Chemicals are a part of your everyday life—use fewer chemicals at home

Chemicals are an integral part of our lives and are found in many everyday products. These can be harmless or harmful depending on how they are used and combined. To reduce exposure to unnecessary chemicals, there are things we can do at home, including replacing conventional cleaning products with more natural alternatives such as soap, citric acid, and vinegar.

 

Last edited on May 8, 2024

 

 

What exactly is a chemical? The answer is not very simple, but one could put it this way: According to the Swedish Chemical Society’s Nomenclature Committee, a chemical is a macroscopically homogeneous element or chemical compound when it is applied in an industrial or commercial process. “Macroscopically homogeneous” means that mixtures can also be considered chemicals if it is not obvious that they consist of two different substances. Dry and boring text, but we can explain it with an example.

 

Example: Imagine that you have vinegar in the kitchen that you use to pickle gherkins. In that case, the vinegar is not a chemical, but if the same vinegar is used for cleaning, then it is.
But chemicals are necessary for us to live the lives we do. They are found in practically everything that surrounds us in everyday life—furniture, clothing, food, hygiene products, electronics, and cars.
The number of chemical substances present in society is vast. Companies report their production to the EU chemicals agency, and these reports show that more than 100,000 chemical substances are used.

 

Reducing chemicals at home

 

Not everything is dangerous—you surely remember our earlier example with vinegar. But because there are so extraordinarily many chemicals in so many different places, it becomes very difficult for us as consumers to keep track of everything.
It is actually completely impossible to live a normal, modern life while keeping track of all the chemicals we encounter in everyday life. Even if not everything is dangerous in itself, the mixture of many, many different chemicals together can become an unhealthy mixture and simply be too much.

 

A clean home without chemicals. Have you tried Västerbottenssåpa?

 

So, to what we can do

Below, we have listed things you can easily do yourself to reduce the number of unnecessary chemicals in your everyday life. Be more conscious, read product packaging, and ask yourself with every new purchase whether there is a better alternative. Buy products that are organic and locally produced (if possible), and be sure to read the ingredient and warning texts. Find out what the symbols mean. Also ask yourself whether your product really needs to be perfumed. Dishwashing detergent, for example—do you really need perfume on your freshly washed plates? Plates and glasses that we are going to put our food on!?

Cleaning chemicals, soap, shampoo, conditioner, skin creams, air fresheners, dishwashing detergent, and laundry detergent are things you can replace with eco-friendly and gentler alternatives. Below you will find a checklist to go through your rooms and tick off the things you have replaced. Once you have done that, you will have made good progress toward using fewer chemicals in your everyday life.

 

The kitchen: Check under the sink and in the cleaning cupboard—what is actually in there?
You can replace sprays and bottles containing contents you cannot identify or bearing warning symbols with: soft soap, citric acid, vinegar, and baking soda.

⎸ Sprays -> Replace them with soap spray
⎸ Descaler -> Replace with citric acid
⎸ Window cleaner -> Replace it with vinegar and water
⎸ Oven cleaner -> Replace it with soft soap, baking soda and vinegar
⎸ Drain cleaner -> Replace it with baking soda and vinegar
⎸ Dishwashing detergent -> Replace it with an eco-friendly dishwashing detergent; read the back. If there are warning symbols, find out why and what they mean.

 

Bathroom: How do you clean here?
⎸ Sprays -> Replace with soap spray
⎸ Descaler -> Replace with citric acid
⎸ Window cleaner -> Replace with vinegar and water
⎸ Drain cleaner -> Replace with baking soda and vinegar
⎸ Bleach -> Stop using it immediately! Replace it with soap and citric acid. The citric acid removes all green deposits and limescale, while the soap removes biological dirt.
⎸ Toilet cleaner -> Replace with bathroom soap
It is also a good idea to go through the bathroom drawers -> Makeup can be replaced with organic alternatives that come in refillable packaging.
⎸ Shampoo, conditioner and soap – > replace with organic solid products without packaging.

 

Bedrooms and other rooms:
⎸ Air freshener -> Replace with fresh green plants.
⎸ Wardrobes -> Check whether there are mothballs or moth repellents—if so, replace them with red cedarwood.

 

Laundry room:
⎸ Laundry detergent -> Replace with soap nuts or biodegradable laundry detergent.
⎸ Fabric softener -> Replace with vinegar and, if you like, a little essential oil or an eco-friendly fabric softener alternative.
⎸ Bleach / Stain remover -> Replace with hard soap and a laundry brush to pre-treat stains before washing.
⎸ Laundry bags -> Get a laundry bag that captures microfibers when washing synthetic clothes and prevents particles from entering the water. It does not affect you directly, but polluting the water will of course affect you in the long run.

 

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 Questions and Answers 

 

- What is the definition of a chemical according to the Swedish Chemical Society?
According to the Swedish Chemical Society, a chemical is a macroscopically homogeneous element or chemical compound used in industrial or commercial processes.

 

- Why can mixing different chemicals be dangerous even if each of them is harmless in small amounts?
Although individual chemicals may be harmless in small amounts, mixing many different chemicals together can create an unhealthy combination and pose risks to human health.

 

- What are some alternatives to conventional cleaning products that contain chemicals?
Alternatives to conventional cleaning products include natural substances such as soft soap, citric acid, vinegar and baking soda.

 

- Why is it important to be aware of the contents of cleaning products and other everyday products?
It is important to be aware of the contents of products to avoid unnecessary chemicals and reduce the risk of health problems, as well as to protect the environment by choosing more natural alternatives.

 

- How can you reduce the use of chemicals in everyday life by replacing products?
By replacing conventional cleaning products with more natural alternatives and being aware of the contents of products, you can reduce the use of chemicals in everyday life and create a healthier, more environmentally friendly home environment.

 

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