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How Cleaning Products Affect Hormones (And How to Create a Low-Tox Home)
Monday, March 02, 2026
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What You Clean With Matters
We have talked about what you wash with. We have talked about what you rub on your skin. We’ve talked about what you breathe in. We’ve talked about what you store your food in. Today, we’re going to talk about what you clean with, because somewhere along the way we were taught that a stronger chemical smell means healthier and cleaner.
Many common cleaning products contain compounds that can interfere with thyroid signaling, reproductive hormones, lung health, and even your nervous system. In this blog, we are unpacking what’s actually in household cleaners, how they affect women’s bodies, and what realistic changes you can make that matter the most.
A Quick Favor Before We Dive In
For a long time, at the very beginning of my podcast, I would read a review from Apple Podcasts from one of you wonderful listeners who took the time to leave me a review. But it has been four months since somebody took the time to do that. I know you have a lot to do, and you probably think it doesn’t matter, but it does.
It helps me so much to find other women just like you who are looking for this kind of content when you take the time to leave a quick review. So if you haven’t already, please head over to Apple Podcasts and leave a quick five-star written review. Tell me what you think about the show, maybe which blogs you like the best, and that will help me so much.
If you don’t have an Apple product, that’s fine too. You can also help me by going to YouTube, subscribing to my channel, commenting on a video, or sharing a video with your friends. All of these things help me find other women like you who are looking for content like what I provide.
Free for you!
I am going to talk about a lot of things in today’s blog, and you are probably going to want to write a lot of them down. That’s great if you want to do that. But I also want you to know I have a free low tox cleaning starter guide that is available to you right now! It's down at the bottom so scroll on down!!
The Lie We’ve Been Taught About “Clean”
We are getting into a whole new aspect of things that we use every day in our lives that are potentially making us sick. This week we are talking about cleaning products.
We have been taught through direct messaging, subliminal messaging, and simply by what’s available that clean means it smells a certain way and that it means sterile. It’s on all the products. It says kills 99.9% of germs. Walk down the cleaning aisle and you are knocked over by chemical smells.
These are the things we have been taught to associate with cleanliness. The stronger the smell, the safer we feel, as if the smell is what’s making it clean. But clean and chemically aggressive are not the same thing.
Many disinfectants and cleaners contain endocrine-disrupting or hormone-interfering compounds. Those compounds are what you are smelling and what are killing 99.9% of germs. In some isolated cases that can be a good thing, but when applied day to day, they are actually causing harm.
Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats)
The first compound we will talk about is quaternary ammonium compounds, sometimes called quats. These are found in disinfectant wipes, antibacterial sprays, sanitizing cleaners, and fabric sanitizers.
They work by disrupting microbial cell membranes. Cells have membranes around the outside that hold everything inside the cell. That is true for microbes as well. These chemicals target that membrane and cause it to break down. When it breaks down, the internal portions of the microbial cells die.
That is a good thing in a very targeted situation. It becomes a bad thing when it also impacts our living cells that we want to keep healthy.
When we are trying to sanitize every surface every day, we are getting constant exposure to these quaternary ammonium compounds. They are breaking down the cell membranes of good bacteria on our bodies and cells in other places.
Constant exposure has been associated with asthma, linked to reproductive toxicity in animal studies, and shows potential endocrine-disrupting activity. They also alter the human microbiome.
The human microbiome is the bacteria in our bodies that is supposed to be there. The good bacteria keep the bad bacteria in check. But good bacteria are vulnerable to these compounds because they also have cell membranes. When exposed, they die as well, leaving the door open for imbalance.
Always remember: what kills microbes also interacts with living tissue.
Chlorine and Bleach
Chlorine and bleach are found in bathroom cleaners, toilet cleaners, and mold sprays. When you use them, volatile gases are released. You breathe them in, they irritate respiratory tissue, and that increases inflammatory signaling.
Your lung tissue becomes inflamed, setting off a cascade from your immune system. That response is helpful when there is something to attack. But with chemical irritation, it creates low-level inflammation that keeps your immune system activated and less effective when you actually need it.
Improperly mixing cleaners can form dangerous gases that worsen this process. Chronic exposure can lead to lung irritation, immune dysregulation, and thyroid stress via inflammation pathways.
Synthetic Fragrances
Synthetic fragrances are present in many cleaners, even green cleaners. You have to look for fragrance blends and synthetic musks.
These are estrogen mimics. They act like estrogen in your body, interfering with its proper function. They stimulate the nervous system and can cause headaches and migraines.
Lemon scent does not equal lemon juice. Just because it smells like lemon does not mean it is lemon. Fragrance is a legal category that can hide hundreds of undisclosed chemicals.
VOCs: Volatile Organic Compounds
Cleaning sprays release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Aerosolization puts these airborne chemicals into the air. You inhale them, they enter your lungs, move through your alveoli into capillaries, and rapidly circulate throughout your body.
Possible effects include airway inflammation, hormone receptor interference, and oxidative stress.
How These Chemicals Get Into Your Body
Inhalation
Aerosolized droplets are tiny. You breathe them in, and they enter your bloodstream quickly. Steam from hot showers can increase chemical activity and inhalation. Poor ventilation increases exposure and bypasses some detox barriers.
Skin Contact
Cleaning with bare hands exposes your skin directly. Residue remains on surfaces long after cleaning. You touch them and absorb chemicals. Freshly cleaned floors matter too, especially for crawling babies and pregnant women.
Chronic Low-Level Exposure
Even weekly cleaning leaves residue. Air circulation redistributes compounds. Repeated micro-exposures accumulate over time.
How This Connects to Hormones
Cleaning chemicals can activate stress pathways through inflammation and the limbic system. Exposure increases cortisol, which increases inflammatory load, interferes with thyroid signaling, and alters microbiome balance.
Hormone balance is not isolated from immune health or nervous system signaling. Everything is connected.
Women are particularly vulnerable. We tend to do more household cleaning. We have higher autoimmune rates and thyroid dysfunction. Hormone cycling shifts affect how our bodies respond to exposures.
Postpartum women are especially vulnerable. Increased disinfecting during that season adds to an already hormonally sensitive time.
What Actually Needs Disinfecting?
Not everything.
Most surfaces only need soap and water. Mechanical removal with elbow grease is often enough. Reserve disinfecting for raw meat contamination, illness in the home, or specific high-risk scenarios.
Use targeted disinfecting. Avoid daily saturation.
Practical Swaps
- Choose fragrance-free options or cleaners scented with safe essential oils (like this Thieves Household Cleaner from Young Living).
- Use soap and water first, ensuring the soap itself is clean.
- Microfiber cloths like Norwex are great alternatives.
- Diluted vinegar works for some surfaces.
- Hydrogen peroxide for targeted disinfecting.
- Keep windows open while cleaning.
- Use quality gloves.
- Avoid constant disinfecting wipes.
- Avoid aerosol sprays.
- Avoid scent booster cleaners.
Strong smells activate the limbic system and increase stress response, elevating cortisol and contributing to metabolic dysregulation and hormone imbalance.
Cleaning is removing filth. Clean does not need a scent.
When Removing Toxins Isn’t Enough
If your thyroid is already dysregulated, if your insulin is resistant, if your cortisol is elevated, removing chemical stress is step one. Restoring your body to work the way God designed it to work requires a plan.
Inside my one-on-one coaching, we look at hormonal patterns, blood sugar regulation, thyroid conversion, nervous system safety, inflammatory load, and toxic exposures. Then we remove interference and rebuild properly.
If you are ready for that level of strategy, the application is in the show notes, or go to morriswellnessservices.com/application.
I just received another client’s labs. She was nervous they would not be better. I am blown away by how quickly her body responded to the changes she made. It does not take long when you have the right support.
God made your body to heal when it is properly supported and given the right inputs while removing what makes it sick.
If you are ready, go to morriswellnessservices.com/application and get your call booked.
Or check out Verity Village if you are not ready for one-on-one but still want support. We are having conversations every day that are impacting women’s health and monthly challenges that are creating lasting change.
Also, download the free low tox cleaning starter guide below. You will have all these resources in a printable format to take with you when making your selections.
HI, I'm Lori!
Certified Nurse-Midwife
& Health Coach
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