I’m a big believer that one of the most important things I can do for my family’s health and well being is to create an environment that is free of harmful toxins, to the best of my ability. This not only means the food we eat but also the products we use on ourselves AND having non-toxic cleaners around our home. When it comes to cleaning our homes we have to be mindful that we interact with those products all day long, not just when we’re using them. If we clean the floor with something that has harmful chemicals and then our kid crawls, sits, lays, or walks on the floor, they’ve now come into contact with those potentially harmful ingredients.
I find that using safer products in our homes is one of the easiest things to swap over to. Instead of purchasing the toilet cleaner you’d normally buy, just get the safer one instead. Simple! All we have to do is educate ourselves over which ones are safer than others and purchase those. It really is an easy way to take control over the health of our home and the environment we’re all constantly living in.
How to determine if you’re using non-toxic cleaners
If you aren’t sure that the cleaners you currently use are truly safe (be careful, some companies can be sneaky with words like “natural” but that doesn’t mean they’re non-toxic) — just look them up on the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning site! This website is awesome, you can just type in the name of the product and it’ll give it a score from A-F. You always want to choose products that are an A or B, or better yet, if they have the EWG Verified stamp (that’ll show up in the score too). Note: you can also download their Healthy Living App and scan a product’s barcode while you’re in the store to see it’s rating, it’s that easy! I use this app often when I’m out shopping and want to see if a product is non-toxic or not.
Now that you’ve got the tools necessary to figure out if you need to swap some of your household cleaners over to non-toxic versions, I’ll tell you about what we are currently using in our home.
Branch Basics
We’ve been using Branch Basics in our home for a few years now and love it. It is super convenient with one concentrate cleaner that works for a bunch of different things! We use Branch Basics for:
- Laundry Detergent
- Floor cleaner
- Countertop/all-purpose cleaner
- Window/glass cleaner
- Bathroom cleaner
It’s very cost effective, and if you shop via this link you will save $10 off your first order! I first purchased the Premium Starter Kit and now just buy the concentrate when needed to refill them all. I do add in the Oxygen Boost to our laundry and on tougher spots in the kitchen or bathroom, I’ve used it to clean our Vitamix too!
I’m very grateful to have someone come in and clean our home twice/ month. During her first visit I said I didn’t want her to use any of her products and she thought I was nuts. After she cleaned with Branch Basics (and the other products I’ll go on to list below) she was pleased to see how well they worked, and I didn’t have a headache from the fragrance and who knows what else in what she normally uses!
A note on laundry detergent: When you use safer ones (that score well on the Healthy Living App) you don’t have to use a separate one for baby clothes. We’ve always used either Branch Basics or Molly Suds for ours and Madelyn’s laundry.
Force of Nature
I saw someone I really trust (when it comes to doing their research in regard to products and living a non-toxic lifestyle) use this cleaner and I ordered it right away. There are only three ingredients that go into this multi-purpose cleaner, disinfectant and deodorizer. Salt, water and vinegar. THAT’S IT!
Here’s how it works:
So it takes just a few minutes to make the spray, and then you can use it on anything! Don’t believe me? Here’s a list of what we use it on:
- Baby pacifiers, dishes, utensils, sippy cups, bibs
- High chair
- Maddy’s toys
- Countertops
- Door handles, light switches
- Car steering wheel, door handles
- Dehumidifier
- Diaper pail
- Diaper changing pad
- Diaper bag
- I pour some in a small bottle and spray it on everything when we travel
- Bathroom counter tops, toilets, sink (I’ll use Force of Nature or Branch Basics in our bathrooms, whichever bottle is handy is the one I pick up!)
- Dog bowls, dog toys
- I spray it on the table when we go out to eat… I’m a bit of a germaphobe 🙂
- Garbage cans
- Sponges
- Makeup brushes
- Dirty sneakers
- Fridge, oven, microwave
- Mike also has one in the gym for all of the equipment
I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but you can see that this product has so many uses! It’s another non-toxic cleaner that’s extremely cost effective. You purchase the kit once and then just buy the capsules as you run out. I recommend either the Starter Kit or the Extra Value Bundle to start.
Use this link to shop and you’ll always get a discount!
Coupon codes for November:
- SPRINGCLEAN30Â – 30% off and free shipping on starter kits!
- YESCLEAN40 – 40% off and free shipping on bundles!
*Email me if you have any issues with these coupon codes!
The last household product we have is a toilet bowl cleaner. You certainly can use the brands I’ve mentioned above to clean the inside of your toilet. In fact, now that I’m writing this, I think I will try Force of Nature out on it next time. But there’s something about an actual toilet cleaning product that just makes me feel better, and this is all just in my head I’m sure. So after looking around on the EWG’s Healthy Living App that I mentioned in the beginning of this post, I decided on this one. It’s score on the app is an A! (Make sure you’re paying attention to different scents of the same product, some are rated better than others.)
I hope this is helpful for you and takes some of the guess work out of choosing non-toxic cleaners. Ultimately, we are in charge of the products used in our homes and it is so important to make sure we are choosing brands that are safe for ourselves and our families.
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