Toxic Cleaning Products To Avoid & Non-Toxic Alternatives

Keeping your home clean shouldn’t be dirty business, yet many conventional cleaning products contain potentially harmful ingredients. To help you make better choices, here’s a handy guide to toxic cleaning products and the ingredients to avoid. I’ve also got eco-friendly shop-bought alternatives and natural alternatives to try.

Judging by the vast array of cleaning products available in the supermarket, it’s never been easier to achieve a sparkling clean home.

With bold claims that each product will clean your home better and kill more germs than ever before, with just a quick spray and a wipe, it’s easy to buy into these claims. But how much thought do we give to the chemicals that we spray and squirt around our homes?

Yet if you pick up any cleaning product label you’re likely to see chemical warning labels on the cleaning products we use every week. These labels warn us that the contents are “harmful to aquatic life with long-lasting effects”, and/or that the products could irritate or corrode our skin, cause blindness, or cause breathing problems.

But if we use the chemicals correctly then they are safe, right?

Not according to research from the Natural Resources Defense Council in California. Their 2016 research discovered 45 different toxic chemicals present in household dust. This included chemicals such as phthalates and hormone disrupters, which affect reproductive systems and are linked to developmental problems in babies. The source of these toxic compounds? Household chemicals and personal care products.

Meanwhile, a 2018 study by the University of Bergen found that regular cleaning products were as bad for our lungs as smoking 20 cigarettes a day, following a 20-year study.

What’s In A Label?

Shopping for non-toxic cleaning products can be difficult. Unlike personal care or food and drink products, manufacturers aren’t required to provide a detailed list of the ingredients in their cleaning products. Although EU legislation specifies that companies do need to list the full ingredients on their website.

Instead, under the EU’s CLP Regulation (which covers the classification, labelling and packaging of chemical substances), all chemical mixtures, such as solvents and cleaning products, must be assessed for their safety. If hazardous, they have to be classified and labelled for their hazards to human health or environmental safety.

However, the CLP regulations make it tricky to make informed decisions. Companies classify products based on undiluted or concentrated exposure. Essential oil bottles, often carry warnings that they are toxic to marine life. This is despite the fact you would never use the oils undiluted.

This lack of transparency and confusion makes it difficult for consumers to make informed decisions.

The Toxic Ingredients To Avoid

If you look at any study into the health and environmental impact of toxic chemicals present in cleaning products, three ingredients, in particular, emerge as the most concerning and ubiquitous. These are parabens, triclosan, phthalates and formaldehyde. Let’s take a look at these in more detail:

Parabens

This additive is used for its antifungal and preservative properties, extending the shelf-life of cosmetics and cleaning products. As an indication of its toxic potential, five parabens have been banned from use in cosmetics by the EU. However, they are still allowed in cleaning products.

Absorbed through the skin and by inhalation and ingestion, parabens have strong links to hormone disruption, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and skin irritation. Breast cancer charities have highlighted their presence in breast tumours. Here they thought to increase the growth of cancer cells.

Triclosan & Triclocarban

These antimicrobial agents are used in many antibacterial and antiviral cleaning products. However, they are known to affect thyroid hormone function by disrupting the regulation of metabolism and normal breast development. It is also an irritant to the skin and eyes.

Even more worrying is that both triclosan and triclocarban may have possible links to antibiotic resistance. As a result of these concerns, their use is already banned in soaps in the US. They are also restricted in many toiletries in the UK. Despite this, triclosan and triclocarban are still allowed to be used in cleaning products.

Phthalates

A common chemical used in synthetic fragrances – in everything from air fresheners to laundry detergents – phthalate toxicity is linked to developmental problems in babies. A recent study cited a correlation between pregnant women with high levels of phthalates and children with markedly lower IQ levels. And again, as an endocrine-disrupting chemical, phthalate is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.

Some phthalates have been banned in the EU but not all. The problem is it is difficult to identify if products contain phthalates or not. This is because the chemical constituents of fragrances don’t have to be disclosed by brands. These are considered trade secrets, and instead can just be listed as ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’ on the label – potentially hiding a complex mixture of dozens of chemicals. 

Try opting for fragrance-free products or those free of synthetic fragrances, to avoid phthalates.

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde and ‘formaldehyde-releasing’ preservatives help improve a cleaning product’s shelf life. As such, it is commonly found in cleaning products, detergents and air fresheners. However, its use is linked to cancer, skin irritation, asthma, and eye, nose and throat irritation.

Some forms or uses of formaldehyde are banned or restricted in the EU or the USA, but many forms are still allowed to be used in cleaning products.

The Non-Toxic Cleaning Brands To Try

Despite the mounting evidence of the harmful effects of these and other synthetic additives, the use of toxic, persistent compounds is widespread in cleaning products. Thankfully, some eco-conscious brands make effective yet gentle formulations without the cocktail of potentially dangerous ingredients.

Here are some of my favourite ‘clean’ cleaning brands:

Ecoleaf

Ecoleaf by Suma (available at Ethical Superstore) is another eco-friendly and plant-based cleaning brand worth knowing about. It formulates all of its vegan and cruelty-free products without the use of parabens, triclosan, phthalates or formaldehyde. Refills are available, and the bottles are made from recycled and recyclable plastic.

Suma – the brand behind Ecoleaf – is a worker’s cooperative which has been supplying sustainable food and household products for over 40 years.

Owned and run by the almost 200 people who work there, Suma is the largest equal-pay worker co-op in Europe. Here, everyone has an equal say in what the cooperative does, and everyone gets paid the same wage.

Miniml

Refillable cleaning brand Miniml also steers well away from using parabens, triclosan, formaldehyde and phthalates in its formulations.

Miniml offers a wide range of vegan-friendly and cruelty-free cleaning products for every corner of your home – from washing up liquid and laundry detergent to toilet cleaner and surface cleaner, and more. Essentially, it’s all the products you need to clean your home sustainably.

To help avoid plastic, all of its products are refillable, either through bulk bottles online or through the use of eco-friendly refill stations dotted across the UK. If you shop online, the bulk delivery containers can be returned for free and then reused by Miniml, to offer a closed-loop approach to cleaning and laundry.

I’ve loved all the Miniml products I’ve tried, but, in particular, the anti-bacterial French Lavender surface cleaner is my favourite. It smells so good and does the job brilliantly.

Bio-D

As one of the eco-cleaning originals – on the go since 1989 – Bio D (available at Ethical Superstore) is a brand you can trust. This vegan and cruelty-free brand doesn’t use any parabens, triclosan, formaldehyde and phthalates in any of its cleaning products.

As well as avoiding toxic ingredients, Bio D has complete traceability on all the ingredients it uses. This means it can ensure that each raw material it uses is ethically and sustainably sourced.

I’m a big fan of Bio D. I’ve used its pink grapefruit washing-up liquid for YEARS, and I haven’t found a greasy pan or an oily plate that it can’t handle.

Bio’D is not just loved by me, it has also racked up a heap of accolades. It’s a certified B-Corp and is endorsed by Cruelty-Free International, The Vegan Society, and Allergy UK. Ethical Consumer also awarded Bio D its “Best Buy” status – a label that is only awarded to those products and services whose environmental and ethical records warrant it.

Other Top Tips To Reduce Toxins In Your Home

As well as switching to more eco-conscious cleaning brands, there are a few other things that you can do to reduce toxins in your home:

1. Use fewer cleaning products. Switching to microfibre cloths, such as eCloths, can reduce the number of cleaning products you need, whilst providing a thorough clean. What’s more, they’re washable and reusable too. However, they are made of plastic. Wash these in a microfibre catcher, to help reduce microplastics reaching our water.
2. Make your own natural cleaners. With just a few simple ingredients such as lemon juice, vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda you can make a whole host of natural cleaning products. Try my post on natural cleaning products to DIY for a plethora of inspiration, and find even more recipes in my green cleaning book, Fresh Clean Home. The only things I haven’t been able to crack are washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets. Try my guide to eco-friendly washing-up liquid and zero-waste dishwasher tablets for non-toxic suggestions.

This post was originally written for Moral Fibres by Georgina Rawe of Ethical Consumer Magazine, and published on 22nd May 2021. The original post was significantly rewritten and updated by Wendy on 10th May 2024 to provide more up-to-date information.