With spring just around the corner you might be thinking about all the DEEP CLEANING you need to do 🧹🚽 to get your home looking (and smelling) fresh and clean to welcome the new season.

🛑 But wait! Before you bust out your cleaning supplies, are you sure those products are non-toxic and SAFE for you, your family, and the environment?

As a wellness provider, we CARE about your HEALTH and VITATLITY. We want to make sure you have all the resources you need to make informed decisions to reduce chemical stress in your body and PREVENT disease and illness.

So in case you missed some of the fun videos and safer cleaning product suggestions we covered on social media last week, we’re going to recap of some of the most important tips and tricks to reduce the chemical burden on your nervous system and feel your very best!

What’s So Bad About Conventional Cleaning Products?

For starters, this is not a guilt trip -- just a wake up call that many of us are unknowingly adding toxic load to our bodies through the cleaning and personal care products we use. People have been led to believe that if a product is sold in a store it’s “safe” to use. However, that is NOT the case.

Until the Lautenberg Act of 2016, companies manufacturing products with chemical ingredients could sell their items BEFORE the FDA (Food and Drug Administgration) or EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) conducted safety reviews. It was only until chemicals and other additives were flagged as potentially harmful that testing would be conducted by the FDA or EPA to prove certain ingredients unsafe and outlawed for use. 🚫

When it comes to chemicals in cleaning products today, the EPA is now supposed to perform safety tests BEFORE products go to market; however, their saftey standards are clealy much lower than other countries as evidenced by the fact the EPA has only restriced 14 substances (as of 2021), which is fewer than 40 other industrailized nations around the world. Just in cosmetics alone, the EU has banned or restricted more than 1,300 chemicals, 🧪 while the US has only outlawed 11.

Another problem with safety standards in the US is that cosmetic products (perfumes, makeup, moisturizers, shampoos, hair dyes, face and body cleansers, and shaving preparations) still DO NOT require FDA approval before they go on the market - with one exception: color additives.

The GOOD NEWS?

Many companies DO take the time to test and verify that the ingredients in their cleaning products are non-toxic for the human body. Most are made from natural plant extracts 🌿 and pure ingredients found in nature. Plus, they happen to do a GREAT JOB cleaning up the mess! 🧼

So rather than “hope” your conventional cleaners are ok to inhale, spray on your countertops or wash your laundry with, use the following SAFE BRANDS and resources to get the job done.

Protect Your Health: Non-toxic Cleaning Products and Resources

Norwex: These microfiber clothes are the best ones out there! More dense than your average mircofiber cloth, they remove 99% of bacteria from surfaces using only water and contain a micro silver agent that helps self-purify the cloths to prevent bacteria, mildew and mold from growing. If you'd like more information on the numerous types of cleaning cloths, deep cleaning pastes and sprays, or laundry products email our very own Office Manager, Rachel (rachel@restorechiro.life), and she can help you out!

Branch Basics: If you only buy one thing, purchase their concentrate solution which cleans just about everything. Their products are fully biodegradable, fragrance-free, organic, with natural ingredients like baking soda and chamomile.

Grove Collabrative: The company offers a multitude of household, personal care, and cleaning product subscriptions, from multi-surface cleaners to pet stain removers.

Dropps: Best known for their laundry and detergent pods, thier products are third-party tested and have even won the EPA’s Safer Choice Products of the Year—so their products are safe, sustainable, and squeaky clean in every way.

Essential Oils: It's sad to say, but the majority of store-bought candles and wall fragrance plug-ins emit endocrine-disrupting chemicals that negatively impact your hormones. Rather then using a candle or plug-in to create a desired atmosphere or scent in your home, diffuse essential oils. Not only do they smell nice, but they can be used for medicinal purposes as well. Just be sure to buy an organic, high-quality brand like Young Living, Plant Therapy, or Dottera and do you research before applying them topically.

Molly's Suds: Clean your clothes, get rid of stains, and have nice, soft fabric without leaching chemicals into your wardrobe.

Environmental Working Group: To help you determine which cleaning products are safe to use, 🧴 all you have to do is download the EWG Healthy Living App. Not only does it provide a “hazard” rating for cleaning items, cosmetics, and food, but the app lists the ingredients and tells you WHY to avoid them. Just scan the barcode in any store or search for a specific product and you’ll have all the information you need to make the best choice for your health! 🙌

We hope you've learned something new today and feel inspired to tackle some cleaning projects (without all the toxins) this week!

Even if you just make ONE product swich, you're helping reduce the chemical stress in your body which allows it to spend less energy detoxing and more towards creating the vibrant, healthy lifestyle you desire! 🥰