When my son, Nathan, was about 8 years old, we took him to a pulmonary specialist because he was having trouble breathing in the morning and at night. My husband suffered from childhood asthma and we were afraid that Nate was showing the same signs. Sure enough, our fears were realized, and he was diagnosed with asthma. He was given multiple prescriptions including twice-a-day breathing treatments. It was hard watching him sit there with his little mask on, inhaling the medication from a nebulizer, but what could we do?
That’s when I started doing some additional research about the chemicals we use in our homes.
A new study based on 20 years of research reveals a sobering fact: Cleaning your home with national brand cleaners significantly damages lung tissue. Almost all the cleaning products that you buy at the grocery store are made with a several harsh chemicals, including ammonia, chlorine bleach, and “quaternary disinfectant compounds” that no one without a PhD can even pronounce correctly!
Finding 1 – The study showed that cleaning with products that contain these chemicals as little as once per week was as damaging over time to respiratory health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a dayfor 20 years!
Everyone knows the dangers of smoking cigarettes. Among the many hazardous effects is depleted lung capacity due to damage to the tender internal tissues of the respiratory system. Shockingly, the study concluded that women who used home cleaning products as little as once per week saw the same reduction in lung capacity as those who smoked a pack a day over the same period!
Finding 2 – Cleaning at home is as harmful asoccupationcleaning.
Sometimes, the title Momfeels synonymous with Maid! Cleaning at home isactually just as harmful as being a professional house cleaner, if not more so!The study categorized participants as “not cleaning, “cleaning at home,” and “occupational cleaning.” Surprisingly, the “cleaning at home” group saw the same decreases in lung health as “occupational cleaning.” In fact, using cleaning products within the relaxed confines of home may lend to a complacencythat ultimately leads to impaired health.
Finding 3 – Liquid cleaners are just as dangerous as spray cleaners.
Study researchers originally suspected that products delivered through a spray or mist would prove more dangerous than those applied as a liquid, gel, or wipe. The study found no significant difference between cleaner types.
Finding 4 – Dangerous chemicals including ammonia, chlorine bleach, and quaternary disinfectingcompounds appear to be primary culprits.
In their conclusions, the researchers stated, “one could hypothesize that long-term exposure to airway irritants such as ammonia and bleach…lead to accelerated decline of Forced Vital Capacity.”
Finding 5 – Damage is cumulative over time.
When toxic chemicalslike those found in most all national brand cleaning productsare regularly inhaled into the sensitive tissues within the lungs, it makes sense that respiratory problems would result. “Exposure to cleaning chemicals,” the researchers concluded, “could result in accelerated lung function decline and chronic airway obstruction; low-grade inflammation over many years could possibly lead to persistent damage to the airways.”
What does the study mean to you?
When we clean our homes with these harsh chemicals, they get into the air that our kids are breathing!
When I was introduced to a line of cleaning products that didn’t contain these harsh chemicals, I made the switch immediately! I changed the detergent I was using to wash my kid’s clothing. I changed the bathroom cleaners to a brand that doesn’t even require safety caps because of the natural ingredients. I even changed the shampoo and soap I was using at bath time!
In a matter of a couple months, my son’s breathing treatments were a thing of the past. I didn’t cure his asthma, but the difficulty to breathe at home was gone.
For those who try to keep a clean, safe home, the results of the study are clear. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to rid your home of the dangerous national cleaning products that contain so many harmful chemicals!
Protect your family today! Let me help you replace the harmful national brands withwhat I found. They work and won’t harm your most precious possession – your family!
If you need to site the study, it is here http://www.thoracic.org/ about/newsroom/press-releases/resources/women-cleaners-lung-function.pdf
