Fresh from the Press

The University of Canterbury did a study between the use of Chemicals and ENJO, and from their research we have identified the top nine tips for a healthier and more hygienic lifestyle.

Tip 1: Dry your hands after washing

A major pathogen source leading to ill health is incorrectly prepared or stored food – improperly cooked, stored at wrong temperatures or too high pH (not acidic enough). Cleaning with chemicals will not reduce this source of illness. Hands are pathogen sources too. Good hand hygiene – ie: washing with soap and water for long enough, using a nail brush and drying thoroughly – is a major way to avoid illnesses. Antibacterial hand washes are virtually useless (you could say “99.9% useless”!)

Tip 2: Disinfection and cleaning with chemicals is not necessary and not recommended.

Disinfection of surfaces is not necessary except in operating theatres and hospital wards with high risk patients such as: after surgery, during intensive cancer treatment, or patients with serious, infectious illnesses. Disinfection and cleaning with chemicals is therefore not recommended as it is causing antibiotic resistance – a profound problem for mankind.

Tip 3: Don’t kill bacteria.

Disinfecting with chemicals kills all bacteria, including beneficial and commensal bacteria. This is harmful to our health as there are many strains of bacteria which we need in order to stay healthy. Tolerogenic gut bacteria are vital for proper brain development, immune function and nutrient production (eg: B12). Lack of tolerogenic organisms leads to diseases such as asthma,food allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and lupus. Research into tolerogenic organisms is just opening up – we barely know anything about them.

Tip 4: Keep it dry!

In “clean” but moist environments, bacteria re-grow very fast. Keeping everything dry (surfaces, cloths, hands) prevents bacterial re-grow, including pathogenic bacteria. Moist environments also lead to growth of fungal and bacterial spores, which are a serious health risk (there are plenty of alarming, current articles about this).

Tip 5: Don’t strain yourself with cleaning chemicals.

Cleaning chemicals have been linked to respiratory illnesses (eg: asthma), allergic reactions (eg: dermatitis), cancer (xenoestrogens), DNA damage, birth defects and the feminizing of boys in utero. Also, using fibre cleaning products is less of a physical strain than using conventional cloths for wiping and cleaning, eg: back strain through floor mopping or repetitive strain injury (RSI) from washing surfaces – a problem for commercial cleaners.

Tip 6: Appreciate long term and generational health effects of chemicals.

Chemicals undergo risk assessments singly, however mixtures of chemicals are more potent than single chemicals, in lower exposures. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are under-appreciated as sources of chemical caused illnesses. The exposure of children to chemicals in utero, and through breast milk have also not been fully appreciated. Studies hav proven that chemicals can therefore be transferred from mother to her unborn baby.

Tip 7: Keep the natural environment clean.

Cleaning chemicals pollute the environment directly (in waterways, streams, etc) and indirectly by bottles used for storage, transport, etc. Simple eco-friendly test: If you can’t pour your cleaner in a fish bowl, don’t use it. Chemicals and plastics usually end up in rivers, streams and the ocean after we have used it.

Tip 8: Invest in proper quality fibre and eco-friendly alternatives.

University of Canterbury’s experiment and many experiments in academic literature, demonstrate that fibre cleaning products can clean as well as chemicals, if not better, using only water.

Tip 9: Fibre cleaning products are cheaper.

According to calculations made by ENJO on the average cleaning chemical use, per family, per year – using ENJO fibre cleaning products works out cheaper and more productive than buying cleaning chemicals and detergents, cloths and associated cleaning items. Many companies using ENJO report long term labour savings of up to 50%, and cost savings on cleaning products of between 30 and 40%.

Why the Trial between Chemicals and ENJO?

University of Canterbury covers 87 ha of suburban land in Christchurch, it has 240 buildings and 120 cleaning staff. There is an effort to green up their cleaning, although to date this has focused on choosing, for example, ‘biodegradable’ chemicals where possible, however non-chemical cleaning features in their draft Sustainability

Strategy 2012-2022. Hence they decided to allocate resources to a Summer Sustainability Scholarship to research the efficacy of fibre technology as compared to their current cleaning practice.

A Brief Overview of the Trial

The primary objective of this project was to do microbiological sampling in a real setting, to see if there was any difference in bacterial and fungal loadings, after two daily cleaning regimes. The two cleaning regimes were, firstly the University of Canterbury’s current regime which uses standard cleaning products containing chemical cleaning agents and disinfectants and secondly, a regime which used only fibre-based cleaning products (using ENJO fibres). The samples were taken on two floors of the English Building at the University of Canterbury.

The major find was that there was no significant difference in bacterial or fungal loadings between the two cleaning regimes. There is an increasing body of evidence which highlights how the routine use of harsh cleaning products and disinfectants is having serious adverse affects on the environment, on biota and on people. The adverse effects on people include DNA damage, brain and immune system impairment, asthma and allergic reactions to products. Because routine use of harsh cleaning and disinfecting chemicals is not necessary and because they have serious adverse effects, we should be questioning our use of them.

Information sourced from: ‘A Report and Practical Microbiological Experiment for the Sustainability Office, University of Canterbury’ – Kate Henry, 2011

Why is this important?

• From a top university – University of Canterbury is in the top 200 universities worldwide

• FULL Scientific study

• 9 swabs/2 sites/ 2 floors/ 2 x weekly

• No difference between chemicals and ENJO

What do you prefer? Removing germs or killing them? Perhaps it is better to remove them, don’t you think? Lets quickly analyse this.

Lets say we kill the germs and bacteria with the strongest chemicals we can find. As you will note, on the store bought cleaners it is often advertised that 99.9% of germs are killed. Ok, so that leaves 0.1% of germs alive. Does not sound that bad, does it? That 0.1% of germs or bacteria may have been exposed to the chemicals, and did not die. That is one of the ways in which bacteria begins to become immune to the chemicals. So chemical manufacturers have to make stronger chemicals. Lets say we don’t care about that for now, so that leaves us with the 99.9% dead bacteria. Where are they after they are killed?

Normally when we spray our chemical cleaner on a surface, we wipe with a cloth. We assume that it wipes it away, don’t we? Well, some of it is wiped away; some are still on the surface. If you recall the study by Dr Dingle, the cloth being used and the method used to clean makes a big difference. To clean properly with chemicals, you have to leave your chemicals after spraying the surface for at least 30 mins before wiping. Even after wiping a large number of bacteria (although dead) will remain there. It is a perfect breeding ground for the 0.1% bacteria not being killed and new bacteria being added, because you left some food out with your cloth!

Ok, now your surface is a morgue with bacteria lying there. There is also a chemical layer that becomes sticky. Yes chemical cleaners are sticky. These cleaners now attract dust and other dirt like bacteria. That is why Dr Dingle and his team found that after 6 hours, your surface is no longer clean, and on the other hand that the ENJO surface is still clean.

Ok, that did not sound nice, but what happens with the bacteria cleaned with the ENJOtex fiber? ENJOtex fibers has a bigger surface area. It is basic science and mathematics. Each fiber is a 100th the size of a hair. These fibers are also much longer than the store bought microfibers and cloths. Having longer and finer fibers, ensures that firstly, the fibers enters the smallest of holes on the surface you clean, removing the bacteria from there. The long fibers add to the surface area, absorbing more bacteria than a normal cloth.

Now think about it, as it is very logical:

• Longer fibers, gives us a bigger surface area for the cloth, even though it is smaller than a normal store bought cloth or microfiber.

• Finer and longer fibers enter smaller holes, than other cloths can, cleaning it out.

• Fibers are more absorbent and robust.

So that brings us to these benefits:

• We clean faster, because the fiber is ergonomically designed, more absorbent, and reach into areas normal cloths don’t. Due to the absorbency and design of the ENJOtex fibers, you have fewer trips to the basin, in so much that you can clean a 100 square metre floor without rinsing your floor fiber!

• We clean cleaner, because the fibers are more absorbent, and reach into those small areas, without leaving a sticky residue (we only clean with water.

• ENJO is healthier to use, as there are no chemical fumes that enters your lungs and blood stream, that can cause all kinds of future illnesses and allergies such as asthma!

So where are the bacteria then?

Well, they are absorbed in the ENJOtex fibers. They are released into the drain when you rinse or wash your ENJOtex fibers with warm water. The fibers release the bacteria at 60 degrees Celsius! So the bacteria go into your sewerage system, where they are actually useful, and which chemicals that you wash down in your drain actually damage.

Therefore ENJO has an advantage in terms of environmentally friendliness inside your own home, as well as within the ecosystem, which chemical cleaners do not have. And besides, your home will be 6x cleaner, and will stay cleaner for longer due to no sticky residue being left over!

Note: It takes ENJO approximately a month of regular and continued use to remove all the layers of the chemicals you had used in your home over the years!

So who are ENJO very good for:

• Everyone, including,

• Pregnant woman,

• People suffering from allergies and asthma

• People who care for the health of their families

• People who care for the environment

• People who want a cleaner clean

• People who have housekeepers, and they care for their health and safety

So do you still want to kill germs?

Over 70 years we have experienced a dramatic increase to the exposure of toxic chemicals within our environments, including the home (Sutton, 2012). A study by Currie and Schmieder (2008) had found over 232 chemicals in the umbilical cord of infants that may have lifelong consequences. In a separate study by Sutton (2012) found that every pregnant woman are exposed to toxic chemicals due to their environment. Thus preventing environmental exposure to chemicals should reduce the number of chemicals transferred to the unborn child.

According to these studies the toxic chemicals in our environment has several sources, including what we eat, such as processed foods. However, other factors may be out of our control such as air pollution caused by industries in the area or working environment contributes the toxic chemical exposure. Having said that, one of the most important ways in which we are exposed to toxic chemicals are our cleaning habits.

Yes that is correct, we induce our own intoxication through the chemicals we use to clean our homes. In fact, if you can smell it, you have inhaled it, and the chemical molecules are entering your body, often crossing the placenta to the unborn baby.  Besides the health risks it yields to the adults in the home, there are a myriad health risks to the infant.

Several fertility risks had been identified by Sutton (2012) and these risks includes a decline in the age of reaching puberty, a declines in fertility and fecundity of the child reaching adulthood; increased rates of poor birth outcomes such as babies born prematurely or stillborn babies, small for gestational age, and with certain birth defects.

Health risks that increases with toxic chemical exposure as indicated by Sutton (2012) are the increased rates of childhood diseases such as autism, certain types of cancer, and obesity; and declines in life expectancy with some communities having life expectancies already well behind those of the best-performing nations.

Currently our workplaces, homes and shopping centres contains high concentrations of toxic chemicals, exposing ourselves, families and children. At least we have control over what we use in our homes and what we put into our bodies and the bodies of our children. Here are few examples of what we can do:

• Use BPA free plastic containers (such as baby bottles)

• Buy and eat organic (pesticides used on crops enter the produce, and therefore your body by eating it)

• Only use natural cleaning products (where you reduce toxic chemicals, such as ENJO Fibres)

• Switch over to natural brands of toiletries such as shampoo and toothpaste (Environmental Working Group has a List)

• Avoid using artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners, or other synthetic fragrances

The above list is by no means exhaustive, but should help you as mother to reduce toxic chemical exposure to your baby. Watch the following video that will elaborate the “toxic home syndrome” that were broadcasted in Australia