Household cleaners
Consider what happens when you rub sunscreen on your skin. What happens? It gets absorbed by the skin.
Now: consider what happens when your dog walks on your floors after you used a highly toxic floor cleaner. Their pads absorb! (Not to mention.... I've also caught my dogs licking the floor.)
Many household cleaners are laden with chemicals that are detrimental to our animal's health.
Most common things you should avoid in your cleaners:
Chlorine bleach (bathroom cleaners): vapors can irritate respiratory tissue; when mixed with ammonia can cause poisonous gas
Sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide (drain cleaner, oven cleaner): caustic and can cause tissue damage
2-Butoxyethanol (multipurpose cleaner, window cleaners): can cause liver/kidney damage
Perchloroethylene (fabric cleaner, spot removers): carcinogen and neurotoxin
Formaldehyde (heavy duty cleaners, degreasers): neurotoxin, disrupts hormones
Consider trying more natural products instead.
Vinegar + baking soda
Vinegar + water + alcohol
Castile soap + hydrogen peroxide
Vinegar + essential oils / lemon juice
You can also consider things like
@branchbasics household kit
@youngliving thieves cleaner
@forceofnatureclean starter kit
Artificial "cover up" scents
From dryer sheets, to plug ins, to fabric sprays... ditch the toxic mess!
Many of these scent products contain:
Phthalates- disruptive to the respiratory and endocrine systems
Volatile organic compounds- highly combustible , common allergen, and asthmatic agent
Benzene- known carcinogen and disruptive to reproductive function
Paraben- hormone disruptor
Toulene- known neurotoxin
Styrene: carcinogen and neurotoxin
Formaldehyde: carcinogen
Consider instead:
Essential oil diffuser
Air filters
Pet safe indoor plants (ex: snake plants)
Plastic food bowls
When filled with water, these bowls can leach harmful bisphenol A (BPAs).
Plastic containers leach these chemicals especially when subject to heat or sunlight.
Plastic bowls are also easy to destroy and can pose a choking hazard.
I recommend choosing stainless steel or glass instead!
Pesticides
Pesticides sprayed around the yard or applied topically can you pet can be harmful.
Organophosphates are shown to cause cancer
Neonicotinoids are shown to be toxic to nerves
Consider safer alternatives like:
@wondercide
Shampoo
What's in the soap?
Did you know not all shampoo is created equal?
Some shampoos may contain:
Parabens that may disrupt the endocrine system (as it can mimic estrogen hormone) and are harmful for the environment when they go down the drain
Sulfates that have been shown to break down cell membranes an can be overly drying, therefore causing skin allergies and flakiness
My safer alternative is:
@naturaldogcompany
@4-leggerz