8 Toxic Household Items That Might Be Poisoning You
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We are living in a toxic, chemical ridden world and there are several common household items you may be using every day that contribute to allergies, chronic illness, and other health problems without you even knowing it! Read on to find out what those toxic items are and some helpful alternatives so you can be sure you're using clean products that aren't harming you or the environment.
Air Fresheners
Big brands of air fresheners such as Febreze, Glade, and Air Wick contain a slew of toxic chemicals that disrupt our health. Some of these ingredients, like "fragrance" are not regulated and contain mystery ingredients that companies would like us to not know about. They also contain ingredients that are known to cause cancer, reproductive problems, and hormone disruption
Instead of traditional air fresheners, opt for homemade sprays with essential oils. Or, to state the obvious, you can remove the source of the smell.
Candles
Candles can be roped in with air fresheners when it comes to harmful ingredients. They are not required to have ingredient labels and therefore you don't actually know what you're diffusing into the air. Candles, like air fresheners, contain the unregulated, mystery "fragrance" that contributes to allergies and other respiratory issues.
Rather than burning candles, grab an essential oil diffuser and some organic essential oil blends instead. They can freshen up a room without having to breathe in harmful chemicals.
Cleaning Products
This is a big one. Think about all of the sprays, soaps, and cleaners you have under your kitchen or bathroom sink. Chances are, many of these sprays contain toxic ingredients that are harmful to you and the environment. Cleaning sprays contain chemical ingredients that can interfere with the body's natural hormones by mimicking or blocking these signals and creating overall hormone disruption.
From an environmental lens, common household cleaners are a nightmare. Many household cleaners contain chemicals called APEs, which are the active agents that increase the effectiveness of laundry detergents, stain removers, and surface cleaners. APEs get into the water supply and do not break down, therefore causing toxicity and reproductive issues for water species.
Use up your toxic sprays and recycle the bottles. Change up your cleaning routine by using natural ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, borax, and non-toxic soaps. I've found that they often work way better than traditional cleaners. If you're steadfast on your cleaning spray, look for clean brands such as Branch Basics.
Plastic Containers
This one (thankfully) has become more well known in the past decade. Plastic food containers leech chemicals into your food (especially when microwaved) causing hormone disruption and other health issues. Many containers contain Bisphenol A (BPA) which mimics estrogen in the body and increases breast cancer risk in women and lower sperm counts in men.
Glass pyrex containers offer a better solution for food storage and are microwave friendly! For a lighter, kid friendly option, Stasher sells silicone reusable bags. Throw out (or better yet, recycle) your plastic containers today.
Beauty Products
This includes makeup, lotions, nail polish, shampoo, you name it. Unfortunately many of these products contain cancer-causing ingredients such as dioxane, benzophenone, carbon black, coal tar, and formaldehyde (yes, the same formaldehyde that preserves dead bodies). Many cosmetics, lotions, and sunscreen contain hormone disruptors such as BHA, "fragrance", and homosalate.
These are just a few of hundreds of toxic chemicals found in beauty products and unfortunately, many of them are undisclosed on the labels. When we put these products on our skin, they seep directly into our bodies and wreak havoc on our hormones and cells.
Use the Environmental Working Group (EWG) as a resource to search your commonly used products for toxicity ratings. They provide a guide for EWG verified products that you can trust to be non-toxic. Opt for more reliable companies like Beautycounter.
Deodorant
Anti-perspirants work by clogging your sweat ducts with aluminum to stop the sweat and odor from coming out of your armpits. While you may smell like a field of lavender, your body is actually building up toxins that are trying to detox through your armpits. Not to mention aluminum is a neurotoxin that contributes to diseases like Alzheimers, so rubbing it on a porous part of your body is not optimal.
Instead, look for aluminum-free deodorants such as Schmidts, Primally Pure, or Acure. Read more about natural deodorants and for a DIY recipe that I've been using for years!
Laundry Detergent
Detergents and fabric softeners often contain phosphates, which pollute the water system and causes an overgrowth of algae. They also commonly contain that mystery "fragrance" to make your clothes smell like a meadow or some other made up scent. When we wash our clothes in traditional detergents, harmful chemicals bind to our clothes to keep them smelling "fresh" and then seep into our skin when we wear them. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be walking around with a chemical bomb touching nearly every inch of my body.
Opt for clean detergents and stain removers such as Whole Foods 365, Ecover, or Seventh Generation.
Hand Sanitizer
I like to refer to this one as silent poison. Isn't hand sanitizer supposed to clean your hands and prevent disease? Theoretically, yes, but not without consequence. Hand sanitizers contribute to antibiotic resistance by killing off your good bacteria making you more susceptible to bacteria and viruses. As with the other products, it also causes hormone disruption. Hand sanitizers contain an ingredient called triclosan, which absorbs into your skin and can alter thyroid hormones.
Rather than using hand sanitizer, wash your hands with non-antibacterial soap. Studies have shown that antibacterial soap is no more effective than regular soap without the harmful chemicals.
The Takeaway
The best thing you can do for your health is read the ingredients on everything. If there's something you aren't familiar with, google it. Look up what exactly it is and see if there are any health risks associated with it. You are your own greatest advocate and these small changes can impact your health tremendously in the long run. Not only are natural products better for your health, but I've found that they often smell better and work better than "big brand" commercial products.