplies
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vitamin-d-deficiency-united-states/
http://www.ewg.org/2015sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/
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