By Katie Vance
Every new year, I resolve to live a more natural lifestyle. In some years that means watching what I eat, in other years I try to be more active, but every year I make January my “whole house detox” month.
Basically I go through my closets, cabinets, cleaners, bathroom products, and anything else I can find. I sort through what is healthy and what is potentially toxic. All the toxic cleaning products get tossed or donated. Then I make a list of products that I can buy or DIY the natural way.
5 Toxic Cleaning Products to Get Out of Your Home
Note from Matt and Betsy: Don’t forget, our book DIY Natural Household Cleaners teaches you how to make ALL your own natural cleaners!
Even though I write about living more naturally, it doesn’t mean that unnatural products don’t sneak into my house. Below I’ll share with you five toxic cleaning products and some suggestions on what you can DIY instead.
1. Air Fresheners
From plug in fresheners to spray cans, artificial fragrance is my number one nemesis. They are overpowering and filled with a chemical soup of toxins. There are so many other ways to make your home smell wonderfully, naturally! You don’t need to buy the latest scent to fill your home with. Instead try these:
- Four Homemade Air Freshening Products for Autumn
- Homemade Air Freshener: A Natural DIY Poo-Spray
- Natural Homemade Fabric Refresher (like Febreze™)
- Freshen Your Air With Homemade Smudge Sticks
2. Cleaning Products
Much like air fresheners, many commercial cleaning products also contain synthetic fragrance in addition to a bunch of unnecessary chemicals. However, by using these cleaning products ALL over your home, we are just spreading around tiny particles of toxins. Why not clean with something that actually cleans? Instead of using those products, try one of these:
- Make Your Own Natural Cleaners!
- DIY Toilet Bombs that Clean, Disinfect, and Deodorize
- How to Clean Stainless Steel with Homemade Cleaners
- Homemade Dishwasher Detergent and Rinse Agent
3. Laundry Detergent/Fabric Softener
Who doesn’t love fresh laundry? It’s soft, warm, and smells clean. It’s even better when it’s folded and put away. However, when you take your laundry out of your drawers, do you still smell your laundry detergent? If you do, then chances are you are smelling synthetic fragrance chemicals (again!). If they were natural, then they would have washed off or faded away. Laundry detergent is especially dangerous because we wear our clothes all day, close to our skin. It’s very important to choose a good, natural laundry detergent or to make your own effective, natural laundry detergent.
- The Original Homemade Laundry Detergent
- How to Treat Tough Laundry Stains Naturally
- Natural Scented Homemade Laundry Booster Crystals
4. Personal Care Products
This is the one area of my home where I have to be especially careful. It seems that I have a habit of building up quite a stash of shampoos, conditioners, soaps, and lotions. Not all of them being good for my health, either. Chemicals like sulfates, parabens, fragrance, and petroleum are among the most common toxins in personal care products. Choosing expensive natural options is not always in the budget, so I do make a lot of personal care products. Some of my favorite recipes are:
- Learn How To Make Your Own Natural Eyeliner
- DIY Shaving Soap Recipe: Better than Shaving Cream
- How To Make Homemade Natural Shampoo
- Deodorizing DIY Hair Mask and Conditioner Recipes
- A Conditioning DIY Beard Oil Recipe Men Will Love
5. Candles
I could have put candles in the air freshener category, but I really felt they needed a spot on my list. Candles are slightly different than air fresheners because they are burned. Fire is a chemical reaction and it has a way of changing the chemical makeup of substances. So when you light a candle, you can release unknown toxins into your home. Especially if those candles are made with commercial colors, synthetic fragrance, and other additives. If you HAVE to have a candle, choose one made from a natural wax with natural colors and natural fragrance. Or make your own DIY candle:
- Make Your Own Natural Beeswax Candles
- Make A Naturally Deodorizing Wooden Wick Candle
- A Simple Tutorial for Homemade Wood Wick Candles
What about you?
What toxic cleaning products are lurking in your home? Are you ready to make your own natural replacements?
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Aw, this was an extremely good post. Spending some time and actual effort to create a very good article?
but what can I say? I procrastinate a whole lot and don’t manage
to get anything done.
An all purpose household cleaner that is safe to use around pets(dogs).
Can you provide me with a recipe for an all-natural cleaner that I can use around my house and is safe to use around my dog?
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Katie, this is an awesome post! I love making my own cleaners especially with essential oils! What are your personal favorite all natural cleaners? I’d love to try them.
I have a few recipes I can pass along as well!
Best,
Kala