How to create a non-toxic home for your baby

How to create a non-toxic home for your baby

It’s ironic. The most precious and perfect thing you’ll probably ever bring into your home is your baby. However, with wrangling the routines of feeding washing, diaper changes and so on, that little bub will also be the focus of a fair amount of household chaos, and a lot of household clean-ups. 

While it’ll be second nature to swing into action, and disinfect and wipe everything thoroughly (if you have the energy), the last thing you want to be worrying about is whether or not you’re creating a healthy, non-toxic environment for the tiniest and most vulnerable member of your family. 

But it’s worth taking a moment to think about it, because potentially harmful toxins are often exactly what ‘mainstream’ cleaning products and disinfectants are spreading around the home. While they may be good at eliminating germs, common ingredients like ammonia and sodium hypochlorite are far from pleasant to breathe in, and if inadvertently combined with other cleaning agents, can cause damage to the moist tissues in our bodies, like eyes or airways. 

Thankfully, there are products that not only are 100% effective at effortlessly banishing dirt, odours, and bacteria, but are also 100% safe to use around babies and pets as many times a day or night as you need. Better still, because they’re made only from natural and sustainable ingredients, these products are totally planet-friendly too. And, being plant-based and toxin-free, they have a fabulous ‘value-add’ in offering the therapeutic benefits that only nature can provide.   

Our family-owned company Koala Eco has been making plant-based products for a clean home, body and mind since 2017. Everything in our range is Made-Safe certified, which means they’re non-allergenic, not tested on animals, and contain no chemical nasties or synthetic fragrances. Our main ingredients are pure essential oils from Australian native plants, which for centuries have been harvested for their medicinal and therapeutic properties. Literally the ‘essence’ of the plant, essential oils are the highly concentrated compounds secreted in the bark, leaf or fruit. Because these oils are such incredibly good antiseptics and disinfectants, you can be sure that every one of our formulas is carefully balanced and tested to contain just the right amounts: enough to be super-effective, and still super-safe. 

When we developed our bestselling Kitchen Multipurpose with Lemon Myrtle and Mandarin, for example, we wanted it to be easy to use, effective, safe and versatile. We wanted people to feel confident spraying Multipurpose on everything from fridges and food preparation benches to highchair trays, toys and changing mats, and not worry that there was anything harmful left behind: just clean surfaces and the delightful, uplifting aroma of Lemon Myrtle and Mandarin. These essential oils have extraordinary antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral properties, and they also combine to make a fresh, totally natural scent. 

So if you’re looking for some easy, quick fixes to create a healthy, nurturing place for you and your baby, switching to natural cleaning products is a really good start. It’s not just about cleanliness and safety: it’s also about creating the peace of mind to relax and savour a truly special time. At least until that next nappy change!   

¹Benzoni, T., and J.D. Hatcher (2022). ‘Bleach Toxicity’. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441921/ accessed 23 January 2022

← Older Post Newer Post →

Art and science, in essence

Art and science, in essence

An appreciation of the farms where we source our essential oils  What’s your favourite botanical scent?  Would it be the medicinal crispness of tea tree?...

Read more
Do natural laundry detergents work?

Do natural laundry detergents work?

Koala Eco is an independent family-owned business that makes natural, plant-derived products for a clean home, body and mind. We use nature’s cleaning superpower: the...

Read more
Celebrating the biggest Mother of us all

Celebrating the biggest Mother of us all

Spend Mother’s Day outside in nature’s ‘family’ It’s a day when, traditionally, Mum is supposed to be treated to breakfast in bed, showered with endearing...

Read more
A Simple Way to Reduce the Chemical Load on Your Body: Wash Your Fruits and Vegetables

A Simple Way to Reduce the Chemical Load on Your Body: Wash Your Fruits and Vegetables

In today’s world, the food we consume is often laden with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other chemical residues. Even organic produce can carry traces of...

Read more
What the season brings and how you can make the most of it

What the season brings and how you can make the most of it

When the long grey months of winter are over, and the first green shoots start pushing up through the soil, the arrival of spring feels...

Read more
Nature’s balance of familiarity and awe

Nature’s balance of familiarity and awe

Reflections on the deeper meaning behind ‘More Nature, Feel Better’   In her classic nature memoir The Living Mountain, the late Scottish hill walker Nan...

Read more