Dangers of Toxic Chemicals in Traditional Cleaners May Be Worse Than You Think

December 02, 2020 Leave a Comment

Most of us are at least somewhat aware that using traditional cleaning and sanitizing products can present a health risk to people and pets. We also know that many of these products are harmful to the environment and can harm the ecosystem over time.

Some consumers make an effort to alleviate some of these issues by using cleaning and sanitizing products that are labeled "green" or "eco-friendly." While purchasing products with these labels might be good, there is no guarantee that every product that makes these claims can support them.

It's also isn't a guarantee that these same products won't harm people, even if they have a reduced risk of bringing harm to the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that federal guidelines regarding these products aren't as stringent as they should be, pointing out that manufacturers are not required to list proprietary ingredients for their products.

This leaves a lot of wiggle room for companies trying to capitalize on the health and environmental aspects of the "green movement."


Health organizations worldwide, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the EPA, and even The American Lung Association, have all weighed in on these issues. They agree that cleaners and disinfectants can harm us, and in some cases, even kill us.

Studies have shown many of these products are complicit in congenital disabilities, ADHD, autism, asthma and allergies, respiratory disease, and even cancer. A university study by the Norway's University of Bergen studied 6,235 people over 20 years and concluded that regular use of some cleaning sprays could be as harmful to the lungs as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for 10 to 20 years.

Additionally, the studies show that women and children are more susceptible to these chemicals. The same studies show that endocrine disruptors frequently found in cleaning products have been linked to a reduction in sperm count over the last generation and a half. This information comes from an analysis of 185 studies encompassing almost 43,000 men.


The EPA's Green Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting: A Curriculum for Early Care and Education," a respected guide for classrooms, states, "Fetuses and very young children are particularly sensitive to the effects of toxic chemicals."

The same guide informs us that many studies, including the study mentioned above, indicate that 5% of childhood cancer and 30% of childhood asthma are related to chemical exposures. The EPA warns that many of these illnesses might not show up for years or decades. These are just some of the alarming findings regarding the use of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting products that consumers use every day, both in their homes and inside businesses.

One of the biggest challenges in the cleaning industry has always been how to kill germs without harming those we want to protect. Thankfully, there is a technology available that even the EPA has recognized as effective.

It's referred to as electrochemically activated water (ECA), which is capable of generating cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting products that are unrivaled at killing germs compared to traditional disinfectants. Our ECA-generated disinfecting solution is 80 to 100 times stronger than bleach, yet it is safe for people, pets, and the planet.


Here's how it works. One of the natural minerals that GenEon uses as a catalyst is a salt. Salt is a compound comprised of sodium and chloride. Sodium ions are positively charged, and chloride ions are negatively charged.

GenEon Onsite Generators expose these ions to a low electrical charge. The positive side of the charge electrochemically converts the chloride ion (Cl) to hypochlorous acid (HOCl), which is a powerful sanitizer and disinfectant. The negative side of the charge electrochemically converts the sodium ion (Na) into sodium hydroxide (NaOH), which is a cleaning compound commonly found in soaps and detergents.

Unlike many other OSG systems, GenEon's system is a "Blended Stream System" that uses both versions in the same solution. The hypochlorous solution is represented as a Free Available Chlorine (FAC) that has 80-200 times the disinfecting power of chlorine bleach. Since it is produced at a near-neutral pH, it won't bleach furniture or clothes.

Dwell time is crucial to disinfecting. Dwell time refers to the time chemical disinfectants need to stay on a surface to be effective. For most chemical-based products, a surface needs to be kept wet with the product for 10 minutes. ECA's disinfectants kill most pathogens in seconds, including nasty ones like E.coli, MRSA, and norovirus. The best part is, ECA leaves no chemical residues and doesn't give off fumes or dangerous VOCs. There's also no artificial fragrance, which can cause more health issues in some products.


At GenEon, we are the leaders in ECA. Our safe cleaners and non-toxic sanitizers and disinfectants are made up of nothing more than natural minerals, water, and electricity. They're made by consumers as needed using a technology known as on-site generation (OSG). This means consumers can make our products as they need them. This eliminates the need to store potentially harmful chemical-based products in your business, and because the products are made as needed, this results in substantial savings in cleaning costs.

GenEon combines ECA and OSG to bring consumers the best cleaning and sanitizing option available. On-site generation technology like our Instaflow and advanced cleaning systems like our Mist provides consumers with the ideal way to generate sustainable cleaning and sanitizing products and the ability to disperse them over large, open areas or hard-to-reach places. Simply put, GenEon is easy on the budget and effective at reducing the threat of germs and bacteria without harming people, pets, or the environment.


To learn more about GenEon's products, fill out the form here on our website. A representative will be in touch with you to show you how you can get GenEon products into your business or facility.

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