Cleaner: Not only clean, but healthy

Petroleum derivatives, industrial alcohol and synthetic fragrances whose long-term effects no one knows exactly. Nothing that would be associated with clean indoor air. And probably nothing that you would like to inhale constantly. In fact, a significant majority of 3,7's millions of private households in Austria are burdened with such materials. Because they occur in conventional cleaning agents, which are used on landabout for cleaning the domestic living space.

"These ads suggest that all the bacteria around us are evil. But they are useful to us at 90 percent and completely harmless. Only in very rare cases do they lead to diseases. Actually, it is not the bacteria that is the problem, but the many harmful substances that we spray with cleaning agents into the indoor air. "
Hans-Peter Hutter, Institute for Environmental Hygiene at the Vienna General Hospital

"Not only clean, but pure"

They are slogans like this, with which the industry wants to sell its customers absolute purity - with antibacterial ingredients, synthetically produced. The idea of ​​a completely germ-free household becomes an ideology. Hans-Peter Hutter from the Institute for Environmental Hygiene at the Vienna General Hospital observes this development with great concern: "These ads suggest that all the bacteria around us are evil. But they are useful to us at 90 percent and completely harmless. Only in very rare cases do they lead to diseases. This gives the consumer a completely wrong picture, we see this as extremely problematic. "
The fewer microorganisms live in a household, the less training options the human immune system has. Specifically, this means that the body's defensive power is reduced and the risk of becoming ill increases. "Humans have certain fears of infectious diseases and germs that attack us. This is where the financially strong companies start with their marketing concepts. Actually, it is not the bacteria that is the problem, but the many harmful substances that we spray with cleaning agents into the indoor air, "Hutter continued.

The dose makes the poison

The environmental specialist knows many health problems, which are to be brought in connection with the ingredients of cleaning agents - from the oven cleaner to the fabric softener, from the window cleaning agent to the dishwashing detergent. It is difficult to identify individual substances that are particularly problematic. The mixture makes the cocktail, the dose makes the poison: "If the mixture of synthetic substances in the air has reached a certain concentration, then the health is massively affected." This begins with fatigue and headaches, goes through concentration disorders and irritation of the respiratory tract to allergic symptoms, which can then lead to chronic allergies. The worst case: cancer.

The Federal Environment Agency points out on its homepage on the long-term effect of the pollutants: "Health damage does not have to show immediately, but - as in the case of allergies or cancer - can occur much later, if you have long been exposed to the influence of the chemicals causing no longer . "
Added to this is the increased risk for children, because after swallowing objects, poisoning is the second leading cause of accidents in infants between the ages of six months and four years, the Institute for Environmental Hygiene also knows: "The poisonings are mainly caused by cleaning agents - be it through direct contact or because they just like to put everything in their mouths. The more cleaning supplies I have standing around at home and the more problematic the ingredients, the higher the risk of poisoning my child. This relationship is clearly provable, "says Hutter.

Harm to the environment

If you follow the path that a cleaning agent takes after it has been used, you end up in the Bacteria stronghold sewage treatment plant. Microbiological processes clarify the wastewater, billions of microorganisms decompose the pollutants. At least that's the idea behind it. But as people use more and more cleaners with antibacterial preservatives, more and more bacteria are being killed in the treatment plants before they can do the job.
"If the biological section in the treatment plants is disturbed, sustained damage occurs. Those bacteria that are responsible for the cleaning power, there is then no longer, "said Hans-Peter Hutter the connection on. The devastating consequence: environmentally harmful substances pass through the sewage system and reach where they should never go: into rivers, meadows, forests. And finally, back to our food chain.

"Society believes animal testing for household cleaners is a necessary evil. This is a big mistake and the wrong way. Animals in the laboratories are under constant agony and under such conditions, the body of an animal reacts to certain stimuli quite differently than that of humans. "
Petra Schönbacher, animal welfare association Animal Fair

Here you will find the most important pollutants in the conventional cleaner.

Torment of the animals

There, the animals then suffer the second time on the human use of household cleaners. For the first time, they have to be prepared to test their harmfulness for chemical substances. "Society believes animal testing for household cleaners is a necessary evil," says Petra Schönbacher, the head of animal rights association Animal Fair. "This is a big mistake and the wrong way. In the labs, animals are under constant agony and under such conditions an animal's body reacts to certain stimuli quite differently than humans. "In the cosmetics industry, animal testing in the EU has been banned since 2013 - which means that no raw material is tested on animals may be used exclusively in cosmetics. But these are very few. The EU requires the so-called REACH regulation to test all chemical ingredients of household cleaners on animals by the year 2018. It is estimated that a total of around 58 million animals will die painfully for the most part.
Petra Schönbacher pleads to the common sense of the people: "A cleaning agent should be such that I neither harm the environment nor expose myself to the toxic chemicals. A win-win situation. But the best thing would be a win-win-win situation. Namely then, even if the animals had something of it. "And that is actually neither very elaborate, nor particularly expensive.

Ecological alternatives

In the parental household of Marion Reichart there were no pollutants that had to be tested on animals and burdened their health. Also no microwave and no conventional cosmetics. Her parents were looking for an ecologically sound household, so Marion grew up. When she was five years old, her father founded his company called "Uni Sapon" in Tyrol. From then on, cleaning agents were produced - those for "green" households.
Since Marion Reichart took over the company five years ago, sales have doubled annually. The demand for ecological household cleaners is greater than ever. "Before 30 years, they laughed at my father," says Reichart. "Today people come and say: Your father was right, we can not go on like this." Uni Sapon manufactures household cleaners that contain no chemical substances and are 100 percent biodegradable.
Gerhard Heid, Managing Director of Sonett, which also produces ecological cleaning agents, confirms the strong increase in demand for ecological cleaners: "The awareness of the dangers of conventional detergents is growing and is being heightened by the increase in allergies in the family and among friends. Sonett has seen double-digit growth and demand from around the world for many years. "

"Not every spot needs its own cleaning agent. Most product innovations are designed to maximize profits and not more efficient soil removal. "
Marion Reichart, Uni Sapon

Less is more

In the supermarket shelves is a barely to survey variety of different cleaners. Some of them smell of "summer rain and white lily", the others promise the "ultra shine". And most manufacturers have many more products in their assortment than they need to. "Not every spot needs its own cleaning agent. Most product innovations are used to optimize profits and not more efficient soil removal, "says Marion Reichart. Uni Sapon has only a few cleaning products in its range: In addition to pastes and balms, these are all-purpose cleaners, a degreaser, a lime remover, a detergent concentrate and a dishwashing detergent. Each with empty spray bottle for self mixing. "It's not ecological to send water half way through the world when everyone has it at home. From a pint of concentrate, 125 bottles can be prepared ready-to-use detergent. That's the only honest way for us, "says Reichart.
As far as cleaning power is concerned, ecological cleaners can easily replace conventional products. As concentrates they are more expensive, but if you compare the yield, then the price per application is often much lower. An example: Half a liter of all-purpose cleaner from Uni Sapon costs 9,90 Euro. That's enough for 125 fillings.

A lot of scent for nothing

So it's not the price that makes the big difference. Not even the cleaning effect. But the first time you use an ecological cleaner, you will notice a completely different scent. Most use essential oils to satisfy the need for fragrant fragrance. "Natural essential oils are the highest development and essence of wonderful aromatic plants. They are balm for soul and body and are also used therapeutically, "says Gerhard Heid of the company Sonett.
Conventional cleaners contain artificial fragrances - there are up to 3000, many of which have not been studied for their long-term effects. "The fact that everything is artificially scented in the meantime is highly problematic from a medical point of view. We add to our indoor air additional synthetic substances that fulfill no purpose at all in terms of increased cleaning power. The intense scent plays a special Putzerfolg only before. From this deception one would have to solve, "recommends the environmental physician Hans-Peter Hutter.

So what to do?

If you do not want to harm your health or the environment when cleaning your home, first of all you should think about the dosage and the frequency of cleaning. Because the over-dimensioning of cleaning agents is also a very important problem for Hutter from the Institute for Environmental Hygiene: "Many think: better too much than less. But that does not make any sense, the cleaning power is not stronger. Apart from that, it is not necessary to clean every day. Here more economy is announced. The next step would be to rethink the purchase of detergents. "
And then the animals will benefit as well. "One can never rule out 100 percent that any ingredient has not been tested on an animal. But the use of ecological cleaners reduces the risk many times over, that is the path of the least evil, "explains Petra Schönbacher. For it is not the herbal but the synthetic substances that have to be tested for their harmfulness.