Although we know they are harmful to health and the environment, we regularly use various industrial household products. However, there are homemade recipes that are simple to execute. With a few ingredients probably already in your cupboards, you can make a DIY dishwashing liquid or glass cleaner. Let's take a look at what you can do to protect your health and the health of nature when cleaning.
The Harmful Effects of Industrial Household Products
Harmful to health
With so many options available on the market, it doesn't always come to mind to create your own cleaning products. However, creating homemade household products can help avoid the toxic components typically found in commercial products. A 2018 study showed that frequent use of these products had an effect comparable to smoking 10 to 20 packs of cigarettes per year. They can cause allergic reactions, skin or eye irritation, headaches or dizziness and even be carcinogenic!
Harmful to the environment
Men's health is not the only one affected by these products. The environment also suffers from these harmful effects. Household products pollute the air, water and soil when they are discharged into wastewater or waste treatment centers. The pictograms on the packaging inform us of the main risks that these products entail: danger of explosion, fire or corrosion, danger to health or to the environment.
More expensive
In addition, making your own cleaning products at home is often cheaper than buying industrial products. DIY glass cleaner, for example, is twelve times cheaper, according to a survey by the magazine "60 million consumers". So, why not prepare your own household products?
The Benefits of Homemade Household Products
Finding the information to make homemade household products is quite easy nowadays thanks to the Internet. Specialized sites such as Biocop or blogs such as ConsoGlobe give recipes for homemade household cleaning products. We'll give you two of them below.
Floor cleaner
This household product recipe can be particularly useful for mopping floors. Just mix 3 quarts of water, 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. To finish, you can add 5 drops of lemon essential oil and you're done!
Laundry detergent with Marseille soap
Laundry detergent with Marseille soap is an option for cleaning your laundry. To do this, boil 3.5 litres of water and then add 150 grams of Marseille soap. Add 1 handful of baking soda and transfer to empty containers. The liquid will thicken naturally and you can then add 1 and a half teaspoons of tea tree essential oil.
Safety Instructions for Preparing Homemade Household Products
However, there are instructions for use when preparing homemade household products. This should include avoiding overdosing and using a limited number of ingredients. In addition, essential oils, often used in DIY household products, can cause allergic reactions in some people. It is also advisable to wear goggles and gloves when preparing these homemade recipes . Once these precautions have been taken, preparing your household products can be a real pleasure!
Environmental labels
But if you still don't like the prospect, you can also find industrial cleaning products designed to have a lower impact on the environment in supermarkets. The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) recommends buying products with an environmental label. Labels generally guarantee a low release of pollutants and a lower danger to health. These labels include the European Ecolabel, the Ecocert or the Sustainable Cleaning label.
Thus, making these own household products appears to have health and environmental benefits. By limiting the negative effects of supermarket products, home cleaning products can only be beneficial to you!
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