The eco guide to cleaning products

Let's banish bleach - it really isn't a healthy way to clean the loo, and there are perfectly good green alternativesIt seems obvious that exposure to powerful cleaning products, including bleach, isn't ideal, but now there's powerful evidence of just how harmful they can be.Using them just once a week could increase a person's chances of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by nearly a third, according to a recent 30-year study from Harvard University and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. This isn't the first time a link has been shown between serious health problems and everyday spray products. The culprit used to be phosphates, once the heroes of gleam, and omnipresent in laundry and dishwasher detergent. But in water, phosphates caused toxic bacteria growth. They were stopped, primarily by us - revolting consumers (in every sense). Continue reading...