Leading toxicologist reveals 4 key things to consider when choosing your cleaning products – tackle dirt without harming your health or falling victim to 'green washing'

As we become more conscious of the impact our everyday choices have on both our health and the planet, the way we clean our homes and the products we use are coming ever-sharply under the spotlight.

The detrimental impact of PFAS and other toxic chemicals found in common cleaning products is well documented, with the body of research growing. With it comes a growing demand for healthier, greener alternatives that tackle dirt without compromising our well-being.

Here, leading toxicologist Samara Geller, senior director of cleaning science and consumer safety science at EWG reveals her cleaning tips for smarter, safer housekeeping that will help you create a healthier home with a better environmental footprint.

Toxicologist tips for buying cleaning products

Green cleaning doesn’t always mean having to make DIY cleaning solutions or only ever cleaning with vinegar, and it certainly doesn’t mean having to settle for less-than-impressive results. Rather, it is about knowing which cleaning product ingredients to avoid, why, and what to use instead.

This is what Samara recommends.

Samara Geller

Samara Geller focuses on developing and expanding EWG’s healthy cleaning consumer guides and programs, including EWG VERIFIED® Cleaning Products, helping to raise consumer awareness and influence market change. Geller manages EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which reviews and rates more than 3,100 household products based on ingredient hazards and disclosure. She also contributes to EWG’s California policy efforts.

1. Steer clear of ‘ambiguous’ ingredients

The main cleaning products experts hate are those that hide exactly what is in them. Samara Geller urges, ‘Steer clear of ambiguous mixtures. Look for products that disclose all ingredients, including those hidden behind vague terms like “fragrance,” “surfactant” and “preservative.”’

To avoid this cleaning mistake making you sick, pick products that go into depth about what they contain, or opt for natural ways to fight grease and grime using products from your pantry, eliminating the need to read lengthy product lists altogether.

2. Know your ingredients

Many cleaning products will have disclosed ingredients in them that you might breeze over without a second thought, but make the products some of the secretly toxic things at home you should get rid of.

Samara says there are four main ingredients you need to be wary of:

• Ethylene glycol ethers – including harsh solvents like 2-butyoxyethanol and butyoxydiglycol in soil and stain removers. They’re hazardous air pollutants linked to reproductive and developmental effects. When setting up a stain station, it is better to stock it with a laundry detergent free from dyes or fragrances instead such as Seventh Generation, or oxygen bleach (available at Walmart).
• Sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid: ‘These corrosive chemicals can cause severe skin and eye damage,' Samara says. 'They’re typically found in products like oven cleaners, drain openers, hard water stain removers, and toilet cleaners.’ More often than not, cleaning with baking soda and white vinegar will do the job just as well without all the damaging effects.
• Quaternary ammonium compounds: Also known as 'quats', these are found in fabric softeners, disinfectants, and sanitizers. 'They’ve been linked to asthma as well as reproductive harm and birth defects in animals,' Samara says. 'Avoid distearyldimonium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, and other ingredients ending in “-onium chloride,” as well as non-specific terms like “cationic surfactant.”'
• Sodium hypochlorite : This is the active ingredient in chlorine bleach, which has been associated with respiratory damage.

3. Pick products with a regulated mark

To make it easier to clean your home without harming the planet or your health, Samara highly recommends looking for cleaning products that bear the EWG stamp of approval.

The Environmental Working Group was established in 1993 as a nonprofit environmental group that helps people access the information they need to make smarter, healthier choices. Many non-toxic cleaning products are now certified by their experts to be safe for use in your home.

Samara says, ‘To get your place to sparkle without introducing toxic chemicals into the mix, we suggest looking for the EWG VERIFIED® mark. Products carrying the EWG VERIFIED mark are produced according to the strictest standards and are formulated without chemicals of concern.

‘You can also consult EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which rates over 2,500 cleaning products from “A” to “F” based on their hazard profile and manufacturing transparency. Choose products that rate A or B or that bear the EWG VERIFIED® mark.’

4. Be aware of greenwashing

When putting together your ultimate cleaning supplies kit, the biggest trip hazard is greenwashing.

Samara urges, ‘Avoid marketing hype. Stay away from potential greenwashing, such as words like “green,” “natural” and “non-toxic.” There are no regulatory standards for these terms.’

Instead, look back at the ingredients list to check for those long-winded harsh chemicals, and check for regulated stamps, such as the EWG mark, the Ecologo, Green Seal, or EPA Safer Choice labels.

FAQs

Is green cleaning actually effective?

Green cleaning (opting for cleaning products that do not use toxic or astringent chemicals) is usually just as effective at maintaining a healthier home as commercial cleaning products – if not more so, with a 2020 medical study demonstrating that acetic acid (white vinegar) has a disinfecting effect against a variety of microorganisms, including dangerous pathogens such as E. coli.

Is green cleaning more expensive?

In many cases, you can use pantry staples for cheap and effective dirt-busing. Cleaning with baking soda or cleaning with vinegar is a lot more affordable than buying chemical-laden products off the shelves. The cost starts to rise, however, when you look at products such as fragrance and dye-free laundry detergents, as they use higher quality, sustainable ingredients, which are usually more expensive to source.

When you weigh up the health costs of chemical products with the monetary costs of green cleaning, however, the scale tips in favor of the environmental products, especially when you remember they better the health of your family.

Green cleaning is certainly a cleaning habit I can’t live without, helping to protect me and my household.

Will you be taking Samara’s advice? If you're not sure where to start, why not start small with some cleaning tricks to reduce plastic use at home, or dive into the deep end and try cleaning using only baking soda and vinegar for a week and see how it goes.