Health & Fitness

4 Household Products That Are Bad for Your Health

Phyllis Coley @phyllis_coley

Some popular home goods are better to leave on the shelves. Keep your home safe by avoiding these household products that are bad for your health.

Everyone knows to check the ingredients label in the grocery store, but what about the other products you bring into your home? Manufacturers use various chemicals and materials to make your everyday household products more effective, more efficient, or more durable. Unfortunately, these chemicals aren’t always good for you or your family. When it comes to these household products that are bad for your health, it might be time to find a natural, non-toxic replacement.

Non-Stick Cookware

householdYour favorite non-stick pan makes after-dinner dishes easy, but how safe is that non-stick surface? These pots and pans contain trace amounts of perfluorooctanoic acid, a chemical that helps keep food from burning on and sticking to the surface. This chemical is also known to have caused cancer in lab animals. When you cook with non-stick pans, the lining can chip off and mix in with your food. That’s an ingredient that ruins any recipe, so stick with cast iron or stainless-steel cookware—and a quality cooking spray—instead.

Air Fresheners

householdEveryone wants their home to smell nice, but artificial scents don’t always do the job well. Every time you smell that air freshener, you’re also breathing in the toxins it contains. Common air freshener ingredients like formaldehyde and phenol can cause respiratory issues, skin irritation, and other undesirable side effects. Next time you want to freshen up your home, try switching to essential oils and other natural scents.

Perfumes

householdLike air fresheners, perfumes use synthetic fragrances to keep you smelling nice. These—along with the rest of the chemicals that make up the ingredients list—often cause skin and respiratory irritation. They pose a particular threat to anyone with allergies or asthma, but the side effects can harm anyone. Once again, try switching out your perfume or cologne for natural alternatives, such as scents that use essential oils.

Deodorant

We use deodorant every day without thinking about it, but this hygiene staple is one of the most common household products that are bad for your health. Deodorant and antiperspirants use aluminum to plug sweat ducts and reduce sweating. Unfortunately, this often leads to bumps, rashes, and other skin irritation. There are also many theories about other ways aluminum in deodorant is bad for your health. Skip the risk, and turn to organic or natural deodorants instead, which leave you feeling clean and fresh without the harmful ingredients.