When we go to the market to buy a household cleaning product, we expect it to meet our expectation: clean our house. However, we often don’t realize the main source to the indoor air pollution is those household cleaning products. House air pollution is not a made up term. It is for real and people are suffering from many health issues that are due to in-house air pollution.
We use an array of these cleaning products, and yet we don’t even know why are the children at home falling sick or the adults complaining about a cough & cold or even fever. They can pose serious health risks as these products have a high amount of toxic substances that keep our home sparkling and sweet smelling.
Here are mentioned common household cleaning products that are a big source of indoor air pollution.
1. Candles:
No doubt, candles make beautiful home décor piece along with keeping our home smelling fresh and good. But did you know candles pollute your room with harmful gases and sediments which is really dangerous to your health? Candles produce soot carbon particles that become airborne and inhaling these particles can lead to the respiratory issue.
Candles made of paraffin are the most dangerous as they are a by-product of petroleum, coal or shale that are whitened using bleach infused in dioxins – one of the deadly substance ever produced. A study show burning paraffin candles releases a large amount of benzene and toluene into the air, also known as carcinogens. The candles used during aromatherapy have toxins in them which include artificial dyes and synthetic fragrances.
If you are fond of candles, the better option will be to buy candles made of beeswax or vegetable oil with natural dyes and perfume.
2. Air Freshener:
The air fresheners that you buy from the stores emit toxic gas at a level that is highly dangerous to your health. These air fresheners are often compared with the toxic level composed by the second-hand smoke. A recent survey suggests that most of the top-selling fresheners have a significant amount of ethylene-based glycol ethers which causes neurological issues, fatigue, nausea, even anemia.
Not only are these room fresheners harmful to the newborns but also to the elderly people and expecting women. They can affect the lung system and also cause dysfunctional reproductive system.
A safer choice would be to have indoor houseplants or make your own DIY room freshener made of organic ingredients.
3. Household Cleaning Products:
Common household cleaning products contain chemicals like alcohol, ammonia, chlorine and petroleum-based solvents which must not be touched or inhaled. These have negative effects on our health that can cause irritable eyes, sore throats, and even headaches. These cleaning products release dangerous Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that not only gives you common health issues but also aggravates allergies, asthma, and chronic respiratory issues.
Although we depend ourselves on these cleaning products, however, we must use organic products as a safe option to go by. The more we use less toxic products to clean our homes and indoors, the better it is for our health. Use of less expensive cleaners such as hydrogen peroxide for sanitizing, stain removal and bleaching, tea tree oil and water for mold removal and disinfectant, baking soda and white vinegar are a few suggestive remedies that one can replace the market products.
4. Paint:
Have you ever noticed the moment you get inside a freshly painted room, you feel a strong pungent smell which irritates your eyes and nose? That is because of the powerful neurotoxin present in the air due to the paint which has VOCs as the key ingredient. These paints create an off-gas for weeks even for months after a room is painted which is highly toxic to your health. The pain fume causes headaches, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, skin allergies, and sometimes one can also feel confused or disoriented.
When you are buying paint, choose for brands that are ZERO-VOCs. These paints are good for standard interior and exterior paints. And they dry off quicker than the usual ones.
When we think about air pollution, we only talk about outdoor air pollution. And when we do talk about indoor air pollution, we never talk about household cleaning products that are working their way affecting our health system right under our noses.
We must take precautions to safeguard the health of our loved ones. We hope this article helped you understand that household cleaning products are a big source of indoor air pollution.
Have anything to suggest us? Write to us in the comment section.
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