There are few places where cleanliness matters more than at school, where kids explore, create, learn, eat, play and, inevitably, swap sickness-causing germs. Montessori schools and teachers spend a lot of time, energy and money disinfecting surfaces to keep them clean and safe from germs. The bad news is that the cleaning product category is poorly regulated and many conventional cleaning products contain toxic chemicals that can affect the health and well-being of children, teachers and staff. The good news is that we’ll tell you how to avoid those health risks and still keep your Montessori school squeaky clean and protected from germs.
What You Need To Know About Cleaning Product Safety & Children
Most schools assume that if they don’t spray cleaning chemicals around children, they’re safe. Unfortunately that is not the case. Common ingredients in cleaning products like fragrances, quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs or quats) and bleach have been linked to serious health issues like cancer, asthma, allergies, and endocrine disruption.
The impact on children is particularly worrisome because kids are disproportionately effected by environmental toxins. They breathe, eat and drink 3 times as much per pound of body weight as adults. Their body systems (nervous, endocrine, respiratory, etc) are still developing. And their typical behaviors like sitting on the floor and putting things into their mouths expose them to more risks.
- Young children frequently exposed to cleaning products can be up to 50% more likely to have asthma.
- Frequent exposure to cleaning chemicals in early life, especially within the first three months, is associated with an increased risk for asthma by age 3.
- Kids with greater exposure to cleaning products are 35% more likely to develop chronic wheezing and chronic allergies than children with the least exposure.
Estimates are that 40% of US children suffer from asthma or allergies. In fact, the CDC recommends not using cleaning products with quats, bleach, or fragrances around this population. And those 3 chemical categories comprise about 95% of the products on the market.
What You Need To Know About Cleaning Product Safety & Adults
Adults are also at risk. Recent studies have shown that chronic exposure to the 3 most common categories of cleaning chemicals, bleach, quats, over the long term can:
- Cause lung damage equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day
- Increase the risk of COPD by up to 45%
- Increase the risk that pregnant women will have children with asthma by up to 70%
Take quats. Quats are just as ubiquitous as bleach and lurking in most of the wipes, sanitizer and disinfectant sprays out there. They’re are associated with a broad range of health issues including allergies and asthma, cancer, development toxicity, reproductive toxicity & birth defects.
Or fragrances – due to regulatory loopholes, the single word “fragrance” on a label can hide a cocktail of more than 100 toxic ingredients. One particularly worrisome and ubiquitous fragrance ingredient: phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals that allow scents to linger and they aren’t listed on labels. Studies have shown that more than 75% of products with fragrances contain these endocrine disruptors. The Centers for Disease Control reported that phthalates can be found in the blood of most Americans, and the greatest quantities are in women. They can act like hormones in the human body, which can cause a host of health problems. For example, children with mothers exposed to phthalates during pregnancy were shown to have problems with language development and motor skills. Research on the reproductive and developmental impact of phthalates has found a link to genital malformations and undescended testes in baby boys and lower sperm counts in men.
Safe & Sustainable Disinfecting for Montessori Schools: A New Approach
We created our product to end the compromise between cleaning and health for people and our planet with a toxin-free, carbon neutral EPA registered medical-grade disinfectant. Force of Nature uses electricity to convert tap water, plus a capsule of salt, water and vinegar, into an all-in-1 cleaning, deodorizing, sanitizing, and disinfecting formula. It does this by changing the molecular structure of the solution into 2 new molecules:
- Hypochlorous acid – The same substance your white blood cells produce to keep you healthy. It’s gentleness & efficacy are what make it commonly used in wound healing and veterinary care products. Hypochlorous acid kills pathogens while at the same being extremely gentle on skin.
- Sodium hydroxide – a detergent used at low concentrations in products like toothpaste and skin moisturizers, and at higher concentrations in conventional cleaners. Force of Nature contains a concentration of just 0.0000003% so it’s gentle on surfaces and skin.
Our formula is an federal EPA registered medical-grade disinfectant that kills 99.9% of germs, viruses, and bacteria. It’s on the EPA’s List N (approved for use against COVID-19). In 3rd party independent lab testing, it’s proven to be just as effective as Formula 409 on grease, Windex on glass, Scrubbing Bubbles on soap scum, Febreze on odors, and Resolve on rugs. As the only cleaning product recognized by the National Psoriasis Foundation, and certified as 100% Top Allergen-Free by Mayo Clinic, our formula is a great option for Montessori schools focused on protecting their staff, teachers and students from toxic cleaning chemicals.
If your Montessori school is looking for ways to be more sustainable, we have good news here too! Force of Nature reduces plastic waste by 97% compared to typical bottled cleaning products. Each Activator Capsule eliminates a single-use plastic bottle. We’re proud to be Green Seal certified for meeting the highest standards in protecting human health and preserving the climate, and we’re the only certified Carbon Neutral EPA registered disinfectant and sanitizer.
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Our appliances come in 2 sizes, Force of Nature, which makes 12 ounces at a time, and Force of Nature Pro, our system for large and high traffic spaces which makes 32 or 64 oz at a time. Both make our powerful yet gentle all-in-one formula that costs up to 80% less per ounce than the top brands.
Purchasing in bulk? We can customize pricing, assortment and training for you! Just click here to get started.
