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Home » Toxins in Common Household Cleaners

Toxins in Common Household Cleaners

Posted August 17, 2024
in Cleaning, Healthy Living, Household Management

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If you’ve been on the fence about switching to non-toxic cleaners, this is the podcast for you. I’m interviewing CEO Stephen Ezell from Truly Free, and he has some very enlightening (and disturbing) information about the cleaning industry we should all be aware of.

Why We Love Non-Toxic Cleaning Supplies

We’ve been working to clean up our household toxin exposure for a number of years now. When Josh and I had our toxin levels tested, we were so pleased to see that neither of us tested high for the common toxins found in household cleaners.

This is truly a testament to the quality of the products we’ve been using. Some of our favorite homemade household cleaners are my DIY all-purpose cleaning spray, my disinfectant spray, this great homemade glass and window cleaner, this all-purpose cleaning powder and this all-purpose cleaning paste.

We’ve also found so many great (and surprising) household uses for common ingredients, you can check each of those out below:

My green refill bottles of laundry detergent.

More About Truly Free

We’ve been using Truly Free since they were originally called “My Green Fills.” As I mentioned in the podcast interview, I still have my original containers to this day (pictured above). This is just one of the things I like most about them. They’re doing their part to eliminate the one-use plastic containers that many laundry detergents come in.

Truly Free creates innovative, powerful, and family-safe products in refillable and reusable packaging. These products empower families to protect themselves from harm and reduce their environmental footprint.

They believe that giving back to the world they serve is a responsibility for any company and a necessity for making our planet a better place.

When you Truly Free your home from chemicals & plastic waste, you also support several projects that you can be proud of. The next time you reach for one of their products, know that you have a huge impact on the lives of thousands of people around the world.

A man standing with green grass and a flowering fruit tree behind him.

Truly Free Founder

Stephen Ezell is the CEO and founder of Truly Free, an all-natural cleaning and laundry subscription that helps consumers detox their homes from harmful chemicals and toxins.

Before he began his conscious capital journey, his background was in the restaurant industry. He built and flipped restaurants for Food Network stars in the heart of New York City.

Though his work was exciting, he said it left him feeling empty. There was no purpose behind it, just money, and he wanted to chase something more.

In 2009, he started Truly Free and has since been on a mission to free over 10 million homes from harmful chemicals and excess plastic waste.

A woman sitting beside baskets of laundry in the laundry room, holding laundry detergent.

Why Use Non-Toxic Cleaning Supplies?

There are so many reasons to switch to using non-toxic cleaning supplies. A few of the most important reasons are that they contain fewer allergens, reduce the risk of indoor pollution, help avoid antibacterial products, and are good for the environment.

Health

The skin is the single largest organ in our body. It absorbs anything that gets onto it, and many of those things end up in our bloodstream. Most people walk around wearing laundry detergent all day long.

Our clothes and fabrics hang onto the chemicals found in laundry detergent. If you want to test this, Stephen says to go grab a clean hand towel from the bathroom and submerge it in water. Give it a few squeezes and watch as the bubbles come up. That is residual laundry detergent.

Harmful Ingredients

There is a global system that classifies and labels chemicals called the GHS (Globally Harmonized System). “It aims at ensuring that information on physical hazards and toxicity from chemicals be available in order to enhance the protection of human health and the environment during the handling, transport and use of these chemicals. The GHS also provides a basis for harmonization of rules and regulations on chemicals at national, regional and worldwide level, an important factor also for trade facilitation.” (Source)

In the European Union, just shy of 12,000 registered chemical agents are prohibited from being manufactured or imported (in raw state or as an ingredient in a finished good). At the time of this recording, there are only 14 prohibited chemicals in the United States.

By shopping for non-toxic cleaning supplies from companies willing to disclose their ingredients and formulations, you can rest assured you’re not putting anything onto your body that you don’t want.

A woman buried in laundry sitting in front of a washer and dryer.

Do Non-Toxic Cleaners Actually Work As Well?

Stephen says Truly Free has been on the cutting edge of green chemistry from the jump. They realize they only get one chance to convince someone that their products work, so he’s very passionate about making sure the products work.

Yes, non-toxic cleaners actually work as well as chemical-filled products.

Stephen’s Rules for Buying Cleaning Supplies

In an effort to keep his family safe, Stephen came up with a few hard and fast rules that he adheres to when buying products for his family:

No Fragrance – Fragrance can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals that don’t need to be disclosed on the label. They’re all allowed to be labeled as “fragrance.”
Dyes – If it’s green or blue, Stephen won’t buy it. Some use dyes, but others are UV brighteners, meaning under UV light, it tricks your eyes to make you think your clothes are actually brighter and whiter than they are.
Organic – One thing to consider when buying clothing straight off the rack is that many garments sold in the United States today are treated with chemicals. In fact, “there are about 8000 synthetic chemicals that are used in the apparel industry manufacturing process, from material acquisition to the finished product.” The most common substances are flame retardants, Polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), lead, chromium, chlorine bleach and VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) such as formaldehyde. (Source)

A woman pushing away common household cleaners for her all-purpose cleaning spray.

Eliminating Household Toxins

If you’re wondering how to eliminate existing toxins in your home, here are a few tips to make sure you’re doing this regularly:

Open Windows – Regularly air out your home from the static air. This is especially true in the winter months when we’re trying to conserve the heat. Getting fresh air into the home is a great way to improve the air quality.
Wash Porous Surfaces – Porous surfaces can hang onto bacteria or other germs without us even realizing it! But using toxic chemicals to clean them just means those chemicals end up in the pores. Wash these surfaces well with a non-toxic cleaner to start fresh.
Clean Fabrics – Wash all fabrics and clothing with non-toxic laundry detergents (maybe two or three times to start) to eliminate as much of the existing toxic-filled detergents as possible.
Change Air Filters – If you have HVAC systems, make sure the filters are changed out regularly so you’re circulating clean air throughout your homes.

Product guide for Truly Free cleaning products.

More About Truly Free

Truly Free is involved in incredible ministries worldwide. Your purchases actively support multiple safe houses and orphanages in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico.

They’re also providing over 200 children with food, education, clothing, shelter and ultimately, hope for a bright future.

Truly Free has offered a special link for our viewers where you can get 50 FREE loads of laundry detergent! If you’ve been wanting to make the switch to non-toxic laundry detergent, now is the time.

Be sure to check out Truly Free on Instagram, on Facebook and on YouTube.