Pregnancy & Cleaning Products

Pregnancy and cleaning go together like peanut butter and pickles. Basically, they don't... unless you like peanut butter and pickles together. It's just not my thing. Once again, I have scoured the internet to help my clients better understand the do's and don'ts of cleaning while pregnant. Let's kick (pun intended) this off with the most obvious one, reading labels. I know many of my clients have claimed to have fallen victim to what's known as pregnancy brain so if you see the words “toxic,” “danger,” “poison,” or “corrosive” on the label of any housecleaning product, it's better off that you just skip it.

If you absolutely have to clean with a questionable cleaning product, I recommend that you wear gloves. Our skin is our largest organ and it is capable of absorbing the unsafe toxins in cleaning products. During pregnancy, skin also becomes much more sensitive than normal so not only could you absorb harmful toxins into your body but you could irritate your skin by having direct contact.

If you absolutely have to clean with a questionable cleaning product and in this case even natural cleaning products, I would also recommend that you open the windows. Keeping extra windows open while cleaning greatly improves the quality of the air in your home and helps to remove any fumes from your products.

Shoes, don't wear them in the house. Just don't! We track so much bacteria, dirt and toxins into our home and onto our carpets by wearing shoes throughout the house. Dirt can hold many toxins, such as lead, which is obviously unsafe for anyone in your home.

I know many of my friends and and clients, if not all of them, have gone through the nesting phase. I cannot urge you anymore to not move furniture. The hormones coursing through your body have softened your connective tissue, ligaments, and tendons, making you more prone to injury. Experts recommend that if you must lift, reduce the weight of any load you lift by 20 to 25 percent of what you could hoist pre-pregnancy.

Now, I've talked a lot about what you shouldn't do so now lets talk about what you should do. Make your own safe cleaning products! Not only will these be environmentally friendly but they will also be safe for you and the baby. Busy At Home has some great examples of window and glass cleaner, all-purpose kitchen and bathroom spray cleaner, as well as tub and shower scrub. Apartment Therapy provides you with 20 genius DIY green cleaning recipes. Last but not least, Growing Up Herbal has a simple yet awesome naturally disinfecting toilet boil cleaner.

 And if all of this just seems like a complete hassle, don't forget that West Domestic prides itself on using all natural cleaning products and we would love to take some of the weight off of your work load!