Avoid cleaning products that dirty your air

For many years, miraculous cleaning product commercials have been very popular on television. In many cases, this is indeed true, and with very little amount of some cleaning products we are able to remove dirt, making our lives easier. What is not said on television is that, in addition to cleaning our house easily, they also contaminate the air.

According to health authorities, there are many more contaminants in our homes than we imagine. Some of the most common are paints, varnishes, fragrances, plastics, air fresheners, and above all, cleaning products.

As explained by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States, in the western world, the accumulation of chemicals indoors is more than double that of outside. And without a doubt, this is one of the reasons why these substances are so contaminating in our homes.

What cleaning products and chemicals in your home can most dirty the air?

• Aerosols are some of the most contaminating products, especially insecticides. It is worth restricting their use at home; for mosquitoes or flies, it is better to find other alternatives.
• Degreasers that we use in the kitchen have a very strong odor immediately after using them. Can you imagine why? We should avoid using them as well. Although we do not see it, they release harmful gases for us and create stale air.
• Floor cleaner is also contaminating, and its use while mopping makes it necessary to open windows or ventilate the rooms.
• Also, the bathroom cleaner is highly contaminating. In reality, its effects are less than those of other cleaning products, but since it is located in a humid space with little ventilation, its contaminating capacity multiplies.
• Kitchens are full of products that can be contaminating. Even the dishwasher is quite harmful to the home environment.
• If we have paints at home, this already worsens the presence of stale air and contaminants. Likewise, varnishes are also dangerous. Therefore, when using paints, we must take ventilation into account, especially if we are painting walls or ceilings.

For all this, cleaning products are important contaminants in the home that we must be careful with. There are many actions we can take to avoid air pollution from the use of these products, which in many cases are necessary.

The most important thing is ventilation. If there is no mechanical extraction ventilation system, at least the rooms must be aired to reduce the volatile contaminants that may be in the air.

Air purifiers can be used, which in some cases are helpful for people who suffer from respiratory problems like asthma or allergies.

The use of plants is beneficial for lowering temperatures in summer, but they also help capture some contaminants. What are the most beneficial ones for cleaning the air? The peace lily, ivy, the rubber plant, or the ficus.

And of course, we can always enjoy a more rational use of cleaning products and choose to minimize their consumption. Especially that of insecticides.

Alternatives to chemical cleaning products

It is really difficult to do without the chemical products we use to clean our homes, but if we want to breathe beneficial air we must limit them as much as we can.

There are many natural alternatives we can use whenever we do not have complicated situations:

• Vinegar is a natural degreaser, so we can use it to remove stains or traces of lime. Additionally, it kills bacteria. Its smell also disappears upon evaporation.
• Baking soda is a very cheap and widely used mineral; it is also biodegradable and eco-friendly. It is abrasive for stains and is even used to kill bad odors and bacteria.
• Lemon is antioxidant and also removes stains from our kitchens and bathrooms. Plus, it has a very refreshing smell.
• To clean windows, just a little bit of natural soap, in bar form, mixed with water will suffice.

Of course, the best way to eliminate polluted air caused by chemical products is mechanical ventilation. With mechanical air extraction systems we can renew rooms and air them automatically. So when the air becomes filled with humidity, contamination, or gaseous residues from cleaning products, the fans will extract that air and replace it with higher quality air.