Exposure to Some Cleaning Products Just as Harmful as Smoking 20 Cigarettes a Day

A 20-year study conducted by the University of Bergen in Norway published in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, has found some cleaning products can be just as harmful as smoking twenty cigarettes a day. The study discovered that women cleaning at home or working as occupational cleaners had accelerated decline in lung function compared with women who were not responsible for daily cleaning. The findings suggest that cleaning tasks can lead to long term exposure to chemical agents that have potentially harmful effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Frequent exposure to harmful toxins in cleaning products can cause long-term inflammation, which can accelerate lung function decline and chronic airway obstruction.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization, dedicated to protecting human health and the environment, the average household cleaner has more than 10 toxic chemicals. Traditional cleaning products often rely on harsh chemicals, synthetic fragrances, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can irritate the skin, trigger allergies, and affect indoor air quality. To make matters worse, these same big cleaning brands spend millions every year trying to convince us their harsh cleaning formulas will clean our homes much better than natural or eco-friendly cleaning products. Here's the thing, powerful cleaning products can mean synthetic chemicals that can irritate the skin and pollute indoor air.

When you choose plant-powered cleaning products, you’re not choosing less, you’re choosing smarter, safer, and more sustainable cleaning solutions. Let’s stop letting million-dollar corporations with big marketing budgets define what clean should be. Your home deserves better and so do you and your family.

Sources:

Environmental Working Group (EWG). (2023). Cleaning products emit hundreds of hazardous chemicals, new study finds. Retrieved from; https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news-release/2023/09/cleaning-products-emit-hundreds-hazardous-chemicals-new-study

National Library of Medicine, Pub Med. (2018). Cleaning at Home and at Work in Relation to Lung Function Decline and Airway Obstruction. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29451393