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Chapter 1

Why Go Green?

My journey down the road to green cleaning started in 2005. Before that, I was like everyone else, buying the same cleaners that my mom had used off the supermarket shelves. I have always been a big supporter of the environmental movement, but somehow cleaning products just seemed so incidental that I had never gotten around to changing my habits.

All of that started to change when I got pregnant. I started focusing on articles about “body burden” and skyrocketing asthma and autism rates. The articles convinced me that my baby needed a home as chemical-free as possible. I started slowly, getting rid of what I knew to be toxic and looking for products at the store that said “nontoxic” and “all-natural.” We chose low-VOC paint and natural wood furniture for the nursery along with an organic mattress.

The author became a green-cleaning expert after seeing the negative effects that commercial cleaning products had on her son, pictured here as a toddler.

Making Changes

I was pretty satisfied with the state of our home when my son was born. But, when he was about two months old, he got eczema. His skin was itchy and red and bleeding wherever he scratched it. We searched for months, trying to figure out what was causing it. We finally stumbled onto a website called Solve Eczema (www.solveeczema.org). Information on the site suggested that our son might have a sensitivity to detergents—not just laundry detergents but all detergent products—including shampoo, dish soap, hand soap, and, of course, most cleaning products—and that we should try switching to traditional soap products. We made the switch, and it was really a miracle: my son’s rash disappeared.

Labels are frightening, but they don’t tell the whole story.

What I never realized is that the cleaning products we use now are almost all based on a relatively new type of surfactant (cleaning agent) that was developed during World War II. For simplicity’s sake, throughout the book I will refer to these new surfactants as detergents, and I will refer to the old-fashioned surfactants used for centuries prior as soaps. Detergents work better in cold water, produce much less soap scum, and are cheaper to manufacture. For these reasons, traditional soap-based cleaners have almost disappeared from the marketplace.

Unfortunately, detergents are not as wonderful as we originally thought. The main issue is that they compromise skin-barrier function. In other words, they make your skin more permeable, which allows more chemicals from the environment to make it through your skin and into your body. This is what caused my son’s eczema, and it may account for increased asthma rates.

Why Make the Switch?

If you’ve picked up this book, you probably have a general idea of the reasons behind green cleaning. In a nutshell, green means better for you and better for the planet. It sounds good, but change is hard—especially today, when so many of us are so busy. It’s easy to fall back on what is familiar because it’s one less thing to think about.

Nevertheless, there are some strong reasons for switching to nontoxic cleaning methods, and I’m going to explain why making changes can do a tremendous amount of good for your family and for the earth. The most compelling of these reasons is that there is almost no government regulation of the chemicals used in cleaning products in the United States.

In this chapter, you will read about the harm that some of these chemicals are already doing. When you’re done reading, I think you’ll feel as I do: this change is essential for your family’s health. The good news is that there is no hardship or sacrifice involved. Nontoxic cleaners really work. They clean better, they smell better, and they save you money.

It was my search for detergent substitutes that forced me to truly become a green-cleaning expert. When pregnant, I had heard about cleaning with things such as baking soda and vinegar, but I had discounted them, figuring that there was no way something that simple could really clean. But when I realized that even plant oil-based detergents could affect my son, I was forced to reconsider homemade recipes. (While far better for the environment, plant-based detergents function like any detergent and can open the door to health problems for some individuals.) And that’s when my eyes were truly opened. You really can clean your home with simple ingredients. I’ve been cleaning my house without detergents for more than thirteen years, and I don’t miss them.

Baking soda and vinegar make a powerful, nontoxic combination.

The Health Effect

In this book, you’ll see the word toxic a lot. It’s a strong word, conjuring images of hazardous waste and poisons. I feel it’s the right word to use. Merriam-Webster defines toxic as “containing or being poisonous material, especially when causing death or serious debilitation.” It’s shocking to think about it, but many of the ingredients in cleaning products are capable of this level of harm.

Where Are the Laws?

Up until 2016, the main law regulating household chemicals in the United States was the Toxic Substances Control Act. It was notorious for its protection of manufacturers. It prevented the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from requesting any data or health studies for a chemical unless the EPA could already demonstrate that a substance posed a significant risk. And it was almost impossible to assess risk without having this data, so the EPA had pretty much given up on trying to force testing. The end result was that almost none of the chemicals in American households had undergone any meaningful safety testing.

In 2016, the law was finally updated when Congress passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. This regulation is a step in the right direction because it finally gave the EPA the authority to ban new and existing chemicals that pose a threat to human health, and it prevents new chemicals from entering the marketplace without EPA approval. However, several organizations, like the Environmental Working Group, worry that the EPA isn’t receiving enough funding to actually fulfill its duties and that the chemical industry still has excessive influence over EPA policies. More than two years after the act was passed, the EPA’s progress on chemical regulation was still depressingly minimal.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission plays a role in how cleaning products are labeled. It requires that cleaning product labels warn people of immediate dangers as well as of any toxic ingredients. These warnings are given by signal words on labels, such as danger or warning. Unfortunately, there are a lot of loopholes to this law. Manufacturers don’t need to state what kind of danger a substance poses—only what not to do, e.g., “do not take internally.”And they don’t need to list warnings about certain substances at all if they have determined (by their own research) that exposure would not trigger toxic effects. And if there is no data one way or another on whether a particular substance is toxic (which, remember, is the case for thousands of chemicals in use), then they don’t have to give any warning, either.

I know you’re thinking that if certain products were harmful, you would have heard about them by now. People would be suing the companies that made the cleaning products that damaged their health. Congress would have passed laws against them. You’d be sick yourself if they were so bad, right? The problem is the amount of harmful ingredients in any given cleaning product. It is tiny, so ill effects don’t usually appear immediately.

But here’s the kicker: the effects are cumulative. Toxins build up in your body over time. This is what scientists are now calling body burden. We Americans today have hundreds of synthetic chemicals running through our bodies. They are stored in our cells. In fact, now our babies are born with these chemicals in their systems, passed from mothers to children in the womb. The EPA estimates that every American has more than 700 pollutants in his or her body. And we have no way of knowing how this kind of chronic low-dose exposure will affect people over the course of their lives.

Chlorine bleach can be irritating to the skin and eyes.

Green Fact

A study by the Environmental Working Group tested the umbilical-cord blood of ten American babies born in 2004 and found an average of two hundred industrial chemicals and pollutants in each baby’s blood.

Deciding What’s Safe

Most products undergo some testing before they are put on the shelves and sold to consumers. It’s mainly done out of sheer self-preservation—companies don’t want to deal with costly lawsuits if their products end up being harmful.

The problem is that these products are tested individually. Testing attempts to determine whether regular use of one particular product causes any ill effects. But no one uses just one product. You probably have dozens in your home right now. So, if you combine two or more products that each contain the same “safe” level of one particular ingredient, you will create a mixture that now has an unsafe level of that ingredient.

On top of that, chemicals from different products mix together in unpredictable ways. They may mix in your body—or in a stream—and create something much more toxic. For instance, scientists have found that, in some cases, triclosan (a common antibacterial added to everything from hand soaps to countertops) can be converted by sunlight into a type of dioxin, which is one of the deadliest pollutants ever made. The sum can indeed be greater (or more harmful) than its parts.

Green Fact

According to the American Cancer Society, the probability that a resident of the United States will develop cancer at some point in his or her lifetime is one in three. Close to 1,750,000 new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed in 2018.

Spray bottles can send a mist of toxins into the air.

How They Get In

You may think that as long as you’re not foolish enough to eat or drink a cleaning product, it’s not getting into your body. Unfortunately, you can absorb chemicals in all sorts of ways. First, of course, is your skin. Any time you touch a cleaning solution, a small amount is absorbed by your skin and enters your bloodstream. Spray cleaners are particularly problematic because, even if you wear gloves, sprays suspend particles of cleaning solution in the air, where they can settle on any unprotected areas, such as your face and arms.

And many cleaning products don’t rinse away completely. They leave a residue that can be picked up on the skin of any family member merely by touching a surface that has been cleaned. This happens to my son with detergent residue all the time when he’s visiting other people’s homes. And this residue can turn into a dust that gets into the air and circulates throughout your home. Which brings me to your lungs. You breathe chemicals into your lungs when you spray while cleaning. And even if you’re not spraying a product, most cleaning products contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These chemical compounds give off gases that are easily absorbed by your lungs. From your lungs, they enter your bloodstream. These particles and gases can stay suspended in the air for a long period of time, so even if you wait to clean until your kids are at school, they can still inhale this stuff when they get home. So, to put a new twist on the phrase “you are what you eat,” you are what you breathe. For a rundown of the diseases that are associated with the toxic ingredients found in many cleaners, see the appendix.

“Children are really the heart of the green-clean movement. When we talk about clean air and clean water, it really comes down to what is best for our kids.”

Many children are afflicted with asthma, and it’s a good bet that cleaning products are one culprit.

Why Kids Are More Vulnerable

Children are much more sensitive than adults to chemicals in the environment. Exposure to a chemical that causes no discernible effect in an adult can cause significant harm to an infant. Here are some reasons for this:

 Children frequently have their hands in their mouths, making it more likely that they will ingest toxins with which they come in contact.

 Children have faster metabolisms—pound for pound, children eat more food and breathe more air than adults.

 Children play on the floor, where many toxins in the home settle.

 Children’s metabolic pathways are immature, and they are less able to detoxify and excrete toxins that get into their systems.

 Children are undergoing rapid development, and organ systems that are disrupted while growing may fail to form correctly.

 Children have more years for toxins to accumulate in their bodies and reach unsafe levels.

The Environmental Impact

The thousands of product choices on our grocery-store shelves put a heavy burden on our environment.

Depletion of Nonrenewable Resources

Fuel is used to farm crops, run mining equipment, refine raw materials, power factories, and ship products to stores. Crude oil is converted into hundreds of different chemicals as well as the plastics used to package those chemicals. Water, while technically a renewable resource, is used at a faster rate than it is replenished in many areas. It is estimated that the vast Ogallala Aquifer in the American west, which runs from North Dakota to Texas, will be pumped dry within decades if current irrigation practices aren’t drastically changed.

We protect the atmosphere and improve air quality when we go green at home.

Air Pollution

Global warming has gotten a lot of attention in recent years for good reason. Cleaning products certainly produce their fair share of greenhouse gases during their production.

Petroleum-based products are particularly energy-intensive. Turning black crude oil into pretty pink dish soap is a complex process. In addition to greenhouse gases, many other toxins can be released into the air. For instance, one method of creating chlorine can discharge mercury into the air.

And let’s not forget indoor air pollution. The air in today’s homes is more polluted than outdoors—even in cities that are notoriously polluted. Cleaning products play a significant role in indoor air pollution because many of them contain ingredients that are VOCs. These compounds are “volatile” because they easily become vapors or gases. These vapors and gases leave your cleaning solution and drift into the air, where they can be absorbed into your lungs.

Habitat Destruction

Raw materials for cleaning products—minerals, plants, and crude oil—need to be extracted from the earth. Land is cleared for crops, earth is mined for minerals, and oil wells and pipelines are constructed, all of which disrupt native animal, bird, and plant species. The debate over drilling oil in Alaska’s Arctic Wildlife Refuge illustrates how the extraction of raw materials can be detrimental.

Water Pollution

Both mining and farm operations, which deal with raw materials, can pollute waterways in the name of cleaning. For example, crops such as corn and soybeans—ironically, often the main ingredients in vegetable-based cleaning products—are grown with pesticides and herbicides. Eventually these chemicals, however minute in quantity, find their way back into the water.

Oil refineries and other manufacturing plants, all part of the cleaning industry, produce a lot of waste. And sometimes they are allowed to dump it into lakes and rivers. For instance, in August 2007, the BP oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana, was in the news because it was issued a new permit to release significantly more ammonia and “suspended solids” into Lake Michigan. (See the appendix for information on the dangers of ammonia).

Cleaning products we use at home make their way into our water systems.

When cleaning products are used at home in sinks, toilets, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines, they make their way into lakes, streams, and rivers through septic systems and wastewater treatment plants.

The old saying “what goes around comes around” is certainly true when it comes to the chemicals that get into our water. They almost always make their way back into our bodies. Even if the drinking water in your area isn’t contaminated, chemicals may get into the irrigation systems used for crops or to feed livestock—so it comes back around to you in your food.

For further reading on cleaning chemicals and their health and environmental impacts, I recommend Naturally Clean: The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning by Jeffrey Hollender, Geoff Davis, and Meika Hollender.

Even small contributions to the green movement can help keep our water sparkling.

Green cleaning can be a real money-saver, too.

Finding Quality Eco-Products

If you wish to buy ready-made environmentally friendly products, your best bet is a health-food store. There are plenty of independent stores out there, and Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are two national chains that specialize in eco-friendly products.

It’s often better to evaluate a company rather than one specific product. Do some research on the company and take a look at its website and its packaging. Some companies are guilty of what’s called “green washing”—they have an eco-sounding name and packaging, and they say they are nontoxic, but when it comes right down to it, they differ little from their conventional counterparts. Anyone can use words such as nontoxic, all-natural, and environmentally friendly because there are no regulations preventing them from doing so.

Look for companies that follow all or most of these policies:

 They reveal all ingredients on their labels, and the ingredient names are specific, not vague.

 Their products are “readily biodegradable” within days (not years).

 Their products contain plant-based ingredients, not petroleum-based ones.

 They use natural essential oils instead of artificial fragrances, or their products are fragrance-free.

Read labels at the store and avoid the following:

 Any product with the words poison, warning, or danger on the label (the word caution is OK).

 Ingredients with chemical names that include chlor, phenol, glycol, or end in -ene.

 Any product that is “combustible” or “flammable.”

 Any product that should be used in a well-ventilated room.

What You Can Do

So how do you protect yourself, your loved ones, and the earth from the thousands of chemicals that are out there? Well, greening up your cleaning is a great place to start. By sticking to ingredients that have been used for hundreds of years with no known toxic effects and purchasing products from reputable companies that have demonstrated a significant commitment to the environment, you can greatly reduce the harmful chemicals in your life.

Humans have been cleaning their homes since we first established permanent settlements around 10,000 years ago. Most chemicals in use today have been created in the last seventy-five years. It helps to remember this when you think about giving up conventional cleaners. They aren’t necessary. The best and safest cleaning products are those that have been around forever. You probably have them in your kitchen already: baking soda, vinegar, borax, lemon juice, liquid soap, and club soda. Check out chapter 2 to find out all about these basic ingredients and how to combine them in simple recipes to clean just about every surface in your home.

I’ve covered many compelling reasons to switch to green cleaning in this chapter. An added benefit is that it can save you money. If you make at least a few of your own cleaners at home from my recipes, you will be amazed at just how cheap cleaning can be. Most of the ingredients can be purchased in bulk. Baking soda, for example, is available in 12-pound (0.9 kg) bags. If you’re truly on a budget, you won’t need anything besides liquid soap, baking soda, and vinegar—those three products can clean your whole house!

Green Fact

According to the American Lung Association, the EPA ranks poor indoor air quality among the top five risks to public health. The EPA reports that levels of air pollution inside the home can be two to five times higher than outdoor levels.

Versatile products, such as baking soda, can be used for everything from cleaning your oven to brushing your teeth.