Organic Gardening News

“Housework won’t kill you, but then again, why take the chance?” mused comedian Phyllis Diller.

We take the chance because, for most of us, doing potentially lethal housework isn’t optional. And most of us tend to use commercial cleansers that are awash in hazardous chemicals such as bleach, ammonia and hydrochloric acid if used incorrectly or in an unventilated room. According to the David Suzuki Foundation , these toxins can trigger allergies and asthma, cause skin and eye irritations, reproductive disorders and cancer (which can be deadly).

And that lovely fresh scent left behind after a sparkling clean? It’s often made of synthetic fragrances or perfumes that can cause hormone imbalances and reproductive issues .

Researchers also say the colourful concoctions of blue, yellow and green can contain synthetic dyes made from petrochemicals swimming with heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium and lead that can cause nervous system damage and cancer .

Yet Canada doesn’t require warning labels on these conventional cleaners and the makers aren’t mandated to list their ingredients.

“We’ve seen some fantastic progress with the Canadian Environmental Protection Act being amended,” says Becca Kram-Dos Santos, communications and public engagement specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. “But one of the shortcomings is (around) what constitutes chemicals or toxins. We’re still pushing to see better regulations. I think it really comes down to the industry and the profits that could be at stake with better regulation.”

Kram-Dos Santos says it’s a challenge accessing precise data from municipal water treatment plants but she estimates that millions of litres of toxic cleaning chemicals enter our waterways every year.

A natural solution

Most of us use these toxic cleaners because a) we may not be aware of how dangerous they are; b) we think natural solutions are ineffective; c) green cleaners are more expensive; d) we can’t escape the dirty work of cleaning our homes. But does it have to harm us?

That was the conundrum facing Monika Scott and Robyn Mair, who owned a cleaning business in the resort town of Ucluelet. After years of exposure to harsh chemicals, they started suffering from eczema, asthma, allergies and even lung scarring. They thought there had to be a better, more natural way.

Then came COVID. Vacation rentals shuttered and streets emptied, leaving plenty of time on their hands. They began researching alternative, safer ingredients and started formulating their own products, including laundry detergent, hand soap, dish soap, floor wash and all-purpose cleaner, in their kitchens.

When deciding which natural scents to use, they looked no further than their business name, Mint Cleaning. In addition to the sweet smell, “We found mint essential oil helps with germ-fighting and degreasing,” says Mair. “But it also has a lot of healing properties and helps energize the person using it. So it became this perfect ingredient that we now add to most of our products.”

They further discovered the woodsy scent of tea tree oil also fights bacteria. And lavender’s lovely calming aroma does double duty as an antimicrobial, antifungal agent, particularly good in laundry. Eucalyptus oil, it turns out, has antiviral, antibacterial properties which also cuts through grease. Even citrus oils can disinfect and deodorize many surfaces. “There’s a whole science behind essential oil blending,” says Mair. “Every one of our ingredients is intentional; they all have a purpose.”

The partners believed so fully in their products that they brought them into the Dragon’s Den, where four out of five dragons also believed enough to want a deal. They struck one with Brian Scudamore of 1-800 Got Junk.

Natural selections

Apart from the alchemy of what works well on what dirt or stain, natural cleaning ingredients are pretty basic, the kind your mom might have used. “When I was younger, things were a lot simpler, there was a lot less of everything,” says James Roberts, CEO of North Vancouver-based Nellie’s Clean. “My mom (had) common sense. Her basic cleaners were vinegar and baking soda. Today you open a cupboard and there are a dozen different products. Are they necessary?”

Nope. So Roberts took inspiration from his mom and developed his own line of non-toxic cleansers and named them after her (a nostalgic illustration of her graces product packaging) from Laundry Soda to Dish Cubes and Dish Butter to shower, bath and toilet bowl cleaners. “When I was a kid I was the window guy,” he says. “There was no blue window cleaner. It was ammonia and water or vinegar and water.” Can’t get more natural than that.

But what denotes “natural”, exactly?

“It’s become such a commonly used word without there being a defined term,” says Kram-Dos Santos. “Generally, the word ‘natural’ means that the product is made from ingredients that are biodegradable, derived from plants or minerals, rather than petroleum and synthetic compounds. The word itself has no official standard by the federal government, so it’s been commodified within the commercial industry.”

She says some manufacturers get away with calling their products natural because one or two ingredients are natural while the rest is synthetic. “We encourage folks to really look into what ingredients are actually in the product itself.”

Mair says they avoid the word because of how loosely it’s used. “I think ‘natural’ is definitely a heated word. It can mean so many different things, and just because something’s natural doesn’t mean it’s healthy. We’re using (terms like) plant-based, eco-friendly, biodegradable because of the disinformation.”

Nellie’s prefers “eco-friendly” for their products and focuses on their packaging. “We’re promoting the use of less, tight packaging which uses less space. We chose powder because we don’t want to sell or ship water. The efficacy of powder per gram is greater than any liquid product. And because we use powder we don’t have to use plastic for packaging so we chose metal, which is one of the most commonly recyclable products on the planet.”

Cleaning house

Barriers to using greener cleaners come down to accessibility, cost and effectiveness. Natural cleansers aren’t always available in remote or rural regions. They’re generally more expensive because the ingredients are more expensive — synthetic fragrances are a quarter of the cost of pure essential oils and organic ingredients, says Scott.

“Our products (also) cost more because we put in more surfactants,” agents that lift oil and dirt from surfaces, adds Mair. Buying in bulk and reusing recyclable plastic containers can cut that cost significantly.

Roberts adds that when you’re producing smaller volumes you buy chemicals in smaller volumes, not in cheaper bulk. Packaging that is eco-friendlier is also more expensive, he says, pointing to the tins Nellie’s uses for some of its products. He agrees buying in bulk will bring the price down, as will using the right amount of the product. “Most people, even though we tell them one tablespoon, they just can’t help themselves, they put in two or three. So they’ve just tripled the cost of their laundry experience.”

Most Nellie’s and Mint products are multi-purpose, which eliminates the need for multiple cleansers. “We have a product called One Soap that you can use on dish, dog or hands,” says Roberts. You can also toss one of their Dishwasher Nuggets into a hot tub to clean the whirlpool jets.

Scott says of the many Mint products that do double-duty, the best is their glass cleaner. “It can be used as an upholstery refresher, an after-shower spray, cleaner of stainless steel, light switches, remotes, eye glasses, TV screens, laptops and phones.”

As for effectiveness, when Mair and Scott switched to more natural products after their health issues, they found that they “freaking sucked,” says Mair. “So I could have easily fallen into the (view) that natural products don’t work.”

But their research taught them that hydrogen peroxide is just as effective as bleach, vinegar can kill mould, and baking soda is a good grout cleaner, and all are biodegradable. “So if you can’t afford to buy natural products you might be able to afford a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, or vinegar — all these products will work wonders. Just mix two parts hydrogen peroxide and one part dish soap, it’s an amazing cleaner.”

Roberts says Nellie’s struggled with a natural, effective dish cleanser until they developed their Dish Cubes. “We’ll go up against the best of the best and we’ll be very tight competition on that, and you’ll see that in our reviews.”

To check if a cleaner is indeed non-toxic, Kram-Dos Santos advises looking for labels that read B Corp, EcoCert, ECOLOGO, EWG Verified, Green Seal, Leaping Bunny or Safer Choice, all of which indicate the company is upholding rigorous standards and that their products are made with the safest possible chemical ingredients.

Or you could just make your own . It wouldn’t kill you.

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