You clean your home intending it to be clean. But what relatively few people understand is how harmful most cleaners are to your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Even the cleaners claiming to be “green” or “all natural” (which is 100% legal according to the FDA and FTC).
If you purchase your cleaning and personal care products and don’t pay attention to the ingredients label and what each item is and what those individual and mixed items can do to your body, chances are, you have a toxic home.The gut-wrenching fact that we are all being “green washed” while also being poisoned in the name of huge profits is absolutely disgusting. We as consumers need to take a stand and truly educate ourselves on how to find quality cleaning products that do not contain ingredients known to harm our bodies and especially the bodies of our children.
The best resource I've found to help navigate through such a dishonest market, is The Environmental Working Group, (EWG). They saw a need for consumer safety that the government is not providing, and set up their website with an easily searchable database where they grade companies and products based on how safe or harmful their ingredients are. The scariest part: it seems like 95-98% of what is available on department store shelves (places like Walmart and Target) are hands down toxic!
What is Green Washing?
The term Green Washing is a marketing ploy companies use to deceptively promote the perception that their organization's products or policies are environmentally friendly. These companies label their products as “green,” “nontoxic,” and “safe” (among other enticing pieces of vocabulary) for the sole purpose of enticing your purchase.
How is this deceptive??? There is no government regulation or definition for those terms. The term “nontoxic” can be used all day long as long as the company isn't including FDA banned ingredients. Since World War II, over 85,000 chemicals have been developed, with only 20% containing adequate safety data. On top of that, companies are not required to disclose full ingredients lists on what they put in the cleaning products we use.
Real quick, check under your sink. Take a look at your kitchen cleaner and read the label. What does it list for ingredients? “Detergent”- what makes up detergent? They don't have to tell you because of proprietary secrets. It could be anything from cancer-causing agents, to hormone disruptors, to nerve-damaging chemicals. I don't say all this to scare you, but that is the harsh reality.
Our world is becoming more and more infested with man-made harsh chemicals while the population becomes more and more chronically ill. There is correlation when you dig deep into the facts. So you realistically have no clue what is in your kitchen cleaner. Same with your laundry soap, window cleaner, toilet and shower cleaners… etc. Head on over to EWG and search for your cleaner and take a look at what grade its given. Ideally, you want to use something that earns a 1 or 2.
How do you know which products are safe??
The easiest way is by browsing through EWG's website and looking for cleaning products that are rated 1-2, or to do extensive research on your own and choose a company that resonates with you.
Or you can do what many families are turning to now and make your own… but even then many DIY Recipes you'll find on Pinterest or Google (especially if they feature using ammonia) aren't much safer.
Be sure you're using a product that fully discloses the ingredients on the label. If you see generic terms like “solvents,” “surficant,” “fragrance,” or “detergent” then you know that brand is not being transparent in disclosing their ingredients.
Ingredients you want to avoid are:
- Pthalates
- Parabens
- Perchloroethylene
- Triclosan
- Quarternary Ammonium Compounds (QAT)
- Ammonia
- 2-Butoxythanol
- Chlorine Bleach
- Sodium Hydroxide
The frustrating thing about these ingredients is that companies are catching on to the fact that there are more and more people understanding and reading labels, so they're renaming these ingredients on the labels. For a full list, please check out our Healthy Home, Happy Life online course.
What cleaning products do you use and recommend?
Me personally? Between chasing after a toddler, maintaining our home, and running 3 websites, I don't have much time to DIY much of anything. Instead, I use Young Living's Thieves Household Cleaner and laundry detergent. I know the company very well, and admire their dedication to high ethics and standards. They preach and practice transparency and are constantly earning their customers' trust.
What do you use Thieves Cleaner for?
Everything!! Under the kitchen sink, our cabinet went from jam-packed with every cleaner you could ever possibly think of needing to being an additional storage cabinet for small appliances and cleaning rags. We now have ONE cleaner for EVERYTHING!
- Kitchen Counters & Cabinets
- Kitchen Sinks
- Fridge/Freezer
- Fruit/Veggie wash (yes, you can use it for that too!!!)
- Oven Cleaner (mix a cap full of Thieves cleaner with a cup of baking soda and enough water to make a paste, and you have a soft scrub fantastic for ovens and stubborn dishes!)
- Dish presoak
- Dishwasher detergent (only takes a cap full)
- Laundry presoak & stain remover
- Laundry detergent (yes, I have used just straight Thieves cleaner for my laundry and it turned out great!)
- Floors – tile, vinyl, hardwood…
- Bathroom sinks, tubs, and showers
- Bathroom toilets
- Mirrors, windows
- Anything greasy
- … and the list goes on…
There really isn't any cleaning need I've run into that this cleaner doesn't handle. It's truly safe, containing no ingredients that will cause your body harm, and is powered by the Thieves essential oil blend.
There are also a few DIY options you can use too
Sink, Tile & Tub scrub
- 1 cup baking soda
- 2 tsp castile soap or Thieves dish soap
- ¼ cup hydrogen peroxide
- 1 capful Thieves Household Cleaner
- 8 drops Lemon essential oil
- 5 drops Thieves essential oil
- Mix together and scrub
Wood Cleaner & Polish
- ½ Cup sweet almond oil
- ¼ Cup Thieves Household Cleaner
- 5 Drops Orange essential oil
- 5 drops Pine essential oil
- Mix together and store in a mason jar. Apply a little to a rag and polish any wood surface. A little goes a long way.
Where can you get Thieves Cleaner?
This cleaner and essential oil blend work so well, that Young Living created a whole line of wellness products featuring the Thieves Essential Oil Blend to help people not skilled in DIY to be able to switch their cleaning and personal care products to safer options.They provide a variety of cleaning and personal care products featuring Thieves essential oil blend including: toothpaste, mouthwash, foaming hand soap, bath soap bars, cleaner, fruit/veggie wash and soak, and hand purifier.
Thieves Household Cleaner is available in most countries, including Australia, Canada, Columbia, Costa Rica, China, Europe, Greenland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Leichtenstein, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, US, Uzbekistan… and more…
The Thieves Starter Kit includes:
- 15-ml Thieves Essential Oil Blend
- Thieves AromaBright™ Toothpaste
- Thieves Fresh Essence Plus Mouthwash
- 14oz Thieves Cleaners (2 count)
- The Thieves Foaming Hand Soap (2 count)
- Thieves Spray (2 count) – travel sized
- 2 travel size Thieves Waterless Hand Purifiers
- 5-ml Stress Away Essential Oil Blend
- AromaGlide™ Roller Fitment
- Product Guide and Product Price List
- Member Resources
If you're not already a Young Living member, you can snag your own Thieves Starter Kit to help replace harmful chemicals in your home with powerful, natural alternatives here. All you need to do is create an account, select the Premium Starter Kit with Thieves, and finish the purchase process. Once we receive notification of your membership, we will lovingly add you to our exclusive support groups and make sure you have access to our favorite resources.
More articles featuring Thieves Household Cleaner that you won't want to miss:
- 50 Uses for Thieves Household Cleaner
- Everything you need to know about Thieves cleaning kits
- Thieves Essential Oil Blend – uses, info, safety, and more…
- Is your home toxic?
Did you find this post helpful? If you enjoyed this post, please comment below and share.
Nicole
P.S. If you're interested in learning more about creating a nontoxic home, check out our Healthy Home, Happy Life online course, or head over to our contact us page for information on how you can enjoy the guidance of a personal coach!