Have you ever seen a child drop food on the floor and immediately put it in his mouth? Presumably, most parents would take away the contaminated food. Unless, of course, they're in their own home. The handy five-second rule often comes into play. Even in homes there are toxins and chemicals on the floor and surfaces, not just germs and bacteria. The cleaning products used, harmful and toxic products, are neglected. How many times do people, not just parents, neglect what is on the surfaces of their home because they have cleaned it? Cleaners laden with toxic chemicals are used to sanitize or disinfect surfaces. These chemicals then come into contact with products, foods and the human body. Many detergents float in the air and then come into contact with the human body in ways not originally intended. Even “environmentally friendly” companies supply cleaners with some type of chemical or filler that could be potentially harmful. Some chemical cleaning companies focus solely on their ability to clean, while others suggest the expense is low, but don't explain why it's affordable. Our culture is programmed to believe that cleaning methods are safe despite the growing number of safe, alternative cleaning methods. For many consumers, the green market poses complicated and intimidating solutions when in reality they are quite simple. Terms like “green cleaning,” “non-toxic,” and “environmentally friendly” can be confusing. All these terms essentially lead to one idea: products that are less harmful to the environment and consumers. In his article on the effectiveness of green cleaning products, Ed Light describes green cleaning products as “natural materials to replace 'highly toxic' disinfectants... middle of paper... general bathroom cleaning with measuring volatile organic compounds and ammonia concentrations in the air. This study showed that “workers who perform institutional and domestic cleaning are at increased risk of asthma and other respiratory diseases” (Bello 1). The general public generally assumes that they can rely on well-known companies. These seemingly trustworthy companies are assumed to provide safe and effective cleaning products. Schoffro Cook points out that companies like Proctor and Gamble display their products in a way that leads the public to believe they are creating a healthy environment. He gives the example of one of their flagship products, Febreze, marketed to “make the world breathe happy” (Schoffro Cook). Instead, this product that claims to eliminate odors only masks them all by spreading dangerous chemicals.