Best Household Cleaners

By Mishaun Taylor

When it comes to household cleaners, most consumers go for brand name rather than an alternative generic brand, even when they do the same job and are made of the same ingredients, according to consumer surveys. Particular brand names seem to inspire loyalty, the surveys found. For example, some of the most common brands include Tide, Comet, Ajax, Clorox, Windex, Dawn, Lysol and Ivory.

Other popular brand names include Purex, Formula 407 and Fantastic. However, many newer brand names are inspiring great interest and loyalty. They include Swiffer wet jet and Swiffer dusters, Febreeze, Tilex, Scrubbing Bubbles and Lysol and other disinfecting wipes.

Brand name typically doesn’t have much determination on how successful the product is. The success of a particular cleaning product typically depends on having the right tools at hand to assist in the cleaning—like large scrubbing brushes instead of sponges to relieve your scrubbing effort. And many household cleaners are multi-task oriented, for cleaning kitchen and bath, among other places.

Because many products can perform multiple purposes, health experts recommend against having an entire stock of every cleaning item known to humanity. The reason? All chemical cleaning products give off fumes, and it’s very dangerous to mix different chemicals because they can create even more toxic gases that are inhaled while you are cleaning. Many people have ended up with respiratory problems because of inhaling toxic fumes from mixed chemicals. Fumes last a particularly long time in the home, especially during seasonal extremes when houses are closed for heating and air conditioning.

When it comes to use of cleaners, and keeping in mind their relative potential toxicity, people with children and pets should be particularly concerned about what they use to clean their homes. In fact, you might want to consider the green products that are less toxic and safer for households with children and pets. Many homeopathic veterinarians are attributing behavior and health problems (such as cancer) in pets to toxic household chemicals. Cleaning product poisoning symptoms in pets include: anxiety, burns on mouth, colic, corneal damage, cough, excessive salivation, foaming at the mouth, hypothermia, muscle weakness, restlessness, seizure, breathing problems and vomiting, among others. Some cleaning products can cause death in pets, especially cats, which are particularly sensitive to environmental toxins.

Nontoxic cleaners include AFM SafeChoice Super Clean All Purpose Cleaner and Simple Pure Clean, among others. Ingredients often include all-natural non-toxic ingredients, such as baking soda, white distilled vinegar, liquid soap and water and are scented with essential oils. You can also make your own all-natural cleaners by using baking soda and white vinegar.

This is certainly not to say that you should throw out your chemical cleaners. Just keep track of what you are using and make sure you’re keeping a healthful and clean home.