Next time you walk down the cleaning product aisle at a hardware or grocery store, carefully inspect the ingredient lists on the various products. Whether you look at a disinfectant, floor cleaner, or bathroom spray, you’ll find that many of the labels contain chemicals that are quite harmful to the human body.
Cleaning product companies tell you that their products are necessary for keeping the home free of bacteria and germs. Sprays, wipes, powders, liquids, and more promise to improve your home and health by removing grime and dirt. Many of these products, including Pine-Sol, exhibit fresh or clean scents that smell similar to lemon or pine. What these companies don’t tell you is that their products can contain toxic chemicals. Well, they may explain this, but in the fine print on the label, which people seldom read thoroughly.
How Do Cleaning Products Affect Your Health?
Popular cleaning product manufacturers include chemicals in their products that may negatively impact your health. For example, it’s possible for these products to cause endocrine disruption, pregnancy complications, allergies, birth defects, and cancer. Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) published a report that commissioned an independent laboratory to test 20 popular cleaning products. The results indicated that the toxic chemicals they detected were not disclosed on product labels.
The reality is that manufactures do not always have to disclose the ingredients in their fragrance blends in cleaning products. These signature scents are often copyrighted, meaning that disclosing them would allow other people or companies to produce the same sense. The same applies for perfumes and other products where “fragrance blend” is on the label. Many known allergens are often included in these fragrance blends, but also in products marketed as “fragrance-free.” This is to say that harmful chemicals may hide in your cleaning products.
Does DIY Pine Oil Cleaner Work?
Many people love Pine-Sol for its ability to clean the home. Unfortunately, it contains known endocrine disruptors and other toxic chemicals that increase the risk of birth defects and cancer. Switching to the natural alternative in this article is not only more beneficial for your health, but also for the surfaces you clean. The pine cleaner in this article is effective on tile floors and wood furniture. The biggest plus to this cleaner, besides the effectiveness, is that you can clean your home without plaguing it with cancer-causing chemicals. Continue reading to learn how to make the pine cleaner.
DIY Pine Cleaner Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon distilled water
- 1/4 cup unscented Castile soap
- 15-20 drops pine essential oil
- 5-10 drops lemon essential oil
Instructions:
- In a large glass container, mix the water with the Castile soap. The water may turn cloudy, but this is completely normal.
- Add the essential oils into the container, screw on the lid, and swish it around to thoroughly combine the ingredients. It is ready to use.
How To Use:
- Apply the solution with a sponge or cleaning rag to the area you want to clean.
- Rinse the area and dry with a cloth or towel. The solution stores best in a glass container.
