We watched the CBS This Morning show and they showcased the “best new consumer products” from Better Homes & Gardens.
I had to laugh because one of their recommendations was the Windex Mini Concentrated Refill Pouch – they touted it as better for the environment because there was less waste in the packaging. Huh?
Okay, saving the environment with smaller packaging, but perhaps ruining our lungs, soil, and water supply with toxic chemicals inside the smaller package. That makes no sense!
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if Better Homes and Gardens really did try to make our homes and gardens better by recommending natural products that weren’t poisoning our lungs and environment; but I guess their big corporate advertisers like Johnson & Johnson wouldn’t like that too much, would they?
Here’s the list of ingredients:
- Water
- Cleaning Agents: Ammonium Hydroxide, Ethoxylated Alcohol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
- Fragrance
- Preservative: Benzoisothiazolinone
- Dye Liquitint® Sky Blue Dye
- pH Adjuster: Citric Acid
Yeah, Johnson & Johnson claim to be transparent with their list of ingredients; they really try hard to convince us that there is no danger with the chemicals they use, but truthfully, ammonia is toxic for our lungs, skin and our earth no matter how hard they try to spin it otherwise.
And sorry, I am not stupid, I don’t need blue dye in my cleaning products to “help me see where I applied the product and when a product is used up.”
There is also absolutely no need for “fragrance” but unfortunately the public equates clean with a strong chemical smell. It’s really very troubling.
The worst part is because the product is ultra concentrated, these ingredients are super strong compared to regular bottled windex. I can’t even imagine this product being accidentally ingested by children or pets, or spilled on your skin or down the drain.
Take a peek at Windex’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) (link opens to a pdf file) and it should scare the crap out of you!
Please keep products like Windex out of your home!
Try a mixture of plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle; it’s 100% non-toxic! I use vinegar & water to clean my counters, sink, and even my produce. It works great!