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While canvassing door-to-door last fall for progressive change in government, I often felt choked by an eerie neighborhood miasma. Its source: the synthetic perfume of fabric softener spewing from dryer vents. Advertisers have conned the public into believing that if a household product doesn’t have an overpowering scent, it might not do the job. But released into the air and water, these chemicals assault our immune and reproductive systems as well as those of our pets and the natural world.

Cleaning products and deodorizers are frequently overlooked as a source of air pollution, yet they often surpass cars in smog emissions because of high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Indoors, these VOCs can be two- to five-times greater than outdoors and lead to illnesses such as sick-building syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity and cancer.

Many people still rely on the myth that if something is for sale, it must be safe. But American manufacturers are not required to list all harmful ingredients in their products. The EU has taken action to regulate these toxins, partly because it lowers European countries’ spending on healthcare for chemically ill people. A new book by Mark Schapiro, Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power, describes how chemical regulation is changing the face of world trade.

Just as toxins like VOCs, bisphenol-A and phthalates circulate in our environment, they are gradually creeping into public awareness. Municipalities and counties are flexing the muscle of hefty budgets to procure environmentally preferable cleaning and office supplies. As local governments divert this spending away from conventional products, they are driving the expansion of green chemistry and the manufacture of sustainable alternatives. This is one reason green products are now considered recession-proof.

One nontoxic cleaning product recently approved by US regulators is electrolyzed water, touted as a magic elixir. Its odorless active cleaning agents result from zapping salt water with low voltage. It inexpensively kills pathogenic bacteria including salmonella and anthrax spores, and it’s safe enough to drink. Primarily designed for industrial use, electrolysis machines are in use in hotels, grocery stores, prisons and poultry processors.

For the home, there are many resources for choosing alternative products or learning how to make your own. Look out for greenwashing though. The Eco-labels Database makes it easy to choose safe products from among those advertised as green that really aren’t.

Our fear of germs has made chemotherapy for our built environments a profitable business—and rightfully so, when you grant that the spread of disease steered the course of civilization. A perception that we are separate from nature, though, can lead us to forget the vital role of tiny organisms in the health of ecosystems. The human body, an ecosystem in itself, hosts at least ten times as many bacteria as human cells, mostly doing important work like digesting nutrients, converting sugars, synthesizing vitamins and inhibiting the growth of pathogenic bacteria. This is life. And without these friends, we’d rot like bananas on the counter.

Updated 6/22/10; originally posted 3/15/09.

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