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Household cleaning product –related injuries happen on a daily basis with calls to poison control centers, visits to urgent care, family doctors and to US emergency departments. The number of household cleaning product-related injuries treated in US emergency departments are estimated to be 267 a year and mostly for those under the age of 5. Bleach was the product most commonly associated with the injuries (37.1%) according to the most recent study and the most common diagnosis was poisoning then chemical burns and lastly dermatitis or conjunctivitis.
Bleach and Children
I dislike bleach and I’ve written about my safety concerns regarding bleach before but besides the fact that its toxic when it touches our skin or to inhale or ingest the product I wonder if is really necessary to use and have in our homes for daily or weekly use?
Household products are inviting to all children because they look like fun to play with. They’re colorful, they can be sprayed and their smell is inviting. What child does not like to spray a bottle and see the liquid? My children love spray bottles! Children are naturally inquisitive so if they see a brightly colored spray bottle they’ll want to see what it does, right? Which is why keeping harmful chemical cleaners up high marked dangerous and out of the reach of our young children is imperative, as a parent we know this but wouldn’t it be safer to not even have these products in our homes?
Yes.
Non-Toxic Household Cleaning Alternatives
- Make your own cleaners. It’s easy cheap and effective. Check out some of these DIY recipes or visit Daily Green for some ideas. The options are endless and you can creative with essential oils for lovely smells.
- Shop green. Over the years I’ve reviewed Shaklee, eco STore USA, Method, Seventh Generation and several other great product alternatives. There’s really no need to purchase bleach and ammonia based products.
- Think Indoor Air Quality. The EPA says indoor air quality is worse than outdoor air quality. So consider some plants, open the windows and ditch the fake smells and harsh chemical cleaners. You’ll breathe better.
- Vinegar and Baking Soda. Staples in our house and they could be in yours too. Check out these great cleaning tips for using these inexpensive products to effectively clean your home.
- Whiten naturally. Hydrogen peroxide and the sun are excellent alternatives for effectively whitening clothing and fighting stains.
Let’s reduce the number of household cleaning product-related injuries and keep children safer by putting chemical cleaners up high and choosing safer more natural products that won’t cause severe harm to our children. Let’s make where our children live and play safer.
Your article brings to light a lot of concerns parents around the world have in common. We know that household chemicals are dangerous. But do we take the steps to protect our children from them? I hope after reading your article, more do. Thank you for this article.
It is very important that we use cleaning products that are safe for our health and to the environment. These information that you have shared in carefully selecting these products are very helpful. Thanks for sharing.
I love this article! It’s so true-we have to be really careful what we expose ourselves, our children and our pets too. That’s why I just published this book on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Cleaning-Products-Recipes-ebook/dp/B008FCRIT6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341361200&sr=8-1&keywords=Going+Green+with+Clean+Kindle It's called Going Green with Clean! and it explains how to make your own cleaning products with kitchen ingredients. At $4.99, it’s a bargain and could help you save even more at the store! Thanks in advance for checking it out!