It’s official: spring is right around the corner. With the warmer weather and the season’s holidays approaching, people everywhere are dusting window sills, wiping counters and spraying bathrooms. But think twice before using your usual cleaning supplies.
Some contain potentially harmful chemicals, or may not be fully transparent about their product formulas, so you don’t know what’s in them.
To help you sort through the clutter of cleaning products, we’ve searched EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning and assembled a quick and easy list of some of the safest general purpose spray cleaners that are also available at big box stores like CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Target.
Each product on this list is rated either an A or a B in EWG's Guide to Healthy Cleaning, which rates over 2,500 cleaning products on a scale of A through F, based on their hazard level and ingredient transparency.
Some of the products are EWG VERIFIED®. Products carrying this mark are reviewed by our scientists to ensure that they are produced according to the strictest health and transparency standards, are formulated without EWG’s ingredients of concern and publicly disclose their ingredients.
For product ratings on the go try our Healthy Living App.
EWG VERIFIED products
Available online at Walmart, $13; Amazon, $11.
Green rated products:
Available at Walgreens $3.99; Amazon, $34,99 (6-pack).
Available at Walmart, Target $4-8; Amazon, $3.
Available at Walmart, Target, CVS, $5-10; Amazon, $18, pack of 4.
Available at Target $2.99; Amazon, $3.
Protecting your right to know
In order to choose safer cleaning products, it’s important to have access to information about the chemicals in these products. A concerning bill in Congress, if enacted, would deny consumers the right to find out what toxic chemicals are in cleaning products. At EWG, we’ve dubbed it the DARK Act.
This legislation, H.R. 5978, not only seeks to override state laws creating more transparency about cleaning product ingredients but also sets up an endless regulatory process that, at best, would yield a far weaker chemical disclosure system. The enactment of this bill would, without a doubt, result in a significantly reduced disclosure of chemicals, and consumers who are far less informed.
Please contact your representatives in Congress and urge them to stand up for your rights and oppose H.R. 5978.
Spring cleaning tips
Here are some tips to further minimize exposure to harmful chemicals in cleaning products:
- Whenever possible, open a window to ventilate the cleaning area.
- Use gloves and other protective gear while handling cleaning products.
- Follow instructions and pay attention to warnings provided on product labels.
- Avoid mixing different cleaning products, since it can lead to the release of hazardous fumes.
- Remember to store cleaning products securely when you aren’t using them, to prevent accidental exposure.
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