Stop Doing This When You Shower ASAP
First thing’s first: Chemicals aren’t all bad. In fact, water is technically a chemical! But when Murchison-Hume first launched in 2008, we had a singular goal: to elevate the everyday by bringing you responsible, plant-based, stylish products that can eliminate gross, harmful toxins like ammonia, formaldehyde, paragons, and phthalates from your cleaning routine. And if you’re working hard to adopt a practical, safe regimen for your home and body, wouldn’t you want to know if there are sneaky ways you’re ingesting harmful chemicals without even noticing? Thought so.
In The Shower
We know by now that certain cleaners can trigger dangerous chemical reactions when mixed, such as the combination of ammonia and bleach. Of course, mixing them produces toxic fumes that can cause difficulty breathing and irritation of the throat, eyes, and nose when inhaled. But even if you’re just cleaning your shower with a certain foaming bleach bath cleaner, unless you’re certain that you’ve washed all traces of it away, you’re likely inhaling some of its remnants when you hop into the shower. When the steam combines with the leftover bleach, you’re basically creating a mini chemical Chernobyl in your bathroom. Instead, use a formula that’s non-toxic and readily biodegradable, like our Bathroom Cleaner, which has no traces of bleach, ammonia, or any other harmful-to-ingest ingredients.
While Getting Dressed
You wouldn’t rub shoe cleaner all over your body like moisturizer, would you? Then why use one that contains ingredients like hydrotreated heavy solubilizer, butane propellant, and propane propellant for your sockless foot to sit in? If you’re someone who wears flats or heels without hosiery or socks, you’re soaking up all the chemicals that come with your shoe cleaner. Instead, our Leather Cleaner works like a charm on any type of leather, including handbags, jackets, furniture, and the soles of your shoes. Its main ingredient is soybean oil, which contains a high level of vitamin K and essential fatty acids that moisturize the skin and strengthen the skin barrier. (Same goes for whatever you’re cleaning your car with. If you’re sitting on your leather seats with bare legs, all of your traditional leather cleaner’s ingredients have a direct entryway into your body. Gross!)
Doing The Dishes
If you clean your glassware with typical dish soap, you might be ingesting more problematic chemicals than you’d think. The Environmental Working Group gave Dawn a 'D' grade because it contains methylisothiazolinone, which is concerning for its “acute aquatic toxicity,” which means it can be fatal to ingest, as well as its risk for skin irritation and damage. It also contains a known groundwater contaminant, so maybe it’s not what you want to be washing the items you eat off of.Instead, our Dish Soap is made with natural compounds like magnesium sulfate, which is also known as Epsom salt, decyl glucoside, which is a non-ionic surfactant used in sensitive-skin products (like baby shampoo), and sodium coco sulfate, which is a blend of the fatty acids in coconut oil that moisturize skin. (Not a single groundwater contaminant in sight.) You can feel safe using our food-safe cleaner to clean your dishes, silverware, dog chews, baby toys, and anything else that might end up in your mouth.
Sure, it may feel alarmist to worry about ingesting chemicals in the shower, on your dishes, or through your shoes, but if you’re exposing yourself daily or even weekly to toxic ingredients, it’s impossible to measure the impact. Better safe (and plant-based) than sorry!
xx LC
