The Ultimate Guide to Eliminating Harmful Cleaning Products From Your Home

Are your favorite cleaning products harming your health? Many store-bought cleaners contain ingredients that can make you sick. This guide will make eliminating harmful cleaning products from your home easy!

Homemade all-purpose cleaner next to orange peels.

We are being bombarded with chemicals in our environment on a daily basis. Many of these chemicals have little to no effect on our health or overall well-being.

However, some chemicals and toxins can cause real damage. If you want to know what some of those are, just look under your kitchen sink.

Most household cleaners contain harmful chemicals.

That’s why whenever someone asks me how they can eliminate harmful chemicals from their home, I always suggest they start with their cleaning products.

It’s really easy to do.

When I first learned about the dangers of cleaning products, I found that there were hardly any natural alternatives available.

You had to make everything yourself, and finding DIY recipes online was difficult. But things have changed so much over the years, in a good way. Now, you have so many more options.

So you really have no excuse. It’s time to ditch and switch your toxic cleaning products for you and your family’s health.

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I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Products mentioned here are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please do not ask me for medical advice. Click here to read my full disclaimer.

Dangers Of Household Cleaners

Many store-bought cleaning products contain dangerous chemicals. These chemicals can cause headaches, irritate the throat and eyes, and cause respiratory problems. Some have even been linked to cancer.

Click here to learn more about the dangers of household cleaning products.

The Hidden Dangers of Inhaling Cleaning Chemicals

Breathing in chemicals from household cleaners can cause damage to the lungs.

Studies have shown that women who work around cleaners have a more significant decline in lung function than women who are not regularly exposed to cleaners.

You can check out the study here.

Understanding the Environmental Impact of Chemicals in Cleaning Products

However, household cleaners are not just harmful to your health but also to the environment.

When you use toxic cleaners to clean your sinks or showers, those chemicals are then washed down the drain.

Most chemicals are removed at the wastewater treatment facilities, but not all. Unfortunately, many of the chemicals end up in our lakes and rivers.

The plastic bottles used to store household cleaners also harm the environment by contributing to the already massive landfills.

Click here to learn more about the harmful effects of cleaning products on the environment.

Dangerous Ingredients in Cleaning Products

If you look at the list of ingredients in your favorite cleaning products, you’ll most likely find a list of words you can hardly pronounce, and you probably won’t have any idea what these ingredients actually are.

Below is a list of ingredients to look out for. These ingredients are commonly used in many cleaning products and can be very harmful to your health and the environment.

Triclosan: Triclosan is an aggressive antibacterial agent—so aggressive that it can actually promote the growth of drug-resistant bacteria. The EPA is currently investigating whether triclosan is possibly an endocrine disruptor.

You can check out this study for more information.

Phthalates: Phthalates are known endocrine disruptors. Many researchers have also linked phthalates to asthma, breast cancer, autism, and a very long list of other conditions and illnesses.

Click here for more information about phthalates.

2-Butoxyethanol: 2-Butoxyethanol can cause sore throats when inhaled. At high levels, it can contribute to severe liver and kidney damage.

Click here for more information about 2-butoxyethanol.

Ammonia: Ammonia can contribute to the development of asthma and chronic bronchitis. If mixed with bleach, it can also create a poisonous gas.

Click here to learn more about the dangers of ammonia.

These are just a few of the dangerous chemicals that might be lurking in your favorite cleaning products. Honestly, I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

If you are unsure whether or not you should keep or toss your favorite products, just give them a quick search on the EWG website.

What is the EWG?

I’ll be mentioning the EWG pretty often throughout this post. The EWG stands for the Environmental Working Group. Their mission is to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment.

They create guides to help consumers make smarter choices about the items they bring into their homes.

I like to use their Guide to Healthy Cleaning when deciding which cleaning products to use. Their cleaning guide gives products an A-F rating, with A being the best, meaning the product is considered very safe, and F being the worst, meaning it contains highly toxic and dangerous ingredients.

A Warning About So-Called “Natural” Cleaners

Many so-called natural cleaners aren’t quite as “natural” as they would like you to believe.

Check out the EWG rating for this popular Method tub and tile cleaner or this multi-purpose cleaner from Mrs. Meyer’s. These are definitely not the ratings I would expect from a brand claiming to be “natural” or “planet-friendly.”

And a quick disclaimer: I’m not saying all of these brands’ products are terrible. I’m just saying that if you’re going to stick with store-bought, please do your research.

The EWG has a super handy app you can download on your phone. Simply search for an item or scan its barcode, and the app will grade it based on its environmental impact and health concerns.

Toxin-Free Cleaning Alternatives

Ditching and switching your toxic household cleaners has never been easier. There are so many DIY recipes and toxin-free products to choose from.

So, below, I’ve listed common household cleaners and my favorite natural alternatives. Some are DIY, some are store-bought, and some are both.

But all are completely toxin-free and work great!

1 | All-Purpose Cleaner

I can’t live without my all-purpose cleaner. It is my go-to cleaner, and I go through it like crazy.

Many popular all-purpose cleaners like 409 and Clorox contain ingredients like didecyldimethylammonium chloride and ethanolamine.

Instead, I use my own homemade all-purpose cleaner. It is super easy to make and works so well.

I also have an awesome DIY Thieves cleaner that I also use as an all-purpose cleaner.

A store-bought alternative that I really like is Aunt Fannie’s Cleaning Vinegar.

You’re going to notice Aunt Fannie’s mentioned a lot. They’re a great natural cleaning brand.

I mostly prefer to make my own cleaners because they cost less money, but I occasionally purchase store-bought products.

Aunt Fannie’s Cleaning Vinegar gets an A rating (the highest it can get) from the EWG.

You can buy it on Amazon, but I usually order it from Thrive Market because it is usually cheaper there.

Right now, you can get 30% off your first order plus a free gift valued at $60 when you purchase a Thrive Market Membership! (One-month, three-month, and one-year memberships are available.)

If you are unfamiliar with Thrive Market, you can read my full Thrive Market review.

2 | Window & Glass Cleaner

If you are using Windex, please do yourself and your family a favor and throw it out. Windex contains ingredients like hexoxyethanol and ethanolamine, which are both known endocrine disruptors.

The good news is that I have a homemade glass and window cleaner that I personally believe works way better than Windex.

A great store-bought alternative is Aunt Fannie’s Glass & Window Cleaning Vinegar Wash. It also gets an A rating from the EWG and works great.

You can buy this glass cleaner on Amazon or Thrive Market where it is usually a few bucks cheaper.

3 | Sink & Toilet Scrub

I have yet to perfect a DIY sink and toilet scrub recipe. However, I am working on it.

For now, I use Bon Ami Powder Cleanser. It’s all-natural and earth-friendly.

It works well and is an excellent alternative to products like Comet, which currently has a D rating on the EWG website.

Bon Ami is also super affordable. I purchase it on Thrive Market. It only costs $2.49 for a 14-ounce container.

You can also buy it on Amazon. But it costs a little extra there.

And remember, right now, you can get 30% off your first order plus a free gift valued at $60 when you purchase a Thrive Market Membership! (One-month, three-month, and one-year memberships are available.)

4 | Floor Cleaner

I am not very picky about my floor cleaner, and I usually just use my homemade all-purpose cleaner or DIY Thieves cleaner whenever I clean my floors.

However, if you want something created specifically for floors, Aunt Fannie’s has a fantastic floor cleaner. It’s perfect for hardwood, ceramic tile, bamboo, vinyl, and laminate floors.

The EWG has awarded it the highest health and safety rating for cleaning products.

Floor cleaners like Mop & Glo and Murphy Oil Soap both have F ratings on the EWG website because they contain harmful chemicals.

You can buy Aunt Fannie’s floor cleaner on Amazon or Thrive Market. Like many of the other cleaners on this list, it is slightly cheaper on Thrive Market.

5 | Wood Cleaner

Pledge is a very popular product for cleaning wood surfaces. It’s actually not quite as dangerous as many other store-bought cleaners, but it’s definitely not super safe, either.

It contains naphtha (petroleum), which has been linked to DNA damage and cancer.

A great alternative is Earth Friendly Furniture Polish. I really, really like this stuff, and the EWG gives it an A rating.

This furniture polish is free of ammonia, phosphate, chlorine, glycol and glycol ether, enzymes, dyes, and petroleum ingredients.

You can buy it on Amazon or Thrive Market.

6 | Tub & Shower Cleaner

A good, natural tub and tile cleaner is hard to find and even harder to make. I’ve been trying to make my own for a while now, but everything I come up with doesn’t quite do the trick.

But I refuse to use products like Arm & Hammer and Clorox—both of which contain harmful chemicals.

Luckily, I have found one natural tub and shower cleaner that I really like, and the EWG gives it an A rating. It’s the tub and tile cleaner from Seventh Generation.

It works great, and it is free from dangerous chemicals. You can buy it on Amazon.

7 | Dish Soap

It is super important that your dish soap is free of toxins because it comes in direct contact with your dishes, utensils, and skin if you hand wash your dishes.

When it comes to dish soap, Ajax, Dawn, and Cascade are some of the worst offenders.

They contain ingredients such as anionic surfactants, sulfuric acid, and artificial dyes and fragrances, all of which can harm your health and the environment.

Fortunately, there are many natural alternatives to toxic dish soaps. Aunt Fannie’s Microcosmic Probiotic Power Dish Soap is amazing. It is free from dyes, petroleum, sulfates, phthalates, parabens, and gluten.

It also contains probiotics, which I think is super cool.

You can buy it on Amazon. But I usually buy it from Thrive Market because it’s cheaper.

If you have a dishwasher, then I highly recommend Seventh Generation dishwasher packs. They are free of fragrances, dyes, phosphates, and chlorine bleach and have an A rating on the EWG website.

You can buy them on Amazon or Thrive Market.

Tips for Using Natural Cleaning Products

Before I end this post, I want to mention a few important tips about using natural cleaning products. These tips will be especially helpful to those who are using natural, toxin-free products for the first time.

Clean and sterile are two different things. Many store-bought cleaners contain powerful chemical ingredients that eliminate all bacteria from your home and, in essence, create a sterile environment.

You do not want that. Good bacteria are extremely beneficial to your environment and your health.

So, if your goal is to create a sterile environment, you need to do some research and shift your mindset.

Here is a great article about the benefits of good bacteria.

Our culture is obsessed with cleanliness, and it can actually do more harm than good.

So, if you’re hesitant to switch to natural cleaners because you don’t think they’re powerful enough, remember that this is actually a good thing.

You do not want every bit of bacteria wiped from your home. We need good bacteria to fight against harmful bacteria.

The second thing is that natural cleaning products might cost more than the cleaning products you’re used to.

That is why, if I can, I prefer to make homemade cleaners, as they tend to cost less.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found a homemade alternative for all my favorite cleaners, but I am working on it.

So there are quite a few products I buy instead of making. I get most of them from Thrive Market because they almost always cost less than other retailers, including Amazon.