A [Realistic] Guide for Swapping To Nontoxic Products In Your Home

If you’re someone who’s found yourself following along with The Foundation Blog, I think it’s safe to say that you care about the foundations of the way you care for yourself. The “everyday” things that can majorly impact your wellbeing.

So whether that’s getting good sleep, hydrating, seeking out quality foods, nontoxic makeup and skincare…. my bet is you are someone who keeps a close eye on the products you put on and in your body.

But… do you give that same intention to the products you’re using in your home?

While many of us put a lot of intention into the products & ways we take care of our physical bodies— we forget that the choices and products that we bring into our home also impact our health.

do the products in my home really matter?

Simply put, yes.

Just like the skincare/makeup world, home products are a largely unregulated industry, and there can be any number of hormone disruptors, chemicals, and airway irritants in the products you’re using in your home every day.

Many of us assume that our government regulations ensure that the products we see on the store shelves are health-approved and have certain safety standarsds… We assume that the ingredients listed on our bath cleaners, counter wipes, laundry detergergents, household cleaning products are good-to-go & fully approved for safety. While I so WISH that was the case, it, unfortunately… is not.

In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has only published evaluation data for only 200 of the estimated 83,000 chemicals that Americans use (Wilson & Schwarzman, 2009). Many Americans are unaware that there are untested and potentially unsafe chemicals in their products (Vogel, 2011).

I could truly go on forever, but here are just a FEW examples of known toxins and carcinogens found in everyday products:

• Window cleaner: The basic ingredients of window/glass cleaners are often ammonia and isopropanol. These products may be irritating to the eyes, skin, nose, and throat. (Cleveland Clinic)

• Rug & carpet cleaners. These fabric products can contain perchloroethylene, naphthalene, and ammonium hydroxide. The fumes given off by these products have been correlated with cancer, liver damage, and have been known to cause dizziness, sleepiness, nausea, loss of appetite, and disorientation. (Cleveland Clinic)

• Air fresheners. Air fresheners frequently contain formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p-dichlorobenzene and aerosol propellants. These chemicals have been linked with cancer and brain damage, and be irritating to eyes, skin, and throat. (Cleveland Clinic).

• All-purpose cleaners. All-purpose cleaners often contain detergents, grease-cutting agents, solvents, and disinfectants, such as, ammonia, ethylene glycol monobutyl acetate, sodium hypochlorite and/or trisodium phosphate, which can irritate the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. (Cleveland Clinic).

• Bleach. Household bleach contains sodium hypochlorite and chlorine bleach liquid and vapors can irritate the skin, eyes, nose and throat. Dermitis can resuts from skin contact and it is recommended to wear gloves. (Cleveland Clinic).

• Common ingredients in household products:

  • Parabens Parabens are known endocrine disrupters that can be absorbed through the skin and into your blood and digestive system. Parabens can disrupt hormones, cause reproductive health problems, and even correlated with cancer.

  • Diethanolamine (DEA): is used in household cleaning products to make them sudsy. It can cause skin and eye irritation, and is banned in the EU for being a probable carcinogen, links to liver tumors, and its tendency to bioacumulate in water systems.

  • trioclosan: A common antimicrobial agent is common in soap, detergents, other cleaners. This has been linked with hormone dysregulation, an increase in anti-biotic-resistant bacteria, and cotraindicated in pregnant and breastfeeding women. Unfortunately, the CDC has found evidence of triclosan in the urine of more than three-quarters of people tested.

  • fragrance: Many home cleaners and room fresheners include “fragrance” on the label. And while this sounds straight-forward, “fragrance” can be used as a “catch all” term for any mix of chemicals that contributed to a scent. In one fragrance there can be hundreds of chemicals used.

  • phthalates: phthalates can damage the reproductive system and are correlated with damaging kidneys and lungs. In animal testing, phthalates were found to be harmful to developing testes. Unfortunately, phthalates are present in most household detergents.

  • formaldehyde: A known carcinogen that can cause respiratory concerns, skin irritation, asthma, headaches, and even leukemia. Formaldehyde can be found in cleaning products that you use in your bathroom and kitchen, wood cleaner, furniture polish and floor cleaners.

• We aren’t protected from these things?! Unfortunately, no. Many countries have formally banned chemicals like formaldehyde, parabens, triclosan, and toluene (Faber, 2019). However, these chemicals are not banned in the United States and are allowed in personal care and cleaning products that are used daily by many Americans.

• It [unfortunately] comes down to the consumer’s responsibility: Current US legislation does not limit as many chemicals in these products compared to other countries, and instead, places the responsibility on consumers to seek out nontoxic products. However, this is worrisome as a majority of Americans are unaware that their personal care products as a mechanism of toxic exposure (Chan, Chalupka, & Barrett, 2015)

The bleaches, artificial scents, manufactured chemicals, and antibacterial compounds you’re wiping your counters with are touching your food, your surfaces, your skin, and clothes…which can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, etc.

Isn’t kind of wild that SO MANY of these items come with big hazard labels, requirements to wear gloves when using, toxic warnings… and yet, we use them in our homes? around ourselves and our kids? Covering the surfaces of our house?

Say you use a toxic cleaner in your kitchen counters— you are touching that product, you are breathing in that product, you may even be eating that product.

Once you really stop and think about it, it’s crazy that you’re basically slathering your house—the place you live and breathe and touch all surfaces—with chemicals that are known to have carcinogenic, endocrine disrupting, airway and skin irritating qualities. This ultimately contributes to your body’s toxic load and can result in headaches, skin rashes, airway issues, hormone imbalance, and soooo much more. (If you’re interested in learning more about this, I dig deeeeeeep into the science and policy behind WHY clean products matter over here in this blog post!)

I want to quickly pause before things start to feel TOO overwhelming—because to be honest, I felt overwhelmed when I started considering the switch to nontoxic home products. But in this post I’m going to outline a handful of super SIMPLE ways to switch to nontoxic products in your home that won’t leave you feeling overwhelemd (just keep reading!). 

my “aha” moment with clean home products

For me, switching to nontoxic home products felt a little less important and a little more overwhelming than focusing on the things I put *into* my body (like, does it really matter what’s in my laundry detergent????).

But once I thought it alllllllll the way through I am interacting with these household products, I realized how much it matters. For example— with the laundry detergent, I realized that those are the clothes I’m wearing 24/7…they absorb the chemicals from my detergent…the chemicals touch my skin…and then my skin absorbs the chemicals. 

Same with the things I use to clean surfaces— if I am using a toxic shower cleaner, I am breathing that in while cleaning and with the steam of the shower. If I am using a toxic counter cleaner, I am preparing my food on a chemical-filled surface. If I am using a toxic-dish soap, I am eating off of plates that are covered in toxins. If I am using artificial fragrances, I am breathing in toxic fumes.

On a small scale exposure are these things fine? Sure.

But, over time, day-after-day, cumulative exposure….? Not so much.

The biggest “aha” moment for me was looking at the ingredients on a disinfecting wipe. Seeing all of the chemicals and antibiotics and things was a big wakeup call for me because I’d literally just used it to wipe down the counter I was about to cook my food on. Like, I spend all of this energy and intention on buying organic produce and then I’m just covering it with chemicals??? It was that moment that made me realize that what I was using to clean my home was just as important as everything else I was bringing into it. 

making switching to nontoxic products SIMPLE

But even after that realization, I was still a bit overwhelmed at the thought of switching to nontoxic home products… however, I WAS committed. The science was clear,

So, with time, and experimenting, I have slowly, steadily, (and realistically) upgraded the products in my home to support my health and reduce my toxic load (BONUS: without being over-the-top paranoid or crazy about it)

So if you’re in the same boat of feeling overwhelmed by switching to nontoxic products (it’s totally understandable!) I want to make this post a really simple and concrete summary of how I switched to nontoxic cleaning products in a relatively painless way. The following 3 categories are broken down as 1) relatively simple & affordable switches that are easy to make, 2) A little more cost-intensive “medium” swaps to make over time, and finally 3), The bigger (optional) switches if you REALLY want to detox your home!

the basic [first priority] nontoxic home product swaps

• Candles and air fresheners. We’re cutting to the chase and going right in with the hardest swap (at least for me!) — ditch those toxic candles and air fresheners. I know you want the Febreeze, the Plugins, and the Anthro candles because they smell amazing…. but JUST LOOK at the ingredients and remember that those things are going into your air… ya know, the thing you inhale. When you burn or spray artificial fragrances, they’re going straight into the air you breathe in your house. If you’re looking for a simple nontoxic swap for the toxic candles & air fresheners you’re using, I’d suggest 3 different options. 1) opting for some essential oils and diffusers! You’ll still get that beautiful scent (and can fully customize scent blends!) but it’s a much healthier/more pure option. 2) For a nontoxic candle option, I love just plain beeswax candles— all the ambiance, but non of the unnecessary chemicals. 3) As far as making our home smell good, this nontoxic seasonal home collection is my faaaav for creating a cozy, inviting energy in your house that fits every season…without the use of toxic, chemical-filled candles you are getting from Anthro or Bath + Body. I get one each It’s alllll-natural, completely nontoxic, and smells like a dream.
  

• This company for nontoxic cleaning products (that WORK). If nothing else, I would do this step— switching out the cleaning products you use. This is a big one (probably THEE biggest switch you can make) and, like I said, I was soooooooo overwhelmed by this.

  …Because I was used to my Windex & disinfecting wipes & toilet bowl cleaners & sprays & bleaches & allllll of that. The thought of switching all of those products felt SO daunting & complicated to me. (especially because I feel like most examples of “nontoxic” cleaning is living-off-the-land people hand-mixing these complicated potion things out of baking sodas and vinegars and all that jazz. Which is AWESOME (i lowkey want to be one of these people. tbh…), but hand-mixing cleaning products is just not realistic for me. I just wanted something pre-made, ready-to-go, and healthy.)

  And while I was overwhelmed, switching to nontoxic cleaning products ended up being one of THEE. EASIEST. swaps I’ve made. …. because I found this, the Branch Basics kit. And, boom, I was set. That was literally all i needed. One kit that covers ALL of your home cleaning needs. I bought this (with my own money— not gifted or sponsored or anything) in 2018 because I wanted to try it out before recommending it. And (FOUR years in….) I truly couldn’t speak more highly of it.
  
  HOW IT WORKS: All you have to do is dilute their nontoxic, plant-based cleaning concentrate into different amounts for each surface (the instructions are so easy). It works SO well, it’s good for you, and it’s just ONE kit to clean your entire house (then you just replace the “concentrate” mix when you run out). I truuuuly could not recommend more highly. Basically you buy this one cleaning collection and it covers anyyyy and alllll cleaning solution you need in your house. Counters, windows, laundry, hand soap…this kit truly does it all and provides a nontoxic, clean ingredient option for every surface you need to clean. Highly recommend! Bonus…. coupon THEFOUNDATIONBLOG saves ya $$$$ on allll Branch Basic nontoxic goodness! (15% off of their kits!)
  

• this deep cleaning powder: This is an optional add on from Branch Basics, but I HIGHLY recommend their “oxygen boost” powder. This is MAGIC for any and all deep cleaning or extra-hard-to-clean areas (and it’s only $10). It’s a nontoxic powder and you just sprinkle it wherever you are cleaning—- let it set in your sink for a deep scrub, use it to clean your shower, rub it into a stain on the carpet, use it to get out a big ol’ stain in your laundry… this magical, nontoxic powder is basically a “super charged” cleaner and I use it for the tough-to-clean spots. It works SO well. I definitely recommend adding it to your Branch Basics order :)
  

• Dryer balls. I was surprised to learn that one of the most toxic things in your house can be dryer sheets (plus they’re expensive!) so I swapped for these wool dryer balls. This is a one-time purchase that’s completely nontoxic, plus they dry your clothes faster! and, bonus, you can customize the scent with a few drops of essential oil. Truly a great, EFFORTLESS swap!
  

• Laundry detergent. Once your current detergent runs out, why not switch it to a cleaner, nontoxic option? It’s honestly not much more expensive at all, and better for your health! You can use Branch Basics as a laundry detergent (I did for 3 years!), but I do so much laundry that I didn’t want to waste my BB concentrateI personally use this detergent that I picked up from Amazon. Bonus: if you experience sensitive or dry skin or other skin issues, switching to a clean detergent may help alleviate some of those symptoms! 
  

• Ditch your shoes at the door: This is simple, but I definitely recommend NOT wearing your outdoor shoes around the house. Not only is it cleaner (literally), but you also reduce the risk of tracking in pesticides and herbicides from the grass outdoors.
  

• What you eat off of: I know this can be hard, but try your hardest to stop eating out of plastic. Did you know, a recent 2022 study detected MICROPLASTICS in human blood? In their study, 77% of participants showed microplastics circulating their body *cringe* There are so many toxins & [obviously] microplastics that get leeched into food when you eat off of plastic. (and even if it says BPA-free doesn’t mean there isn’t BPS or BPF in it! While a slightly different chemical makeup, these chemicals are just as dangerous as BPA.). I recommend eating off off glassm ceramic, or stainless steel, whenever possible. I know this takes time, but I would slowly start switching away from the plastic plates, bowls, tupperware, etc. and using less toxic options. Microplastics are EVERYWHERE— and the last thing we want is to be eating from them.
  

• Essential oils. I know I mentioned essential oils for a safer fragrance option, but have you ever used them for cleaning? While I just admitted I am NOT really a make-your-own products kind of gal, a few oils that work great for cleaning surfaces in your home are tea tree, lemon, or “fighting five”. You can dilute these with water and witch hazel to make surface cleaning sprays. I usually just Google recipes and make my own combinations. While Branch Basics is easier (and works better, in my opinion), this is another GREAT option for a much safer cleaning product than traditional ccleaners! (and ends up being SO cost-efficient in the long-run. Just a few drops goes a lonnnng way!). HERE is where I personally get my essential oils from— trustworthy, quality ingredients, GC/MS batch tested (ensures quality & purity), annnnd cost-efficient. No weird “pyramind scheme” stuff happening here— just quality oils at a great price.

nontoxic cleaning (made simple)

This ONE kit covers allllll of your cleaning needs— in a nontoxic, straight-forward way

15% OFF COUPON: THEFOUNDATIONBLOG

middle-of-the-road nontoxic swaps:

• Cookware: Going off of the plates, bowls, and cups you drink out of, it is also important to seek out nontoxic cookware. Nonstick pots and pans are COATED in toxic chemicals (that are then heated up and leeched into the food you eat….) To be honest, this is still something I am working on! It’s a more expensive thing to switch over so I am just waiting until each of our current pans bite the bucket and then replacing it with a nontoxic version when we get rid of it (instead of replacing them all at once = $$$$$). I have switched out a few so far, and it’s been painless swap— and so much healthier! Instead of “nonstick” anything, I recommend switching to a stainless steel, pure glass, cast iron or a solid ceramic option (Hot take: i do not think the “ceramic coated” popular (and heavily promoted) ~nontoxic~ brands are the best optionoption. While they are “cute”, they are merely coated in ceramic, and there is question about what is under that ceramic coating not being the best quality. there is also commonly a lack of transperancy on the chemicals involved in making their “nontoxic” layer. not to mention the ceramic coating is fragile, which will inevitably scratch and break down & expose what’s under it.)

• The Bissell Little Green. This isn’t so much a *product* as it is a tool, but holy cow I love this thing and just wanted to share since we are talking about home cleaning. This little magic machine gets out ANY spill, I swear. If you have a pet or white furniture or kids or are spill-prone (like me), you neeeeeeeeed to pick this gadget up on Amazon! It allows you to suck out literally any spill without toxic carpet cleaners or stain removers. I spilled a FULL BOTTLE of red wine on our white couch and this bad boy got it out. Any spill, any Summit accident, it totally knocks it out. I LOVE this thing. (Instead of the Bissel cleaning solution it comes with, I use the Branch Basics cleaning solution and oxyboost on the stain — and then use the bissel to completely get rid of the stain. That combo works SO well!)
  

• Sheets & bedding: Again, this is something that felt SO extra to me to source “nontoxic”, but once I thought about it, I realized I spend nearly 1/3 of my LIFE sleeping on my sheets— and we know that our skin is our largest organic that absorbs chemicals we are in contact with. Since I am spending 8+ hours *daily* wrapped up in these sheets, don’t I want them to be made of nontoxic ingredients? We have two sets— one is this Simply Organic Set and another is this organic bamboo set. I loooove them, and love knowing that they are organic and not covered in unncesary chemmies.

bigger nontoxic swaps:

While the above list include relatively simple household swaps, the ones below are more intense, more of an investment,but definitely worth considering if this is something you are passionate about! As with all things, i recommend starting small, not getting overwhelmed, and just taking it sloooow & steady. These below things can be game-changers if you want. to take it to the “next level”. :)

• water filter: While I wish I could say the water out of the faucet is trustworthy and 100% good to go, oftentimes there are worrying amounts of chemicals, additives, and contaminants in public water supply (You can look at this link to see the quality of your zip code’s water here). Since we use water SO much in our day-to-day, filtering it can be something really impactful for your health to consider. If I were ever building a house, I would FOR SURE trick it out with an excellent in-house, intense water filter. I think it’d be so, so worth it. However, we. aren’t building a house— so it was really just about doing the best we can with our current setup. For us, we primarily wanted filtered water from our kitchen sink and bought an under-the-sink filter system. (We went with this option). Our water tastes soooo good since installation, and I feel good that we are drastically reducing our exposure to toxins and contaminants in our water. I’ll admit— it’s not the easiest to install, but if you’re relatively handy, you’re set! My brother set it up in like an hour for us (thanks, Joe!), and we are soooo happy with it.

• air purifier: this is an item I personally do not have, but just wanted to include it! Air purifiers can be GAME CHANGING to clean the air, reduce toxins, airway irritants, etc. in the home. Thankfully, the air quality where we live is quite solid so I haven’t felt the need to invest. But, if you are in a big city, struggle with allergies, airway issues, chronic coughs/colds, live an old building, secondhand smoke exposure, etc. this could be something to look into!

• mattresses: yes, even our MATTRESSES are something to consider when it comes to nontoxic items in the home. While we haven’t personally bought a nontoxic mattress, our next one likely will be (again, a slow & steady approach to “replacing” is TOTALLY fine!). Typical mattresses are made of petroleum, contain flame retardants, and all sorts of unnecessary chemicals. Again, if you sleep on one are you instantly going to have health issues? Of course not. It’s more the gradual accumulation exposure of our toxic load that we get concerned about. But since we sleep in our beds one-THIRD of our lives, it is something worth considering to reduce our toxic load. While I would love to get a beautifully nontoxic mattress today, it will likely be a down-the-line purchase. And, in the meantime, I’m just doing our best to use nontoxic sheets, beddings, etc.

• baby mattress: That said, while we don’t have a nontoxic mattress, I did get a nontoxic mattress for our baby! Babies sleep SO. MUCH. and I wanted to ensure they had a safe, nontoxic place to snooze. Not to mention, a developing child's chemical exposures are greater pound-for-pound than those of adults, a baby's organs and systems are rapidly developing (and thus are often more vulnerable to damage from chemical exposure), and bodily systems that detoxify and excrete industrial chemicals are not fully developed. It just felt very worthwhile and important to me. I ended up going with Newton for a nontoxic crib mattress. Not sponsored, I paid for it myself, but just wanted to pass it along if you are looking for a nontoxic crib mattress for your little! (this link saves you $30 apparently??)

• ….literally everything else (you do YOU!): if it’s not clear by now, you can find a nontoxic version of just about ANYTHING— paints, floorings, couches, furniture, etc. And, truthfully, I do think things like this are awesome and I would LOVE to invest in them (because we TRULY are exposed to so. many. toxins. every day in all of our products), but switching out everyyyyy item is just not a reality for me. So, instead of getting overwhelmed by all the things, I do my very best with the “small” things and take a more measured, gradual approach with the big things :) Would I LOVE to have all my furniture and home decor be fully nontoxic? Sure.

  But, as with everything health, some people take it to the extremes— nontoxic EVERYTHING or traditional product EVERYTHING. To me, I try to find a “sweet spot” where I am intentional with seeking out nontoxic items, replacing things with healthier alternatives little-by-little, doing the best I can…. but NOT stressing out about the things out of my control (or budget). Step-by-step,choice-by-choice, little-by-little, you’ve got this! Every little bit you reduce your toxic load counts!

let’s make it simple:

Whew. We just covered A LOT. So let’s break it down to the few main action items— simple swaps that WILL make a difference in reducing your toxic load

• 1. Switch your “regular” cleaning to branch basics: It’s nontoxic. It’s simple. It WORKS. One cleaning set that will cover ALL your household cleaning needs. Highly, highly recommend. (15% off coupon: THEFOUNDATIONBLOG)

• 2. Upgrade your laundry set-up: Switch to a nontoxic laundry detergent, stain remover (the oxygen boost), and wool dryer balls. Simply swaps that won’t cover your clothes in unnecessary chemicals and fragrances.

• 3. Eliminate toxic candles, air fresheners, room sprays, etc.: I know this can be a tough one, but it is sooo important. Swap your toxic candles and air fresheners for essential oils diffusing, beeswax candles, or nontoxic room sprays like this one.

• 4. Overtime, work on kitchen items: This one can take time (alow yourself grace!), but slowly move away from eating off of plastic plates, bowls, glasses, water bottles, etc. and switch to glass, ceramic, or stainless steel. You can also swap out pots and pans to nontoxic options like cast iron, stainless steel, or ceramic.

• 5. Then! if you have the budget & interest, you can slowly work on transitioning the “bigger” things: It is OKAY to start small. It’s not necessary to have a perrrrrfectly nontoxic home— but the little things DO add up!! Start with the 3-4 simple swaps above & then work up to the “bigger” nontoxic items as your budget and investment allows.

that’s it!

This list may seem simple and brief, but these are literally ALL the products I use to clean my entire house. You can truly just pick up a few things and it covers everything—you really don’t need to overcomplicate it or buy 5 trillion products or make your own potions (unless you want to!).

Keeping your home clean, nontoxic and safe doesn’t have to be overdramatic, and switching to clean products doesn’t have to be overwhelming. I hope this post helped give you clarity and a clear action plan— small steps, little swaps, and INTENTIONAL choices can makea HUGE difference.

Trust me, you can do it! I’d love to hear down in the comments if you pick up anything on this list, or if you have your own nontoxic cleaning product faves. Cheers to clean, friends!

SOURCES:

Chan, L. M., Chalupka, S. M., & Barrett, R. (2015). Female college student awareness of exposures to environmental toxins in personal care products and their effect on preconception health. Workplace health & safety, 63(2), 64-70.

Environmental Working Group . (2012). Myths on cosmetics safety. Retrieved from http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/myths-on-cosmetics-safety/

Faber, S. (2019, March 20). On Cosmetics Safety, U.S. Trails More Than 40 Nations. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://www.ewg.org/news-and-analysis/2019/03/cosmetics-safety-us-trails-more-40-nations

Vogel, L. (2011). US legislators propose crackdown on toxic cosmetics.

But, wait! There’s more…