Classroom Air Pollutants

Every wonder what chemicals are used to clean the classrooms where your children sit for at least 6 hours each day they are at school? How about teachers who spend 8-10 hours in their classroom each teaching day? Does your child suffer from asthma? How about the janitors who are exposing themselves to cleaning chemicals simply because it's part of their job?

I just found the following article and of course there are many things of interest in it.
Green School Cleaners Emit Fewer Air Pollutants 
I found this article through a link from another article called Cleaning at School may Dirty your Child's Classroom Air

What caught my eye though was the reference to Febreze (I guess I'm still not over my Febreze assault).

Febreze Air Effects, an air freshener that gave off 89 airborne contaminants including acetaldehyde, a chemical linked to cancer.  

Worst Cleaners: These products released the largest number of air pollutants

• Comet Disinfectant Powder Cleanser
• Simple Green Concentrated Cleaner/Degreaser/Deodorizer
• Febreze Air Effects

Worst Product Types: These types released the largest number of air pollutants

• Graffiti Removers
• Air Fresheners
• Floor Finishes

 

Anyone still using Comet in their house?

As it happens, it’s not just the cleaners used in schools. Some of the products we had tested are also under the sink in millions of American homes. One of them, Comet Disinfectant Powder Cleanser, released 143 contaminants into the air – including formaldehyde, benzene, chloroform and four others that California has formally identified as causers of cancer or reproductive problems. Yuck.

Making your own cleaning products is pretty simple and only takes a small amount of time. Probably as much time as it would take to research which products were safe to buy. Basic ingredients include: borax, baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, water. Pretty simple right? I've only bought a few cleaning products which serve many purposes. Bon Ami is a polishing cleanser similar to Comet but without all the airborne contaminants. CitraSolv is another multi-purpose cleaner I use. I bought it once in a spray bottle and subsequently bought in concentrate form and fill up my spray bottle.

 

I never use air fresheners but often burn bees wax candles.

Beeswax is a renewable resource which produces negative ions that actually clean your air of odors, pollens, smoke, dust, dust mites, viruses and other allergens and hazards.

I think it's important to not get discouraged when identifying contaminants in your life. It takes time to find them, weed them out and to replace them with safer products.  If you look under your sink and find it full of unsafe products, don't fret. Try changing out a product every few weeks or so. Don't let it overwhelm you, simply change things one step at a time!