Why I don't use bleach

   People have been using bleach for a long time in their homes. Everything from cleaning their bathrooms to whitening their laundry.

   I however- choose not to use it in my home for many reasons that I've listed below.


1. The odor. Oh how I cannot stand to inhale that odor. It stinks terribly and takes forever to disappear, feeling burned into your nostrils.

2. The health issues associated with bleach.  These include respiratory problems, burned skin, and damage to the nervous system. In many cases, the use of bleach and cleaners with chlorine irritate problems that people have including allergies and asthma. These are caused as a direct result of the product itself and can be serious.

3. Potential chemical reactions. Often times the direct physical health issues aren't caused from the product itself, but rather the results of chemical reactions.

• Chlorine easily mixes with ammonia (urine which contains ammonia). This can happen when mixing cleaners (on purpose and by accident) and even while cleaning the toilet. The results is a toxic gas which can and sometimes does cause the lungs to stop functioning. Usually the fumes are noticeable, but sometimes people don't even notice that they are breathing in a potentially life-threatening gas.
• Mixing chlorine with dish soap produces mustard gas, the same gas used to kill many people during World War I. Many people mix chlorine with dish soap while cleaning the kitchen (again, on purpose and by accident).
• Chlorine also mixes with organic matter creating chloroform. This is a toxin and a known carcinogen. This happens in the house while cleaning the kitchen, the toilet, washing the laundry, and cleaning up food, blood, or other organic messes. This is dangerous to the inhabitants of the house. However, chlorine also mixes with organics in the environment building these toxins up all over the world.

4. The toxins. By using these harsh chemicals in homes, people are dumping them in the water supply which gets recirculated (even with their filters, they cant catch everything!)

5. Accidents. There are a large number of accidents that happen with household cleaners. In 1997 there were 217,989 calls to poison control for household cleaner accidents. Of those, 54,453 were directly related to bleach and 7,570 were from household cleaners that contain bleach. That means that 28% of household accidents involving cleaners were from bleach alone. Using "green" cleaners can help prevent accidents from household cleaning supplies and bleach from happening in your home.

6. It's bad for pets. Particularly birds. It builds up in their lungs much faster than ours and can kill them.

7. If none of these can convince you, then how about this: Stay-at-home moms are 54% more likely to get cancer than those that work outside of the home and it is believed to be because of the harsh chemicals used in household cleaning that they are exposed to for longer periods of time than those who work outside of the home.


   Instead of using bleach for common cleaning in my home, I've switched to Orange Infused Vinegar. I don't normally whiten my clothes, but there are multiple ways to be a little more green for your whitening needs;

1. Vinegar (3/4 cup with your regular detergent)
2. Baking soda (1/2 cup with your regular detergent)
3. Hydrogen peroxide (1/2 cup with your regular detergent)
4. Sunlight (the BEST for cloth diapers, BTW! Not to mention saving on the electrical bill with a clothes line.)
5. Borax (1/2 with your regular detergent) -Borax is a natural mineral

So what do you use instead of bleach?
Teresa