The Real Dirt on Clean & 4 Simple Ways To Get Clean

 The Real Dirt on Clean

You know that good, healthy feeling you get when you’ve just cleaned house? Sorry to spoil it, but you may have just made your home dirtier. Think of it this way. You wouldn’t let your kids play with toxic chemicals, so why would you let the baby crawl over a floor that’s just been wiped with them? That’s much more dangerous than the orange juice that was just there.

How dangerous? Just take a look at these statistics.

• Over 90% of poison exposures happen at home.

• Common chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisoning.

• Organic pollutants, found in many common cleaners and even air fresheners, are found at levels 2 to 5 times higher inside your home than out.

• A person who spends 15 minutes cleaning scale off shower walls could inhale three times the “acute one-hour exposure limit” for glycol ether-containing products set by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

• Common cleaners give off fumes that can potentially increase the risk of kids developing asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.

• 1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma. Rates in children under five have increased more than 160% from 1980 – 1994.

• Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food, or air.

Chemical ingredients to look out for:

• Sodium hydroxide

• Hydrochloric acid

• Butyl cellosolve (2-Butoxyethanol)

• Formaldehyde

• Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)

• Ammonia

• Sulfamic acid

• Petroleum distillates

• Sulfuric acid

• Lye (potassium hydroxide)

• Morpholine

www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm

4 Simple Ways To Get Clean

Your home should be the safest, healthiest, cleanest place in the whole world. So we’ve put together some pretty easy things you can do to make your family safer and your home healthier. And, as it turns out, what’s good for your home is good for the earth and everyone else on it, too. So let’s make our homes healthy. Let’s clean our hearts out. Let’s Get Clean.

1. Get the dirt. Educate yourself about what you bring into your home at

2. Have a clean-for-all. Put on the gloves and get rid of the nasty stuff in your home. Responsibly, of course. Your local waste collection service has guidelines for proper household hazardous waste disposal, as well as collection sites for things like paint, batteries, and cleaners. Whatever you do, please don’t toss this stuff in the garbage.

3. Welcome healthy into your home. Commit to carefully considering everything that crosses your doorstep. Here are some safe, healthy things to have in your home:

• Cleaners that are truly cleaner. Get Clean offers product choices that are: nontoxic, natural, biodegradable, concentrated, and hypoallergenic. Look for Green Seal Certified products.

• Fresh air. Open your windows to reduce indoor air pollution.

• Essential oils. Use these instead of air fresheners.

• Plants. Besides being nice to look at, they can absorb harmful gases and help clean the air.

• Organic cotton bedding. Avoid standard bedding treated with chemicals.

• Floors made of recycled and renewable resources.

• Healthier paint. That new paint smell can be as nasty as it smells. Choose low VOC paint instead.

4. Clean up our collective home. Make the earth healthier for all of us who call it home by using these things in yours:

• Compact fluorescent lighting. They last a whole lot longer.

• Energy Star-rated appliances. Save money and energy.

• A low-flush toilet. Replace the largest user of water in your house. Ultra low flushers cut water use by one-fifth.

• Low-flow showerheads. Same pressure. Less water.

• Your flicker finger. Turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them.

• Gray water system. Install one to recycle used household water for your lawn.

• Tankless water heater. Save money, energy, and space in the broom closet.

www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm

Can Household and Personal Care Products Really Affect Your Health?

Asthma, Digestive and Respiratory Issues, Eye and Skin Burns, Reproductive Issues, Headaches, Liver and Kidney Damage...
 

These are just a few harmful health effects that household and personal care products have on your health. Sorry, this is a long post, but so important. :) I was amazed and disgusted after seeing a list of the chemicals and health risks in products most people use everyday and sometimes several times a day. I was angry to see that some of these chemicals are even in baby detergent like Dreft, diaper rash cream, baby wash and lotion like Aveeno and Johnson's. I think it is sad that as mothers, we cannot trust the most popular brands or the "gentlest" of products or even "Pediatrician Recommended" brands. I am happy to see that parents are becoming more aware of the effects of these chemcials, especially on babies, and sharing with others. Please read product labels with caution. Make sure to read the ingredients and do your own research, companies can print words like these without strict regulations. These chemicals may have alternative names so I have listed the synonyms for the chemicals also. I'm not saying that if you use a product with these chemicals, it guaranteed that you will immediately have health problems, but why would you want to breathe or put these chemicals on your body at all?

MONOETHANOLAMINE (MEA)
Synonyms: 2-Aminoethanol, 2-Hydroxyethanamine, Ethanol, 2-amino-, Ethanolamine, MEA

Toxicity Information:

Inhalation has been reported to cause asthma, immediate allergic response, acute liver damage and chronic hepatitis, severe eye and skin burns. May be harmful if inhaled or absorbed through skin. Irritating to skin, eyes, respiratory system. Large doses produce sedation, coma, and death following depression of blood pressure and cardiac collapse. 

Chemical found in:

• Tide Liquid Laundry and Tide Free Liquid Laundry
• Dreft Liquid Laundry
• Cheer Liquid Laundry
• Ivory Snow Liquid Laundry
• Gain Liquid Laundry
• Dawn Power Dissolve
• 409 Spray Degreaser
• Easy Off Oven Cleaner
• Damp Rid Mold & Mildew Control
• Windex
• Pledge
• Spray n' Wash Stain Remover

SODIUM HYDROXIDE
Synonyms: Ascarite, Caustic Soda, Soda Lye

Toxicity Information:

Causes 75% of all caustic injury to the esophagus of kids under 5 years old. Can cause burns in tissues, chronic skin irriation, irriation to the respiratory tract, can cause liver and kidney damage. Inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact with material may cause severe injury or death. Instructions for first aid if inhaled is to move the person to fresh air, if they are not breathing administer artificial respiration. 

Chemical Found in:

Household Products:

• Cascade Rinse Formula
• 409 Degreaser
• Clorox Clean Up Spray and some Cleaners
• Soft Scrub Liquid Gel
• Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner and some Cleaners
• Comet Cleanser with Bleach
• Soft Scrub
• Easy Off Oven Cleaner
• Palmolive Antibacterial Hand Soap
• Woolite Liquid Wash
• Tide Ultra Liquid
• Shout Laundry Stain Remover
• Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush
• Arm & Hammer Detergent
• Tilex

Personal Care Products:

• Johnson's Baby Wash
• Aveeno Naturals
• Aveeno Baby Cream and some bath products
• Old Spice Deodorant
• Some Olay Total Effects, Regenerist, and Pro-x creams
• Oil of Olay Body Washes
• Jergins Skin Firming Moisturizing
• Softsoap Hand Soap
• Neutrogena Moisture for Sensitive Skin
• Dove Ultra Moisturizing BodyWash
• Method Foaming Hand Wash
• Gilette Shave Gel
• Pantene Shampoo

Now think of how many times the toxic chemicals from the dishwasher or laundry detergent are lingering through your home every time you do a load of dishes or laundry. How about when you use your Oil of Olay body wash in the shower, then you use your anti-wrinkle face cream, brush your teeth with Crest and then throughout the day you are putting on your Aveeno moisturizer. Oh, and don't forget that i'm sure you will do a little wiping down of the counters and maybe wash your hands a few times with Softsoap or Method hand wash. This is a lot of exposure to one chemical that your body experiences in one day and all of the things you put on your body are absorbed directly into your bloodstream. Stay tuned, these are only a few chemicals but I will be posting more.

Please note: These are only some of the products that may contain these chemicals. For more information on the products and toxicity, please visit the Toxicology Data Network or the Hazardous Substance Database at http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/list?tbl=TblChemicals&alpha=A

Cleaning Your Carpet Naturally with Amazing Results

Let's talk about clean carpet. If you're a parent like me, clean carpet is far and in between. Between the milk or juice that finds it's way out of the "spill-proof" sippy cup, food being thrown by my toddler, cheerios and cheddar bunnies scattered throughout the floor, and occassionally dragging the wagon or strolling the stroller onto the carpet, my carpet is dirty!! It gets dirty easily because it is old carpet, so see, it's not all my fault lol! :)

I am always hesitant to have a professional carpet clean because most of the cleaners are extremely toxic. My mother-in-law was so kind and gave us a Bissell carpet cleaner and I was super excited because now I can clean the carpet with my Shaklee products and know that it is completely safe and non-toxic!

Carpet cleaners can be extremely toxic to children, who tend to play and crawl around on carpets. The fumes given off by carpet cleaners can cause cancer and liver damage. Carpet and upholstery cleaners accounted for 5,397 poison exposures in 2005. The majority of these exposures, over 3,500, involved children under 6.

Source: Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' Nat'l Poisioning and Exposure Database


                              

I'm sure you are thinking, "How clean can natural products really clean carpet, right?" Not to mention very old and very dirty carpet! Here's how I did it:

I used my Basic H2 all-purpose super cleaner, Basic G Disinfectant (this gets rid of bacteria, mold, odors, etc.) and Nature Bright brightener. I know that water is disgusting and that wasn't even my entire carpet but I to show you so you can see how well the products work! :) There are still a few areas that I should have pre-treated, especially the entry, but I just wanted to do a quick clean and disinfectant of the carpet.

Cleaning Your Carpet Naturally:

1 Tablespoon of Basic H2 per gallon of water

1 Tablespoon of Basic G Germicide per gallon of water

1-2 scoops of Nature Bright depending on how dirty your carpet is

Any time you use the Nature Bright on carpet, make sure you go back over it with water and don't let it sit on carpet without every wiping it up after the stain has lifted. It will continue to lighten and brighten so it's best to make sure you wipe/soak it up and blot with water after it has removed the stain/pre-treated. Of course if you are going over it while cleaning the carpets, that is not necessary.

Pre-treating: About a week before I cleaned the carpet there were two horrible stains caused by my adorable, innocent toddler! :) She got into my loose powder blush and then threw a blackberry onto the carpet which completely smooshed into the carpet. I used the Nature Bright dissolved in hot water and kept applying every couple hours as needed. The stains were so bad, I had to repeat the next day. I knew the stains would come out because Nature Bright is a miracle worker, I just had to apply it a few times.

Here is the stain from my make-up. That's my daughter's hand to show you how big the stain was. The left picture was before using Nature Bright. The right picture is after I applied Nature Bright one time so you can see that the stain started to fade quite a bit. 

This was after two applications of the Nature Bright. The carpet was so clean that it was lighter than the rest of the carpet which was another reason why I needed to shampoo the entire carpet.

This was the blackberry stain. The right picture is after one application of Nature Bright. This stain took three applications of Nature Bright. I really didn't think it would come out but it finally did!

 

Now onto the carpet clean before and after photos:

Before  and  After



                                                                          Before:

After:

Before pictures of the entry - This was sooooo dirty and stained I didn't think anything would come out!

                                                         After pictures of the entry:

                                      

Vunerability of Children Related to Typical Household Cleaners

If you haven't decided to make the change to non-toxic cleaners and remove all chemical cleaners from your home, I hope these statistics will help you make the change to a healthier home!

Why are children so vulnerable?


Children exposed in the womb are at greatest risk of all. Because cellular structures change so rapidly during embryonic and fetal growth, a toxic exposure at the wrong moment can permanently alter further development... Government and university scientists are currently investigating the possibility of a connection between fetal exposures to toxins and developmental disabilities such as ADHD.

Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight, children drink more water, eat more food, and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food, or air.

Asthma is the most common serious chronic disease of childhood.

Children's metabolic pathways, especially in the first months after birth, are immature. Their ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete many chemicals differs from adults.

Carcinorgenic and toxic exposures sustained early in life, including prenatal exposures, appear more likely to lead to disease than similar exposure encountered later.

There are over 80,000 chemicals registered with the EPA and fewer than 20% of them have been tested for toxicity.

Organic pollutants are 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside. According to the EPA, sources of organic pollutants from household cleaners include: solvents, wood preservatives, aerosol sprays, cleansers and disinfectants, and air freshners. Health effects from organic pollutants include: eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and cental nervous system. Many organic compounds are known to cause cancer in animals; some are suspected of causing, or are known to cause, cancer in humans.
Source: U.S. EPA

Source of data: Data Related to Typical Household Cleaners. Compiled by Shaklee Corporation. For all sources, see Shaklee Article.
Sources: U.S. EPA, New Chemicals Program, Landrigan, P.J. & Weiss; Natuional Research Council

Shaklee Cost Comparison with Other Brands!

Below are two Shaklee Cost Comparison with other well known brands. The first comparison focuses on more of the "green" cleaners and the second has more of the traditional cleaners. Remember when you are comparing Get Clean with "green" companies or cleaners, "green" means better for enviroment, not necessarily better for you or your family! It is crucial that you look for products that are "non-toxic".

Shaklee Get Clean is both green and non-toxic. Basic H2 has the highest "green" seal of approval by being Green Seal Certified!

To see the comparisons larger, please click on the comparison charts.

Nature Bright Brightener and Whitener

I got a little crazy with my bag of Nature Bright this weekend and decided to put it on everything I could think of. Lucky for me, much of my house is a lot cleaner and brighter than before! Yay! Something magical happens when you leave this powder on something or soaking overnight, it's crazy but it's true. You wake up amazed!

 I received a recent review from a new customer after trying the

Nature Bright brightener:

"Nature's Bright just passed its first test. My son had a gnarly stain in his karate gi that I could not get out for the life of me. I soaked it, then threw it in the washing machine and .... It's GONE!!! Woo hoo!!! :) Love this product already!"

                          

How does it work?
Instead of chlorine, natural enzymes and active oxygen in Nature Bright re-brighten laundry, de-stain upholstery and way more. Nice.
Removes soil stains 13% better than OxiClean^® Versatile Stain Remover Powder, and is comparable to Clorox 2^® Stain Fighter when used as a laundry additive durin6g soaking and washing. Comparable to OxiClean Versatile on overall soil removal when used as a laundry booster.*

Here is how I use Nature Bright:

Stains in the carpet - be careful with this though... your carpet will be so clean that it makes the area around it look dirty so make sure you blend it well or clean your entire carpet after. And don't forget to blot the area with water after it soaks, because Nature Bright keeps brightening and brightening. :)

Cleaned the shower head - Heard about a fabulous idea to get a small plastic ziploc bag, fill it 3/4 with water and a half scoop of Nature Bright (or a full scoop if it's really dirty), put it around the shower head and wrap a rubberband around the top so the shower head is submersed in water. I left it on overnight and the next morning it was bright, white and clean. Amazing!

Shower curtain and bath mat - Before I go to sleep once a week, I throw the shower curtain and bath mat into the washing machine and let it soak with a little detergent and a half to full scoop of Nature Bright and let it soak overnight. Then I wash it in the morning and it is like new... this says a lot for having a white shower curtain and white bath mat! I have a fabric water resistant shower curtain as an alternative to the plastic PVC curtains that outgas chemicals in your home. I love it and it's so easy to throw in the washing machine and lasts so much longer than the plastic ones.

Cleaned and brightened the caulking in the bathroom - I made a paste with the Nature Bright powder and water and used a sponge to dab it around the caulking in the shower, baseboards and toilet. Make sure the paste is thick enough that it doesn't run off the surface and covers the surface you are trying to clean. I left it on overnight.. well, I actually left it on two nights in a row because I didn't have time to wipe it off the next morning.. but like I said, it just keeps brightening! :) Once I left it on overnight, I wiped it off with a sponge and all of the caulking was drastically whiter... I am regretting that I didn't take before and after photos, sorry!

Toilet Bowl - To clean the toilet, I use a scoop of the Nature Bright, I spray the entire bowl and outside with Basic G germicide and then add a few drops of concentrated Basic H2. You can brush it around or just let it soak overnight. In the morning, brush and flush! I sometimes add a tiny bit of Nature Bright and Basic H2 the next morning before cleaning the toilet, but usually it's not necessary.

Laundry - I threw in a half a scoop in with my daughter's clothes and whites for easy stain removal without having to pre-treat. If you have really tough stains, you can soak the item first then wash.

There are so many uses for Nature Bright! You can even use it outside on your patio furniture! For a full usage guide, send me an email, i'd be happy to send it to you!

Here is a friend's blog post photo of her kitchen sink before and after Nature Bright:

http://scrappy77.blogspot.com/2011/02/shaklee-before-and-after-pictures.html

For more information on Nature Bright, see my website: http://embraceyourlife.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sku=00305

Want to save over $13,500 by changing the way you clean?

I have the simplest way for you to save over $13,500 by switching to Shaklee's Basic H2 concentrated cleaner!

Yes, you read that right! Talk about money savings, I don't know how it gets better than that! I am so passionate about this one little 16 oz. bottle of cleaner that I had to post about this famous product one more time! You will never go back to traditional cleaners after you try this, guaranteed! Most Basic H2 customers say their bottle lasts about 2 years! I'm going on 18 months and not even half way through the bottle! I love love love this and promise that you will be amazed at how it works on everything!

SHOW ME HOW I SAVE:

You will save over $13,500 in window cleaner! One 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2 is equal to over 5,824 26 oz. bottles of windex. Every time you fill up your window and mirror spray bottle, it costs you less than one cent!

One 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2 is equal to 48 gallons of toxic-free super cleaner.

You would have to spend over $12,000 to get the same amount of clean as one 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2. You would spend:
   -Nearly $482 for the equivalent amount of all-purpose cleaner
   -$12,250 for the equivalent amount of window cleaner
   -$144 for the equivalent amount of degreaser

See my Basic H2 review here.
Learn more about Basic H2 and product details here.

Strawberry Stains Are No Match for Nature Bright!

So I was definitely in search of something to remove strawberry stains on my upholstered rocking chair after my daughter secretly snatched a strawberry off of the kitchen counter and made her way to the rocking chair!

I had already used Nature Bright to remove stains on the carpet, in clothes, to brighten just about anything including my toilet bowl!! So I figured this would probably be my best bet.

What is Nature Bright?

A Powerful Stain Remover 
Removes stubborn stains on surfaces like carpet, upholstery, kitchen, and bath surfaces and effectively cleans outdoor patio furniture.

Tackles the toughest organic stains and will effectively remove wine, grape

juice, blood, perspiration, grass, grease, food stains, coffee, mold and mildew

stains, and much more.


Removes soil stains 13% better than OxiClean^® Versatile Stain Remover Powder, and is comparable to Clorox 2^® Stain Fighter when used as a laundry additive durin6g soaking and washing. Comparable to OxiClean Versatile on overall soil removal when used as a laundry booster.*

Here is what Nature Bright can do!

BEFORE PHOTOS:

 AFTER PHOTOS:

See my Shaklee website for more info on Nature Bright!

Did you know?

Chlorine is the chemical most frequently involved in household poisonings and is a

potent environmental pollutant. Chlorine is a part of a class of chemical

compounds that may cause reproductive, endocrine, and immune system disorders.

Chlorine should never be mixed with ammonia. This mixture can generate toxic

chloramine gas. Products that contain ammonia include some all-purpose and

bathroom cleaners, dishwashing detergents, and metal polishes. Chlorine also

degrades natural and synthetic fibers.

Get Clean products do not contain chlorine or other hazardous ingredients.

Shaklee Review by Life Happenings and Sometimes Scrappin'!

Monica over at "Life Happenings and Sometimes Scrappin'!" tried Shaklee's Scour Off scouring paste on her oven and look at the results. Have I convinced you yet about how wonderful this stuff is?! Lol! :) People just rave and rave about it! I can't live without it!

Here is Monica's post (see her full blog here):

Having fun cleaning!!!

No really!! I am having fun trying my new Shaklee products out!! I first heard about Shaklee at this blog that I like to visit! Soon after I started reading her blog a cousin of Joe's, Rachel, posted on Facebook that she was selling Shaklee. I asked her for a sample of Basic H and loved it! It's all organic and smells good! My favorite product is the Scour off!!! It's made of cherry pits and it's amazing!! I have used it on my shower, oven and sink! I hated cleaning my shower and with this product it's so easy and my shower is honestly cleaner than ever before. I took some pictures of my oven. I am embarassed to show you the befores but here they are.

 

And now after!! My oven is old so there was stuff in between the glass I could not get to.

 

Finally Found A Cleaner For My Floors That Works!

I am so excited that I finally found something to clean my bathroom and wood kitchen floor! If you saw my Shark Steam Mop review, you know i've been trying to find a chemical-free alternative that doesn't require a mop or scrubbing on my hands and knees! I have given the Steam Mop several attempts and I still dislike it greatly! Everything I have tried leaves streaks or a sticky residue on the floor. So many people tell me the Basic H2 works wonders on their hardwood floors, bathroom and tile floors but I wasn't thrilled about using a mop and bucket so I never really considered it. Pre-baby, and before I knew everything I know now about chemicals, I used the Swiffer Wet Jet and Swiffer Sweeper because it was easy, convenient and it worked well. Three things I always look for!

I don't know why I didn't think of this before but I put a Basic H2 wet wipe on my swiffer sweeper instead of the chemical swiffer wipe and it worked amazing of course! I sprayed a little Basic H2 all-purpose cleaner on the floor to make the floor a little more damp & a sprayed a tiny bit of Basic G to disinfect the floors. I now have beautifully clean floors that are streak and residue-free without nasty chemicals! I am so excited that I just had to share this with you! I'd love to hear what you think so leave a comment and let me know how this works for you! If you have the Swiffer Wet Jet, I have had a few people tell me they fill up the solution bottle with diluted Basic H2 and use that as the solution spray in the Wet Jet. I told you that the uses for Basic H2 are endless!

If you haven't tried the Get Clean line, give it a try! I hear from customers all the time about how fun it is to see how effective the products are and how many creative uses there are for them! They are also an incredible time and money saver! I must say, I actually enjoy cleaning now! I do realize how crazy that sounds but it's true! :)

Household Cleaners and Asthma Risk in Children

The prevalence of asthma in the U.S. increased by 75% from 1980–1994, and the asthma rates in children younger than 5 increased more than 160% during that same period,

It’s the most common chronic childhood disease in the developed world and has become even more commonplace in the past three decades.

In a 2004 study evaluating the risk of asthma development in children, researchers concluded that “domestic exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at levels below currently accepted recommendations may increase the risk of childhood asthma.” VOCs are found in many household products and also may be embedded in the house itself as part of the paint, flooring, or furniture.

Another study of nearly 14,000 children found that the more frequently household chemicals such as bleach or window cleaner were used during pregnancy, the higher the risk that the young child would have persistent wheezing. More troubling was that the relationship between household chemicals and wheezing remained even after factors such as parental smoking and family history of asthma were taken into account.

Although there’s no cure, asthma often can be controlled by avoidance of triggers, appropriate dietary and supplement strategies, and, of course, medication as prescribed.

• Exclusive breast-feeding is believed to be effective in reducing subsequent development of allergies and may reduce the the risk of asthma in children.
• Antioxidants in the diet, including selenium and vitamins C and E, may have a protective effect.
• Probiotics are promising as they may produce changes in the gut that stimulate the immune system.
• And preliminary research has shown that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation may decrease the inflammatory response, including the production of inflammatory mediators in asthmatic patients.

Asthma and related conditions are not the only risks associated with ingredients in common household products.

• Butyl cellosolve, often found in all-purpose cleaners, abrasive, and glass cleaners, is a potentially toxic chemical in the glycol-ether family of chemicals. Ingesting large amounts of butyl cellosolve may cause breathing problems, low blood pressure, low hemoglobin levels, acidic blood, and blood in the urine.
• Exposure to high levels of ammonia, found in glass cleaners, may be irritating to the skin, eyes, throat, and lungs, and it can cause coughing and burns. Also, asthma sufferers may be more sensitive to breathing ammonia than others.
• Hypochlorite, found in common household bleach and automatic dishwasher detergents, causes more poisoning exposures than any other household cleaning substance and was the source of over 50,000 poisonings in 2005 alone, according to a report from the Poison Control Center’s National Poisoning and Exposure Database.
• Drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and toilet bowl cleaners are some of the most dangerous products in our homes. Drain and oven cleaners may contain lye or sodium hydroxide, which can cause severe corrosive damage to eyes, skin, mouth, and stomach if swallowed. Toilet bowl cleaners may contain chlorine or hydrochloric acid. Even brief exposure to low levels of hydrochloric acid vapor can result in throat irritation, and increased exposure can result in rapid breathing, narrowing of the bronchioles, blue coloring of the skin, accumulation of fluid in the lungs, and even death.

There’s a long list of dangerous chemicals that are under most sinks in this country—they’re even in some products that claim to be green. For more detailed information about the chemicals used in household products, visit the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Web site at http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/.

Information taken from Shaklee Corporation, "Superwellness for Super Kids"

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=503

Other Health Hazards Related to Cleaning-

Product Ingredients