I recently got an email from a reader about the use of cleaning products in the house - YAY, my favourite subject (no, seriously). Don't know about other dads but I keep seeing these ads for all purpose cleaning products in the house that promise to remove 99.99% of all germs. Sounds great, eh? Until you realise that whatever kills 99.99% of all bacteria must be pretty lethal all round. So I'm not sure I prefer my little man to lick a surface with some leftovers from the cleaning product vs picking up the germs that were there naturally.

I'm not a biologist or expert on hygiene but common sense and a bit of research on the net suggest that a significant percentage of all those germs that we find in the house occur naturally and are in fact not dangerous to a healthy person (including children). In fact many doctors argue that your child needs to be exposed to a certain level of germs, bacteria and "dirt" in order to build up a decent immune system. It seems children have always picked up stuff from the floor and put it in their mouth (god knows why but they just do it). So I'm wondering whether there is any evidence that supports the use of cleaning products to significantly reduce the risk of any health issues from exposure to germs. More importantly can we be sure we are not introducing new risks to the health of our children as a result of using the cleaning product itself?

We already know that cleaning products and babies / toddlers don't actually mix well and a key part of child-proofing the house is to move them to higher ground. On top of that there is mounting evidence that the chemicals used in household cleaners are really not that great (for humans or the environment). Here's some examples:

"Household cleaners . . . persist in the blood and make their way into women's breast milk. Scientists and advocacy groups admit we don’t know for sure how bad these are for you. Human tests have never been conducted on most of the 18,000 chemicals produced each year. But evidence is mounting. Some of the worst chemicals have already been banned, and states are looking at stricter regulations for others. Many of these toxins are lurking just behind your front door.” — “Home toxic home”, Chicago Daily Herald, Susan Stevens (Published June 5, 2005).

"'Our kids are the canaries in a coal mine,' says Dr. Kenneth Bock, author of Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies. 'American children are growing up in a toxic environment, a chemical soup sensitizing them to even the common foods they need to grow and thrive.'

Well there is an alternative. There are actually natural antibacterial disinfectants available. A good example is vinegar which has been used as a disinfectant for centuries. The person who contacted us in the first place has set up a website about natural disinfectants (www.formykidsonline.com) - worth a look I think.

Either way I think the old "less is more" is definitely a good idea when it comes to the use of antibacterial all purpose cleaners in the house.

-Stef

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