Guest Blog-Can Cleaning Products Make You Sick?

 Email Article  

Tweet  

  

  

  

 delicious  

  

Our friends at Maid Brigade discuss the potential links between cleaning products and breast cancer.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, a time when we are reminded of the damage this horrible disease can wreak on a woman and her family. It is a time we probably universally share renewed interest in remembering to perform our monthly self-exams and to schedule our annual mammogram, if we have forgotten. 

 It’s hard to forget Breast Cancer Awareness these days, since the color pink is so ubiquitous in the marketplace.  Football teams don special uniforms, manufacturers issue special Breast Cancer limited edition merchandise (pink hairdryer anyone?) and tens of thousands of people walk a nearly unfathomable distance to raise millions of dollars in search of a cure.

 Breast Cancer Awareness month has become a marketing phenomenon in its own.  Sometimes there is a legitimate and obvious connection between the product or service that tries to link themselves to the pink tidal wave, and other times it seems like brands just want to get on the bandwagon.

 Maid Brigade observes Breast Cancer Awareness month because there is a growing body of evidence that suggests potential links between certain chemicals in house cleaning products and illnesses that range from mild to severe, even fatal.  Is there a link between breast cancer and cleaning products?  There is conflicting opinion about this, in fact about the only thing experts agree on is that more research needs to be completed in order to determine whether there is a link between cleaning product usage and breast cancer.

 While we are waiting conclusive evidence, Maid Brigade believes avoiding potential risks for breast cancer, or any other illness, is the safe approach.  That’s why we offer Green Clean Certified® service – to protect the families we serve and the cleaning staff we employ. 

 Here is a quick check list to run through mentally as you are contemplating the hidden health risks in your cleaning products:

1. Can you eat it? – Some of the most effective cleaning agents are vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and baking soda.  If it’s safe enough to eat, then it’s safe enough to use for cleaning your home.
2. Can you pronounce it? – If you can’t pronounce the ingredients in your cleaning product, it’s a safe bet that the chemical can introduce health risks over time with repeated use.
3. Can you trust it?  - Every cleaning product has a signal word on the label, either caution, warning or danger.  Any product with a warning or danger signal is one that could be lethal if between a teaspoon to an ounce is ingested.  While we don’t typically drink cleaning solutions, exposures through breathing and skin absorption will accumulate in the body over time.  No one knows the accumulated, and aggregated effects, that these chemicals can have in our bodies, combined with other chemicals.

Whether or not they agree about breast cancer risks, scientists do agree that chemical ingredients in common household products can cause a variety of illnesses.  This is why we believe in using the safest products and methods available.

 For more information about the health risks associated with cleaning products, please visit our consumer advocacy web site:  www.greencleancertified.com/greenTV. Here you can view several informative videos and read educational articles to help you understand the hidden health risks under your kitchen sink, so that you can make the most informed decision for your family.

 Maid Brigade is happy to help you keep a clean and healthy home, with our exclusive Green Clean Certified® service.  For a free estimate, visit www.maidbrigade.com.