When you clean your home, you want to be sure the chemicals you use are safe and effective. While the information on cleaning product labels includes ingredients and cautionary symbols, scanning through a list of long chemical names can be challenging to translate. In this article, we’ll discuss how to simplify your shopping and learn what chemicals to avoid when buying your cleaning products.
Tetrachloroethylene
This chemical is found mainly in dry cleaning products and furniture stain removers. Its short-term effects are an irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs. However, it is the long-term effects of this chemical that are highly concerning.
The CDC lists tetrachloroethylene as a potential carcinogen and has linked liver damage as a side effect of long-term exposure. Limiting the use of tetrachloroethylene in your cleaning products is essential to avoid these dangerous effects.
Ammonia
A crucial chemical to avoid when buying cleaning products is ammonia. Ammonia is a cleaning ingredient found in many glass cleaners and polishes. The ammonia used in these polishes is immediately corrosive to the nose, throat, and lungs upon inhalation. If ammonia touches the skin or eyes, severe burns may develop, leading to permanent skin and eye damage.
Avoiding this chemical is critical for customers who have pre-existing breathing difficulties. Keeping cleaners with this ingredient away from children and pets is also imperative to prevent serious health complications. Consider browsing for natural glass cleaning brands to avoid finding ammonia in your household products.
Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas ingredient used in many industrial disinfectant cleaning products. Formaldehyde may cause immediate side effects when inhaled or absorbed through the skin, such as watery eyes, coughing, wheezing, nausea, and skin irritation.
While primarily included in industrial cleaning products, formaldehyde has also been listed in some clothing and detergents. Limiting exposure to formaldehyde will help prevent painful discomfort from short-term side effects and protect against possible long-term effects.
Chlorine
Chlorine may seem like a familiar and harmless chemical since it’s commonly used to keep summer pools sanitized. However, prolonged exposure to this chemical can cause severe reactions and conditions. Chlorine chemically reacts with water to produce acids which are highly damaging to cells. Avoid inhaling or swallowing chlorinated water at all costs!
Ingesting chlorine through inhalation will cause immediate side effects such as airway irritation, wheezing, sore throat, chest tightness, difficult breathing, and coughing. Always check household cleaners for chlorine before purchasing to avoid increasing your daily exposure to it.
Although these chemical names may look unrecognizable, many of these ingredients exist in everyday household products. It’s crucial to recognize and avoid these chemical ingredients so you can prevent possible side effects and assure your family’s health and safety.
