In a report from the Washington Post, Almost one-fifth of commercial cleaners contain “secret” potentially harmful chemicals, according to the EPA. As far as our green carpet cleaning service is concerned, this is not a surprise; however, it is surprising that the EPA has finally provided the percentage of cleaning products that are protected from disclosing a chemical ingredient list.
Being a green carpet cleaning service, it is not uncommon for us to see popular cleaning solutions targeted by the EPA. In fact, many of our customers are surprised to learn that even infamous brands, most notably Teflon and Scotchgard, have been forced by the EPA to basically discontinue or reformulate their carpet cleaning products due to toxicity (read more on our Green Carpet Cleaning page). However, it is certain that a much larger number of chemicals would similarly be deemed toxic if they were not so heavily protected under trade secret policy.
Because of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act, companies do not have to foreclose the “secret” chemicals contained in their products. What was meant to encourage business and protect companies has ultimately hurt consumers. In recent years, 95% of new chemicals are deemed trade secrets, and the company’s who make these cleaning chemicals request that the government not disclose the substances they contain. Environmental groups and scientists agree that the Toxic Substances Control Act is being abused, and also allowing the introduction of harmful chemicals into the environment and our households.
What does this mean for consumers looking for a safe carpet cleaning service? Well, we believe that selecting a quality green carpet cleaning service is the only way to ensure a safe cleaning solution will be used to clean your carpets. It was decades before Scotchgard and Teflon were recalled, and these two products represent the most popular commercial carpet cleaning solutions of all time. And while the EPA does an excellent job of policing cleaning products, there are certainly toxic substances still available on the market today, comfortably protected under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act.
We started GreenChoice Carpet due to this very problem. Instead of exposing our customers, and even ourselves, to mysterious products that may or may not contain toxic chemicals, we simply use organic carpet cleaning solutions. Even if you don’t select a GreenChoice Carpet Cleaning Service, find a local cleaner that uses an effective organic cleaning product.
