🧽 Want a cleaner home? Start with fewer cleaning products

Hey folks! I’ve always wanted to sneak an advice column into this newsletter, and a question from my friend Julia finally gave me the chance. She asked what cleaning products really do to the environment. Turns out, the science is far more dramatic than the labels suggest.

In 2022, scientists looked at what happened when the world went heavy on chlorine bleach during Covid, and the picture isn’t great. Chlorine disinfectants do kill viruses, but once they wash into soil or wastewater, they start creating toxic by-products that can harm plants, aquatic life, and humans, with some compounds linked to cancer and genetic damage.

Other recent studies suggest that our favourite “fresh and clean” products do more than shine floors. Indoors, they can load the air with volatile chemicals, tiny particles, and nitrogen dioxide. Everyday habits — mopping, spraying glass cleaner, anything scented — add a fog of fragrances and aerosols that hang around longer than you’d think. Some ingredients act as airway irritants, and regular exposure has been linked to breathing problems in both children and adults. Sprays seem to be the worst offenders: using them often is associated with higher rates of asthma and other health problems.

A 2024 study adds another twist: many cleaning products labelled “green” pollute indoor air just as much as regular ones. Researchers found that scented eco-cleaners often release even more volatile chemicals called monoterpenes, which then react to form nasties like formaldehyde. These pollutants can irritate the eyes, skin, and lungs, and long-term exposure to formaldehyde may increase the risk of cancer.

And there’s a social angle too. Despite all the progress on gender roles, women still do most household cleaning — roughly a third more than men — which means greater exposure to whatever ends up in the air. In professional cleaning, the gap is even sharper: 89% of home and hotel cleaners are women, most from minority groups, facing far higher chemical exposure every day.

So, what can we do?

First of all, cleaning keeps us healthy; just do it with an open window and a bit of common sense. Liquid cleaners are easier on the lungs than sprays, and strong fragrances are more trouble than they’re worth. In short, clean your home, but don’t gas yourself in the process. And you don’t need every heavily marketed product either: simple ingredients usually do the job.

At a recent event run by the Friends of Brookmill Park and the Art of Zero Living shop in Greenwich, I learned that most effective cleaning boils down to a few basics: different types of soda, citric acid, and a bit of alcohol. For instance, oxygen bleach is just sodium percarbonate: add hot water, and it releases oxygen that breaks down organic stains.

Some of it looks like practical magic. A fresh red wine stain vanishes under a stream of boiling water poured from a height to add pressure. For tiles, toilets, and anything covered in limescale, dissolve 200 grammes of citric acid in 150 grammes of hot water, then spray it on. Add tea tree or peppermint oil for scent and an extra antibacterial boost.

Even the all-purpose cleaner is minimalist: 60 ml of cleaning vinegar, 150 ml of water, 40 ml of rubbing alcohol, and a few drops of essential oils. It cuts through limescale and works on shower screens and kitchen surfaces alike. Just don’t use it on natural stone, folks.

If all of this sounds like something our grandmothers used to do, that’s because they’d already worked it out: simple ingredients and a bit of effort beat a cupboard full of novelty sprays every time.

And that’s it for today! Thanks for reading! If you enjoy the newsletter, share it with a friend. And if you really enjoyed it, consider upgrading to a paid subscription: it helps support my work and means a lot.

Elia Kabanov is a science writer covering the past, present and future of technology (@metkere).

Cover art: Elia Kabanov feat. DALL-E.