The topic of this post came out of a recent conversation I had with another mom of young children. As we chatted about the demands of this season of life (potty training, time-outs, public meltdowns, the wonder of the world around them, lots of hugs and kisses...), she mentioned CLEANING up after her family. Little kids are...messy. And they touch everything, then quite often put their fingers in their mouths. My friend jokingly referred to herself as "the Queen of Bleach." Which gave me pause.
The same fingers that are touching all the germs and dirt and bacteria are also touching surfaces cleaned with very harsh chemicals. Danger: those chemicals are hazardous to their health!
I recall a story a nurse shared about her teenage son. Her husband had sprayed a bleach solution in the bathroom to combat mildew on the ceiling earlier in the day. They had aired out the room and kept the fan on, and the son had used the bathroom prior to going to bed (hours after the spraying.) In the middle of the night, the nurse was awakened by the sound of her son gasping - he was having a difficult time breathing. The situation seemed to continue getting worse. Not knowing what else to do, she dragged him outside where the cold air seemed to help him, and they waited for the ambulance there. Her son had never had breathing problems of any sort...until that night. After numerous consultations with various doctors, she realized that the cleaning solution triggered this response in her son's body. She cleared her house of all harsh chemicals and only uses natural means to clean her home. Her son has not had any problems since.
My mom used a lot of bleach and harsh chemicals in our home growing up. She even mixed them on occasion out of ignorance, though there are severe warnings about the potential hazards of doing that. Besides ruined carpet and clothing, have I experienced any direct damage or suffered a health crisis as a result? No, not that I am currently aware of. And we don't hear on the news about the percentages of children harmed or the long-term danger or effects of many things we use on a regular basis.
BUT, I am not willing to take the chance with my children's health. The list of warnings on the sides of the bottles give me enough information to decide I don't want them in my home. Breathing in the fumes, accidentally swallowing a colorful chemical, a careless splash onto their skin or into their eyes...it is not worth the risk to me when I know there are products that would not cause them harm if these same things happened.
We've used all-natural products as much as possible to clean our home. There are many products readily available, though they often cost a bit more than the commercial products. But in the long-run, the cost and effect on our health and the health of our children could be far more expensive... I strongly encourage you to consider investing in natural products to clean your home. Yes, it can be a more costly investment compared to the more common products that are readily available...for now. But the long-term effects of breathing in clean air, NOT having chemicals interact with body functions are priceless.
I am not listing the products we use intentionally because I am not promoting any one product, and there are many options available at the store and through mail order companies (though you are free to e-mail me if you'd like to know what has worked in our home.) I am not a health expert or a scientist - I am just a Mama who reads labels and am sharing my concerns, experiences and thoughts on this topic.
