Natural or chemical cleaning products? The choice at the supermarket is often difficult, skewed by a bias we can't seem to shake. And yet, more often than not, natural is also synonymous with effective.
Bias can be truly hard to shake: the doubt that natural cleaning products for the home are not a real alternative to chemical ones is a common thought, which sometimes even touches the most committed environmentalists. But is this doubt well founded? Are cleaning products based on natural raw materials really so mild? Is it true that, to guarantee effective cleaning, one must inevitably opt for chemical products that are harmful to the environment and to our health?
In every respect, the idea that synthetic products are more effective at destroying germs and bacteria is a myth. Natural ingredients can be extraordinarily effective: essential oils, for example, are for the most part powerful bactericides; lemon juice, which contains citric acid, has a deodorising and brightening effect; sodium bicarbonate is active against grease; and salt has a disinfecting and abrasive action.
Essential oils in particular have long been the subject of scientific studies confirming their antibacterial, antifungal and antibiotic potential, such as the study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy on the antibacterial activity of 14 essential oils — including cinnamon, citronella and thyme — against the influenza virus and other conditions. This implicitly suggests that their use in various sectors (including cleaning) represents not only a valid alternative to chemicals, but also a benefit to human health.
In some European countries, such as France, there are natural domestic cleaning products that also carry the designation of disinfectants and are used as such, on a par with chemical products: this means they comply with the relevant EU standards, EN 13697, EN 1275 and 1276, which relate to the removal of bacteria or fungi by disinfectants within 5 minutes of their application.
Some of these products, manufactured to the same formulations, are also sold in Italy, but for the time being do not carry the same designation: in our country, in fact, obtaining the title of disinfectant also requires the presidio medico chirurgico issued by the Ministry of Health, which no manufacturer of natural cleaning products has applied for to date.
A good example of the successful application of green chemistry to cleaning is that of the French company Salveco: since its founding in 1994, the company has set itself the goal of creating cleaning and disinfection products — for personal use as well as for kitchen surfaces, glass and bathrooms, floors, laundry and cars — that are 100 per cent plant-based, certified Ecocert and Ecolabel, and safe for the body.