For those of us who keep tabs on what we eat and drink in order to keep our bodys healthy, the last thing we need to worry about is whether or not the things we use to clean with are damaging us. What is the world coming to? You know its not good when you find yourself checking every word on a label to see for any unwanted poisons that could enter your body. Sadly, this type of worry is not for nothing. We are exposed to harmful chemicals inside our own homes that we do not even know of.
As it turns out, pollution of the air in our homes is a little known but very bad problem. There are many sources of pollution such as wood burners, gas appliances, personal care products. The biggest culprit is chemicals used to clean floors. We spend most of our time inside and almost all of the time the house is not ventilated properly causing even higher levels of pollution.
Cleaning products have been known to cause asthma attacks. What makes cleaning products so bad is the amount of VOCs – volatile organic compounds – that are found in them. A recent study showed that people who were exposed to cleaning products for a long period of time had significantly reduced lung capacity similar to the effects of smoking 20 cigarettes a day for 10 years.
One of the biggest ways one can reduce their exposure to cleaning chemicals is by reducing the amount they use to clean their floors or by not using chemicals altogether. There are such mopping methods that do not require chemicals. For example, using a Temples Pride microfiber mop completely negates the need for chemicals. This one change can make the biggest impact because the floor is the biggest surface area in the home. When we mop, the chemicals have such a large area to sit on thereby drastically multiplying how much fumes enter the air.
Microfiber mops are nothing new, they have been around for a long time. They just might not be as known or trusted by the average homeowner who swears by their old school spaghetti mop and bucket of water. For anyone who is on the fence about whether or not to switch to microfiber, you can feel assured knowing that hospitals rely on microfiber due to their incredible germ removal capabilities even without the use of chemicals.