Green Cleaning Benefits to our Health!
My story
I have always been a person who loves people, nature, and animals. As a child, I grew up on a farm in Brazil, our vegetables and fruits were always organic, our home was filled with love, and our home was always extremely cleaned. Thanks to my Mom!
My beautiful mother loved to clean our home. It was her therapy and she was also very thorough and detailed in regard to loving and cleaning our home.
Like many others, my mother was using conventional cleaning products, but when my brother developed allergies and symptoms of asthma, she went on a mission to get to the bottom of what was causing these health issues. Here is our story 🙂
The findings about green cleaning benefits
When my brother was diagnosed with allergies and asthma my mom refused to believe that this was something my brother was going to have to live with.
My mother was in protective mode for my younger brother Joao’s health and she was going to do everything needed to find out what the root of the problem was before Joao would have to live with the allergies or asthma. In our home, we always ate organic and healthy, but the doctor said it could be food allergies or the farm animals that Joao interacted with.
The doctor prescribed medications to my brother, but my mother knew it had to be something else! Before mom would commit to putting my brother on medications, she was determined to solve the mystery!
We started a process of elimination in the house and the family dog was on the target of becoming an outdoor dog. Joao would also have to stay away from all the animals on our farm.
Life change…
One day after a deep cleaning my mother noticed Bingo (family dog) itching, and she asked me to take Bingo outside for a walk. As soon as I left with Bingo, my brother walked in and started sneezing and itching. A light bulb went off in mom’s head… The smell of the cleaning products she just used was in the air.
That week mom became a staple in the local library. She was researching cleaning products and what side effects the cleaning ingredients could cause, and sure enough allergies and asthma were on a list that matches the ingredients on the conventional labels.
Mom began discussing her recent discoveries with the librarian and coincidentally, the librarian was familiar with Green Cleaning, and she introduced mom to a book about green cleaning methods.
My mom being a cleaning connoisseur was fascinated with the book… All natural ingredients, organic cleaning methods, and most of the natural cleaning ingredients were in our cabinets or back yard.
Once my mother had narrowed down my brother’s diagnosis to the cleaning supplies in the house, she immediately began green cleaning our house.
Two weeks later, my brother was allergy and asthma free and Bingo was no longer itching. I remember coming home and thinking: Did Daddy pick fruits this morning or did Mami just clean it? 🙂
As a consequence…
My home was so relaxed and peaceful. Needless to say, my upbringing had a lot to do with my decision to open Zesty Maids, a green cleaning company, but even more my concern for my family’s health!
Your health is important to me and to my family. We want everyone to breath easy; in the same way, we want to do our part to lift a little weight off the Earth’s environment.
If my cleaning service can bring more health and happiness into your space, I know my beautiful mother is smiling down.
Make smart decisions – Go green!
Let’s say that you are standing in front of two cleaning products, one product is an eco-friendly and a green cleaner, and the other is conventional cleaner. The green cleaning/eco-friendly product reads Nontoxic, no harsh-fumes while the conventional product reads: HAZARDS, KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN, DANGER CORROSIVE!
When it comes to one’s health, to the environment, and let’s just say doing the right thing, green is the obvious choice.
Chemical products and your health
Green Cleaning Products do not include ingredients that cause asthma, and they reduce the unnecessary use of harmful “antibacterial” agents. Certified green hand soaps, for example, do not contain antibacterial ingredients.
As a U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientific advisory panel determined, “antibacterial” soaps are no better than regular soaps at killing germs.
Green cleaning products do not contain chemicals of concern present in traditional cleaning products such as carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins – specifically identified as probable, reasonably anticipated, or possible human toxins by many states, national and international agencies.
In addition, heavy metals like lead, chromium, and selenium can cause neural-developmental damage in children, cancer, as well as ecological harm.
Dangerous chemicals
- 2-Butoxyethanol is a widely used ingredient that damages red blood cells, causing anemia, as well as it may also be a carcinogen and reproductive toxins.
Typical home cleaning using 2-Butoxyethanol products leads to air contamination exceeding established health-based limits for the workplace.
- Phthalates are frequently found in fragrances in cleaning products, and Dibutyl phthalate is used in floor finishes and window cleaners.
Children exposed to phthalates in indoor settings, face an increased risk of asthma and allergies. Human studies link alarming health effects to phthalate exposure, including male reproductive system abnormalities and hormone disruption.
- Alkylphenol ethoxylates break down into Alkylphenols, a potent hormone-disrupting chemicals.
A Centers for Disease Control study found that the bodies of at least 51% of Americans are contaminated by Alkylphenols. These chemicals survive wastewater treatment to enter rivers, lakes, and the ocean, harming aquatic life. Countries in the E.U. and Canada have banned these chemicals in cleaners.
Friends, there is little regulation of cleaning chemicals, and basically no labeling requirements properly inform people about the chemicals they and the Earth are being exposed.
There are some 80,000 chemicals in common use, and there are still some that could have as yet unknown toxic effects.
Stay Green for People, Pets and our Beautiful Earth 🙂
Cheers
Ana Paula