Ready Maids: eco-friendly house cleaning in the NH Seacoast

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Ready Maids commits to maintaining the beauty and safety of the Seacoast NH community.  We show our commitment by using eco-friendly products in our house cleaning services.  

Eco-friendly products are as effective as their toxic counterparts, but gentler on our health and the environment.  

Should you require a different product to meet your cleaning needs, please let us know.

At Ready Maids we understand that our planet deserves respect and care, therefore we are committed to doing our part.  

Why we choose to be an Eco-Friendly House Cleaning Company?

• To not harm the environment.
• To minimize carbon footprint or emission of greenhouse gases.
• To maintain ecological balance.
• To reduce exploitation of resources.
• To save energy.
• To keep you, your family, your pets and your home healthy.

Here some important information about the risk of not using natural products

The study found that children living in a home with a greater use of any cleaning product during a child’s infancy increased the odds of a recurrent wheeze, recurrent wheeze with atopy, and asthma diagnosis by 3 years of age.

The most common cleaning products used were dishwashing soap, dishwasher detergent, multi-surface cleaners, glass cleaners, and laundry soap.

The highest risk of respiratory issue was associated with scented and sprayed cleaning products.

“Cleaning products are a simple exposure that parents can control and minimize to reduce their child’s risk of developing respiratory disease,” Takaro said.

Unsurprisingly, scented and sprayed cleaning products were associated with the highest risk of respiratory issues, according to the study findings.

“I would agree with the study. Obviously we need to keep our houses clean, but the less chemicals we use to do it, the better,” said Dr. Afif El-Hasan, pediatrician and national spokesperson for the American Lung Association.

According to Takaro, they can’t say with certainty how much exposure at 3 months compared to 1 year affected the association with the respiratory issues observed.

But he emphasizes they do know that infants are especially vulnerable because:

• Their immune and respiratory systems are still developing.
• Infants spend the majority of their time indoors crawling and contacting many surfaces where cleaning products are used.
• Infants have relatively rapid respiratory rates. Their small size means their bodies are more affected by smaller exposures than older children.

“Based on what we know about this type of exposure with the multiple chemicals known to contribute to asthma, the complexity of asthma and allergic disease, and findings from other studies, we, as researchers, weren’t surprised,” Takaro said. “However, we think parents will be.”

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According to research by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), 53 percent of cleaning products they assessed contained ingredients known to harm the lungs.

About 22 percent contained chemicals reported to cause asthma in otherwise healthy individuals.

There are many household cleaners. Some are name brand, some generic store brands. A significant number even claim to be “green.”

But the only way to be sure which is safest is by reading the product label.

The EWG reports specific chemicals that should be avoided, including formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, which are both carcinogens.

Also, benzalkonium chloride, found in antibacterial spray cleaners and fabric softeners, is known to cause asthma.

Sodium borate, also known as borax and boric acid, is a cleaning agent that can act as a hormone disruptor.

EWG specifies that some products you can simply do without, such as air fresheners that have unspecified fragrance mixtures or fabric softeners that can contain asthma-causing substances.

New research finds that early exposure to chemicals found in common household cleaning products is associated with increased risk of asthma and wheezing by 3 years old.

Experts emphasize the importance of reading the labels of cleaning products to confirm whether they contain potentially hazardous chemicals.

Some products that contain harmful chemicals you can do without completely, like air fresheners and fabric softener.