Lingo Label
on Oxygen Bleach Products

Figuring out whether a label on oxygen bleach cleaning product is safe for you and the environment can be difficult.

Manufacturers are not required by law to disclose ingredients.

To help, here are definitions of terms you're likely to encounter when shopping.

Your safest bet is to buy from companies that list all ingredients on their labels. Recommended products.

Label on Oxygen Bleach

Term

What it Means

The Bottom Line

Bio-Degradable

The product will break down overtime into harmless materials.

Doesn't mean the product is safefor the environment unless the manufacturer says how long it will takeit to biodegrade.  The sooner, the better.

Chlorine-Free

Contains no chlorine, a toxicchemical responsible for more household poisonings annually then anyother and a cause of ozone depletion.

Opt for chlorine-free versions ofall cleaners and stop cleaning with chlorine bleach, for your healthand the environment's.

Nontoxic

Only a very large amount will causedamage.

Use of the term isn't regulated, sochoose products from manufacturers that indicate in what way productsare nontoxic ("non-toxic if inhaled," for example).

Oxygenated

Helps whiten and brighten byreleasing oxygen, which breaks up stains and eliminates mildew.

Safer than chlorinebleach.  Oxygenated products may not work as quickly aschlorine-based products, but they are effective when you follow labeldirections.

Phosphate-Free

Contains no phosphates (whichincrease a detergent's effectiveness).  When phosphates enterwaterways, they spur algae to overgrow, depleting oxygen and killingfish.

A meaningless marketingterm.  Phosphates are banned by law in all cleaning productsexcept automatic dishwasher detergents.

Surfactants

The active cleaning agent indetergents.  Conventional products often use petroleum-basedsurfactants.

Opt for surfactants described asplant-based; these are a better choice for the environment.

 

From Label on Oxygen Bleach to Organic Cleaning Product

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.