Many of us put a lot of thought and energy into stocking our kitchens with healthy food, snacks, and beverages. But we often don’t give enough thought to stocking our kitchen cleaning supplies with safe, non-toxic products.
Many of the products we use every day in our kitchen like cleaning sprays or wipes, dishwasher detergent, and dish soaps may be causing problems for you and your family. For parents of autistic kids, it’s especially important to recognize and eliminate these toxins since often autistic children aren’t as good as their typical peers at detoxifying.
These products are toxic for everyone and can agitate asthma symptoms, allergies, and skin rashes, so by helping our autistic kids we’re really doing what’s best for everyone.
Here are some of the most common toxins in the kitchen and some simple safe replacements.
All-Purpose Sprays and Wipes
When we use disinfecting spray, those particles get into the air and we breathe them in. If you turn a bottle of Lysol around and look at the ingredients you’ll see that 99.632% of what’s listed is “other ingredients.” Do we really want those unknown elements in our bodies when there’s no guarantee that they’re safe?
Disinfecting wipes have the same vague ingredient list as sprays. However, one of the ingredients they actually do list are quaternary ammonium compounds, commonly known as “quats,” which are known to have hormone, allergy, and skin implications.
Additionally, you’ll notice that many of the labels on disinfecting wipes contain instructions to “wash with soap and water after use.” This is a product we’re putting on our kitchen counters which comes in direct contact with our food, so if we need to wash the counter with soap and water after we use it, do we want it on our counter at all? Probably not.
- Try this instead: E-cloths with water, vinegar, or castile soap.
Dishwasher Pods, Liquids, and Powders and Dish Soap
We need to be especially cautious when selecting dishwasher soaps because these products coat the dishes we eat off of. We’re often drawn to products for their “fresh” or “pleasant” smell but as we know if you can smell it, it’s getting into your body.
- Try this instead: BioKleen Dishwasher Detergent, Dr. Bronner’s castile soap with essential oils, or CitraSolv.
Be thoughtful about what you’re bringing into your house because it can make a big difference in your life and your child’s life. These toxic components can create inflammation in the brain which can lead to troublesome behaviors. While getting rid of these products isn’t a magic cure, it will put some control back in your hands.
Be gentle with yourself. You’re doing a great job.
I hope this information has been helpful to you as part of creating Your Autism Game Plan.
Do you have a topic you’d like to learn more about? Email me at joya@yourautismgameplan.com
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