There's a good reason why theres child proof locks on the doors below the kitchen sink where most of our cleaning agents are kept. It's locked because its POISON. If it’s poisonous to ingest it, why would you use it to clean surfaces that you or your child or your pets come into contact with? Small children put their fingers in their mouths after touching the surfaces you’ve cleaned with toxic chemicals. Animals clean themselves constantly and they are laying on the floors you just used more poison on. And, lastly, YOU are touching these same surfaces that you just used rubber gloves to clean because you didn’t want to get the poison on your hands

The prolonged exposure to strong cleaning products was associated to the Increased decline in two major areas of lung function. Some ingredients, such as parabens, ammonia, chlorine bleach, QUATS, Triclosan, and triclocarban, are absorbed through the skin in varying degrees—and once inside your body, they may upset your delicate microbial balance. Toxic cleaning chemicals can also easily find their way into soil, air, and water, and animal studies highlight the damaging potential for our planet’s wildlife.

Here's a short list of some of the more common toxic cleaning agents and their side effects from products you are more then likely to find in your home or work place:

Butoxyethanol A common ingredient in kitchen, window, and multipurpose cleaners that can interfere with the health of your red blood cells.

Ammonia Found in glass and bathroom cleaners, ammonia can be very irritating to the eyes, skin, throat, and lungs.

Chlorine Bleach A potent antimicrobial and respiratory irritant, bleach is a major ingredient in mildew removers, toilet bowl cleaners, and scouring powders. Mixing chlorine bleach with ammonia can create highly toxic chlorine gas.

Sodium Hydroxide: A known mucous membrane irritant, this is used in many oven cleaners and drain openers.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate SLS is a detergent that creates the rich type of lather we’ve become accustomed to in cleansers, and is present in most shampoos and hand soaps. This ingredient can be very irritating to eyes.

Fragrance: Although the term “fragrance” sounds innocent enough, it can refer to any one of thousands of chemicals linked to skin, kidney, respiratory, and cellular issues.9

Parabens: These antimicrobial, chemical preservatives are associated with negative effects in breasts, hormones, and reproductive areas.

Phthalates: Commonly found in a host of cleansing products including dish soaps, detergents, and shampoo,

Ammonium Compounds Found in antibacterial household cleaners, fabric softeners, and dryer sheets.

Many of the cleaning products under your sink are chemical cocktails making outrageous claims of their cleaning, degreasing, and disinfecting ability. If ANY of them have chemical names in the ingredient list, dispose of them responsibly like you would any other poison.

First step in going Green is to avoid cleaning products with ingredients such as bleach, toluene, parabens, formaldehyde and anything with benzene in the name. Also avoid anything that has chemical fragrance or has any of the above listed ingredients.

The benefits of using green products aren’t always visible, but they’ve played an important role in protecting our environment since the 1960s. They continue to help us preserve cleaner air and combat water pollution.

Green cleaning reduces the amount of chemicals introduced into the environment, and that minimizes impact on the earth’s ozone layer. Eco-friendly cleaning products used in your home help keep your family from exposure to harmful chemical agents and helps keep the planet cleaner too.

There are various Certified Green Cleaning Companies found in the IJCSA Green Cleaning Service Directory.

Start doing your part to keep yourself ,your family,pets ,employees, coworkers, customers and the environment we all live in free of these harmful chemicals.

Use the IJCSA Green Cleaning Service Directory today and start going GREEN .