Hydrogen Peroxide vs. Bleach:
Which is the Better Household Cleaner?
And is There an Even Better Option?
by www.SixWise.com
Chlorine bleach household cleaners are often the most toxic chemicals found in homes yet most popular in America. Bleach is added to everything from toilet bowl cleaners and counter sprays to dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent. Of course, it’s also often used straight out of the bottle for an endless array of cleaning purposes.
The benefit to chlorine bleach is that it’s very effective in killing germs like viruses, bacteria and fungi. But the benefit does not come without a price. It resides as residue on all surfaces you use it to clean, it goes into your home’s air that you breathe, affecting your lungs, and it’s absorbed very quickly into your skin and your family members’ skin by everything you touch that was cleaned.
Chlorine is extremely poisonous and was actually used during World War I as a choking agent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chlorine gas is what gives bleach its pungent odor, and it can be pressurized and cooled to change it into a liquid form, which is used to make countless industrial and household products including bleach (both household chlorine bleach and bleach used in the manufacture of paper and cloth).
“Household bleach, used to whiten fabrics or remove mold from surfaces, is (ONLY) a 5% solution of a stabilized form of chlorine,” states the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
Health Risks of Chlorine Bleach
The active ingredient in bleach, sodium hypochlorite, is a combination of sodium and chlorine. This substance is not only incredibly corrosive and capable of causing irritation, pain and blistering if it comes in contact with your skin, it’s also potentially dangerous when inhaled.
According to Clorox, “Medical conditions that may be aggravated by exposure to high concentrations of vapor or mist [from Clorox regular bleach): heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis or obstructive lung disease.”
As you may also have heard, chlorine bleach reacts with ammonia, drain cleaners and other acids like vinegar and some toilet bowl cleaners. If you mix chlorine bleach with theses substances, chlorine gas is released, which can cause the following even at low levels:
If the chlorine gas exposure is high enough it can cause:
It’s therefore incredibly important to not mix bleach with any ammonia or acid-containing products, and this includes coming into contact with urine while cleaning cat litter boxes or diaper pails. Bleach may also react with certain oven cleaners, hydrogen peroxide and insecticides, making its use a bit like playing Russian roulette.
Is Hydrogen Peroxide a Good Alternative?
Hydrogen peroxide in the 3 percent strength commonly sold in drug stores can make an effective alternative to chlorine bleach. For instance:
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Fill a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide and spray it onto your shower walls, counters, refrigerator, lunch boxes and other surfaces. Wipe clean with a paper towel.
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To get rid of musty smells and mildew, such as in the basement or in your bathroom, mix one part 3 percent hydrogen peroxide with two parts water, put in a spray bottle and spray the area (let it sit for an hour or more before rinsing).
While hydrogen peroxide is antibacterial and also capable of killing viruses, its downside is that it does not work instantly. So to get the full disinfection effects you’ll need to leave the peroxide on whatever it is you’re cleaning for varying lengths of time. This is fine if you’re cleaning your shower stall or doing laundry, but when you need to clean your kitchen counters you may want a cleaner that acts fast.
What’s a Safe and Effective, Natural Cleaner That’s Fast-Acting Too?
Chlorine bleach has high risk as if it’s not handled with plastic gloves and no residue is left behind there could be concern for autoimmune and other unseen causes of health problems, making it a verydangerous poison risk to your health. Also hydrogen peroxide, though generally safe and an excellent disinfectant, likely will not meet all of your cleaning needs.
Other cleaning products are also not recommended, as the very solvents that you use to keep your home clean can accumulate in household dust and linger on surfaces and in the air you breathe. Many conventional cleaning products are packed with harsh cleaning chemicals even beyond chlorine bleach – like ammonia and alcohol -- along with artificial colors and powerful fragrances that can release toxic fumes, causing irritation of the eyes and possible antibiotic resistance due to unnecessary antibacterial compounds in the cleaners.
For instance, did you know that using conventional cleaning sprays and air fresheners at least once a week can increase your risk of asthma by 30-50 percent? It can.
And, according to researchers from the University of California-Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, cleaning a shower stall for 15 minutes with a product containing glycol ethers, which are common in household cleaners and classified as hazardous air pollutants by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, may result in exposures that are three times the recommended one-hour exposure limit.
Household cleaners also contribute to contamination in your indoor air. When you breathe in polluted air, the pollutants reach much further than your nose, mouth and even lungs. Polluted air affects all of your body's systems, particularly your respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
And be warned: Common cleaners and cleaning tools like cotton rags and mops do not make the grade in terms of "deep" cleaning to avoid illness. You must seriously consider using cloths, mops and other cleaning tools that are made from ultramicrofibers instead.
PerfectClean antimicrobial cleaning tools remove many pathogens in their path ... that is because at an astonishing 4-6 microns (bacteria range from 2 – 8 microns) the "polyester-polyamide conjugated filament" are even smaller than most bacteria.
The microscopic size combined with the high percentage of fiber used dramatically increases the surface area of the Hand Wipes (each 12" cleaning hand wipe cloth contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!).
PerfectClean cleaning tools are made from high performance Hypoallergenic materials knitted with the highest quality conjugated (splittable) "micro-denier filaments."
Individual fibers are the same size range (or smaller) than most bacteria. These microscopic fibers are produced by a complex manufacturing process that involves hundreds of variables that splits a "polyester-polyamide conjugated filament" (bicomponent) resulting in from 9 to 16 microscopic fibers.
Again, these "split" filaments achieve an individual fiber size of approximately 4-6 microns (bacteria range from 2 – 8 microns).
Important Graphic of Size Relationships of Various So Called “Cleaning Products” that ONLY Move and Slide Bacteria vs. Patented PerfectClean Fibers Small Enough to Grab and Remove with Antimicrobial Properties
PerfectClean performance is further enhanced by the material’s overall positive (+) electrostatic charge. In fact, the electrostatic charge developed by a PerfectClean wiper naturally is greater than the electrostatic charge developed by disposable dust sheets chemically.
Dirt and dust particles, bacteria and pollen, and other organic particles all have a negative (-) charge. Thus, PerfectCLEAN fibers literally act as thousands of tiny magnets (positively charged fibers attract negatively charged dust, dirt, etc.) attracting and binding all types of particles.
When damp, fiber quality and quantity provides an enormous surface area within the material, which accelerates and increases wicking of solution through the material resulting in a powerful capillary action (suction) achieving the highest absorption capacity of any material tested.
PerfectClean products are covered by one or more International and US patents, and patents pending, offering unique designs and "built-in antimicrobial protection."
This is why Sixwise.com strongly endorses and offers you PerfectClean's Total HomePure Pack for all of your home’s deep-cleaning needs. .
Includes:
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2 All Purpose Terry Cloths
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2 Super Silk Cloths
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3 Lenstronic Cloths
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2 Scrub & Clean Reversible Gloves
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1 Flexible Duster with 2 Duster Covers
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1 EasyGrip 16"-wide Flat Mop System w/Ergonomic Handle
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2 Flat Mop Heads
Again, the ultramicrofibers in these products reach into microscopic nooks, crannies and crevices on your floors, countertops, furniture and other surfaces and remove everything in their path. No other type of cleaning tool can come remotely close to removing microscopic contaminants that can make you sick!
Attracts Germs Like a Magnet, No Toxic Cleaners Necessary!
The ultramicrofibers found in PerfectClean products are positively charged while dirt and biological contaminants are negatively charged. This means that unlike any other type of cleaning tool, the PerfectClean ultramicrofibers grab everything and never let them go. Also, dangerous germs won't be spread around your floors or other surfaces as other cleaning tools tend to do!
Also, PerfectClean high-performance cleaning supplies not only provide infection prevention through dry cleaning, but also significantly reduce germs through damp cleaning -- just add water! You will no longer need to use toxic chemicals to clean anymore, because the PerfectClean high-performance cleaning supplies work by adding just a bit of plain water. It's hassle-free and efficient cleaning, ideal to remove the health risks associated with bacteria, viruses, germs, pet feces, superbugs, mouse urine and droppings and more!
Plus, you will SAVE MONEY because, first of all, the hospitals and other commercial organizations trust using PerfectClean towels, duster covers and other ultramicrofiber products over a 100 times before replacing them! When you check out the entire PerfectClean line offered by SixWise.com, do the math -- the amount you'll save (for a far superior product) is incredible.
You'll save still more money because you will be able to eliminate using paper towels, germ-infested sponges and rags, chemical cleaners and more by using PerfectClean instead, just as commercial hospitals and health care companies are doing!
According to the Centers for Disease Control, keeping your home clean is one of the most effective measures you should take to help prevent health issues, and two of the keys they cite are:
1. Use Preventative Measures
2. Buy the Least Harmful Product Available
No other product even comes close to PerfectClean in achieving these two keys, so click here to see the PerfectCLEAN Total HomePURE pack, which is a total cleaning kit for every room and every surface in your home!
Not only will you get the safest, healthiest and most attractive clean in your home, but you'll save big money because PerfectClean lasts far longer than any other cleaning method (and you can eliminate or greatly reduce any chemical cleaners, meaning even bigger savings and better health protection!)
SixWise Says ...
While the physical activity of housework is quite healthy, breathing in chemical household cleaners is not.
Recommended Reading
The Health & Wellness Benefits of Housework (Including Preventing Breast Cancer According to New Study!)
Studies Show Why "Spring Survival" is Fast Replacing "Spring Cleaning!"
Sources
Wisconsin Department of Health Services
New Jersey Department of Health (PDF)
eHow.com September 16, 2009
eHow.com
Clorox.com Material Safety Data Sheet (PDF)