Excess Chemicals used with Cleaning

Hi all,


I don’t know if all of you feel the same way, but I’ve noticed that people in HK use lots of harmful chemicals to clean here. From helpers of my friends’ flats, to businesses I see dumping loads of bleach and detergents into the drains. I’ve actually walked into people’s homes and been just about knocked down by the smell of cleaning agents!


Question 1 – Isn’t this not too good for the environment?

Question 2 – How about the affect it has on our health?

Question 3 – Does throwing all of the chemicals around actually work and do the job that everyone thinks they do?


I don't mean to be Mr. Environmentalist here as it's not really the type of person I am but I find some of this appalling!


I would like others' opinions

Check this out:


A surprising number of the most harmful toxins ever created are found right in our own backyard — indeed, right inside your mop closet.


The air in our homes is filled with fumes from petrochemical solvents added to cleaners to dissolve dirt. The average household contains anywhere from three to 25 gallons of toxic materials, most of which are in cleaners. No law requires manufacturers of cleaning products to list ingredients on their labels or to test their products for safety. It’s up to you to make sure your home is not only clean, but also nontoxic.


Children are more susceptible to dangers posed by chemicals than adults. Their small bodies are especially vulnerable to chemicals that are hazardous to their health and are at greater risk of developing allergies than adults.


Children are at higher risk when playing on floors with the residue from formaldehyde, asbestos and pesticides from common household cleaners. They breathe the toxic fumes produced by home cleaning chemicals first before adults and their immune systems are not as developed as adults.


The number of people with allergies has exploded since the old 1960s. There are thousands of chemicals in circulation, and we know too little about many of them.


Many household products contain harmful chemicals. For example, formaldehyde is in almost all cleaning products, including laundry detergents, toothpaste and shampoo.


Laundry detergents contain phosphorus, enzymes, ammonia, naphthalene, phenol, sodium nitilotriacetate and countless others. These chemicals can cause rashes, itches, allergies, sinus problems and more. The residue left on your clothes, bed sheets, etc. is absorbed through your skin, as is everything else you touch. Thus, the success and popularity of transdermal patches. Don’t fall prey to the bombardment of advertisements strongly suggesting that you absolutely need these products. You don’t, but their profit margins do. If declining health is what you desire, use these products.


Disinfectantsare usually phenol- or cresol-based and deactivate sensory nerve endings. They attack the liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas, and the central nervous system (CNS) and it takes over a year to eliminate the unhealthy effects of spraying 2 ounces, even with heavy cross ventilation.


Oven cleaners are one of the most toxic products people use. They contain lye and ammonia, which eat the skin, and the fumes linger and affect the respiratory system. Then there ís the residue that ís intensified the next time you turn your oven on. Use sea salt and baking soda instead.


Air fresheners interfere with your ability to smell by releasing nerve-deadening agents or coating nasal passages with an oil film, usually methoxychlor, a pesticide that accumulates in fat cells and over-stimulates the CNS. Dryer sheets fall into this category. They are extremely toxic. Avoid them. (The only reason you require fabric softeners is because the chemicals in laundry soap create the static. It may take several washings with chemical free detergents to eliminate the chemical residue static. Your patience will be well rewarded.) Some other common ingredients include: P-dichlorobenzene, naphthalene and formaldehyde. Fresh, organic citrus juices, vinegar, spices, and essential oils will do a better job, risk free.


Of the chemicals found in homes, 150 have been linked to allergies, birth defects, cancer, asthma attacks, and psychological abnormalities.


The toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than air pollution.


Indoor air in the home has been found to have five times higher toxic chemical concentrations than outdoor air. A five-year study by US Environmental Protection Agency showed many indoor samples to be 70 times more toxic.


Just because a chemical is not banned does not mean it is smart to use it.


Cleaning with chemical agents will always leave chemical residues.


Within 26 seconds after exposure to chemicals such as cleaning products, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ in the body.

________________________________


My family and friends have incorporated ENJO into our homes and have eliminated chemicals! We can clean our entire homes with ONLY water. Check out: http://content.yudu.com/Library/A18svs/HealthyTimesNewspape/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yudu.com%2Fitem%2Fdetails%2F63585%2FHealthy-Times-Newspaper-Hong-Kong---Volume-5

Pages 4-5


This stuff is amazing! I only hope more people begin using it as it's disgusting how we're destroying our world's drinking water (and our own health).


Phoenix and Andrew (91515 466) came to our homes and did a full demonstration on how to use all of the products.


hope it's helpful...just an option

I agree with the original poster. But it's not only HK. We've had the same problem with maids from Latin America when living in Europe and the US. We've had to explain that a teaspoon of detergent is more than enough for a gallon bucket of water if you're going to mop the floor. This is apparently a novel concept.



"Question 1 – Isn’t this not too good for the environment?"


Correct.


"Question 2 – How about the affect it has on our health?"


If you're only talking "ordinary" detergent and water, no huge deal. If you're talking the heavy stuff like bleach, exposure is not so good. And of course all the fake aromas added to cleaning agents nowadays probably don't do a bit of good to the body.


"Question 3 – Does throwing all of the chemicals around actually work and do the job that everyone thinks they do?"


Not really. That is, higher concentrations don't necessarily do more good. In the case of "soap and water", the job of the soap is to reduce the surface tension of the water so that the water can more easily "get to" the dirt. Once the surface tension is gone, adding more soap doesn't do very much.


Read the instructions on the bottle and follow the recommended dosage. Any more is simply a waste and does not make the job any easier. Getting that message through to cleaning staff is often a challenge. ;)


I have found that "heavier" cleaning agents require more or less the same amount of work as the "traditional" ones. A lot of it is fluffy marketing. We use old-fashioned pine soap for floors, shop brand kitchen and bathroom cleaner for those, "Cif" for sink and cooker, and some bleach when the sink needs whitening. Nothing fancy.



And don't get me started on that horror called "air fresheners". The name must be one of the greatest victories of deceptive marketing in history. I don't understand how air is "fresh" when it smells of fake aromas and chemicals. All I need is for the air not to smell moldy or dusty. I'll gladly take a faint scent of old fashioned soap on occasion. Real flowers are nice too, as are the smells of home cooking. Air fresheners and pretty much any "scented" cleaning agent are banned in our home. YUCK YUCK YUCK.

Again, check out the article I mentioned..It is quite compelling. Poster 3 and I are obviously in quite an agreement in the points mentioned.


I wasn't aware though that it was such a problem elsewhere as there are many places in the world where you will get fined by: for example: washing your car and letting the soap wash into the drain.


We learned from our enjo consultant that in fact, 1 pendrop of detergent destroys 10,000 litres of drinking water.

Quite humbling!

"for example: washing your car and letting the soap wash into the drain."


I have never heard of these fines in other places than the US actually.

I was told that also countries in Europe are very strict about this. Just not sure which ones...Denmark I believe is one of them.

I will give that enjo thing a go and watch a demo. I asked a co-worker about it and she's from Australia. Got it there before moving here and she swears by it. thanks!

How do you buy ENJO