The Simple Mistake You Make When Buying Cleaning Products

You consider yourself pretty savvy. You’ve done your homework. You know about harmful substances in cleaning and laundry products. And, because you care about your health and your family, you started buying products labeled as “green” or “all natural”. It all seems reasonable, right?

It seems reasonable to assume that when you buy a product labeled green or all natural that it’s free of harmful chemicals. You assume that some U.S. regulatory body has regulations in place to define these terms. You also reasonably assume that if a company marketed their product as All Natural when it really wasn’t, that there would be repercussions.

Sadly, none of these assumptions is correct.

If you’re like most people, you’re having a hard time believing that it’s a mistake to trust cleaning and laundry product labels. And, that there’s no governmental watchdog looking out for you.

Laundry & Cleaning Products Labeling – No Guarantees

The terms All-Natural or Green don’t guarantee you’re buying a safe, all-natural product.

Why?

Because no US government body regulates these label terms. So, you could buy a product labeled “Green” that contained substances that are generally accepted as harmful. As a result, you cannot rely on these terms to find the safest products.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.gov) discloses the issue with cleaning and laundry product labeling on their site.

“Remember that when you see words like green, all natural, organic, eco-friendly, and environmentally friendly on a cleaning product label, they have no legal meaning.”

“Cleaning products marketed as “natural” typically use chemicals made from corn or other biological sources, rather than petroleum. While these cleaning products may be made out of renewable resources, their “natural” ingredients are still chemically identical to those made from petroleum, so their potential health and environmental impacts during and after use would be the same.”

So, what should you do? Start studying the label ingredients? If only this worked! The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), the regulator of cleaning and laundry products and soap, has lax labeling regulations.

How lax? The CPSC gives manufacturers much leeway on the ingredient list; they can list all, none or some of the ingredients.

Here’s what the EPA has to say about cleaning product labeling requirements. Note the acknowledgement that it’s hard to find safer products using labels.

“Unlike food products, manufacturers of chemical products are not required to list ingredients on their containers or make them public.”

“It is hard to find safer products because manufacturers of cleaning products don’t have to test their products to make sure they are safe for people and the environment. They don’t have to list the ingredients they use on the label of a product.”

It’s troubling, isn’t it? Unregulated terms, ingredients that aren’t unlisted on the label and no product testing.

So, how can you find safer cleaning and laundry products?

 Do-It-Yourself Cleaning & Laundry Products

You’ve got a couple of options for finding safer cleaning and laundry products. You can either make your own or buy trusted brands.

Making your own cleaning products isn’t that difficult, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re new to DIY cleaners, you can start out with a simple all-purpose cleaner. You’ll find that vinegar, salt, baking soda, lemon, and tea tree oil in the right formulas can work amazingly well.

For some of the best DIY kitchen cleaners, try these kitchen cleaning formulas. Simple to make. Got a dirty oven? Try this proven way to clean up your oven with just two ingredients, no nasty fumes, and almost no elbow-grease. 

Use The Shopping List

If you are recoiling at the thought of creating your own, you have other options. You can buy trusted and tested brands. How do you find these brands? Pure Living Space has compiled a shopping list of 23 safer products. These products are available at your local natural grocery store.

Print the list and take it with you shopping. The shopping list cross-references the Environmental Working Group ratings with Whole Food’s rating system. If it’s on the list, you can feel certain it’s a safer product.

You’ll find safer bathroom and kitchen cleaners, dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, fabric softener, all-purpose cleaners and more. To get the list, simply sign up for the Pure Living Space Newsletter. It’s one of the free bonuses. Sign up now. 

Focus on Trusted Brands

Another option to finding safer cleaning and laundry products is to buy trusted brands. Trusted brands disclose ingredients and use safer ingredients.

These include Molly's Suds, Lion Bear Naked Soap, MamaSuds, Green Mission™, and GreenShield Organics. Many of these brands are available at PureLivingSpace.com. Convenient home delivery with free shipping on orders over $50.

These brands are proven products that have been tested and work well. They receive stellar reviews from Environmental Working Group SkinDeep database which reviews over 70,000 personal care and cleaning products. Plus, MamaSuds is endorsed by Leaping Bunny meaning that their products are certified cruelty-free.

You’ll love the convenience of having your laundry soap delivered directly to your door. No more lugging products around the grocery store or worrying about whether they’ll be carrying your brand.

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