Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac Turner helps with a question about the dangers of household cleaning products.
QUESTION: My wife has decided everything in our household must be made from natural ingredients. Even the cleaning products! She believes cleaning products can cause cancer. Maybe I’m old fashioned but the stronger the cleaning products — the better they will work! She even says the chemicals in cleaning products linger in the house for days.
Is she correct? Should we be afraid of our cleaning products? — Keith, 53, Darwin
ANSWER: Here’s a statistic that will scare you: according to the World Health Organisation, 3.2 million people each year die prematurely from illnesses attributable to household air pollution. This is caused by combustion of solid fuels and kerosene used for cooking — which I admit would not be a problem for 99 per cent of Australians but is a stark reminder for why we need to be careful of what’s in the air in our house.
There’s a whole library of studies about the hazards of cleaning chemicals. Did you know if you mix bleach with windex, or really any of your ammonia based cleaning products, you’ll make mustard gas?
That’s the stuff they used in the trenches in World War One. If it’s that easy to mix a deadly concoction, then maybe it’s a sign we should opt for natural ingredients.
Keith, I recommend you invest in your wife’s interest in natural ingredients. A report found that using bleach even once a week boosts your risk of chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, which is a lung disease that blocks airflow.
The other common ingredients in cleaning products such as ammonia, phthalates and volatile organic compounds have all been linked to respiratory illnesses such as asthma. These cleaning products could also cause cancer.
Another common side effect of cleaning products, particularly heavily fragranced ones, is headaches and migraines.
University of Melbourne research found one-third of Australians suffer from migraine headaches to asthma attacks when exposed to the fragrances found in consumer products like air fresheners, cleaning products, laundry supplies and personal care products.
Health effects from poor indoor air quality won’t show up overnight. They can materialise slowly over time. Easy ways to improve the air quality in your house is to boost ventilation with open windows, indoor plants and by regularly dusting. And of course, using natural cleaning products.
Since we are on the topic of hidden dangers in your life, I’d like to remind you of microplastics. As I have stated in a previous column, microplastics are tiny plastics (so small you can’t see them) which are derived from petrochemicals extracted from oil and gas products.
A number of these tiny plastics are toxic, and contain carcinogenic chemicals which can cause cancer. Some are even mutagenic, which means they can damage DNA.
When you heat food in your plastic takeaway containers, you are potentially leaching microplastics into your meal. Not only is the food you are eating most likely nutritionally inferior, you could also be eating troublesome plastics.
Investigating microplastics levels in Australian homes, a study found that 42 per cent of collected dust was microplastics. An easy way to minimise plastics in your home is by having hard surfaces, like polished wood floors, instead of carpet. You should also vacuum weekly to reduce dust levels in your home.
Keith, I recommend using natural products for cleaning if possible, and try your best to limit the amount of plastic you have in your house. Your wife is correct! Natural is always best.
Got a question: askdrzac@conciergedoctors.com.au
Dr Zac Turner is a medical practitioner specialising in preventative health and wellness. With four health/medical degrees under his belt (Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Sydney, Bachelor of Nursing at Central Queensland University, and Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of the Sunshine Coast) and an ongoing PHD Doctorate at UNSW in Biomedical Engineering, his passion for health is unmatched and also led him to start Concierge Doctors (https://conciergedoctors.com.au/), a telehealth service for preventative health and body optimisation.