What conventional cleaning products are doing to your indoor air — and three plant-based swaps from The Home Farm that protect your family without sacrificing clean.
Most homes smell clean. That citrus burst when you spray the counter, the fresh linen scent off the laundry, the sharp clarity after mopping the floor. It registers as safe. It registers as good.
But that smell — in most conventional cleaning products — is one of the least healthy things in your home.
Not because clean is bad. Because what creates that smell, and what lingers in the air long after you have put the bottle away, is a chemistry that was never designed with your family’s lungs in mind.
“The average home contains approximately 62 toxic chemicals. Most of them arrive in a spray bottle under the kitchen sink.”
What conventional cleaners contain
The chemicals most families clean with every day
- Phthalates — hidden inside “fragrance” on ingredient labels. Endocrine disruptors linked to hormone interference. No disclosure required by law.
- Ammonia & bleach — standard in all-purpose and glass cleaners. Irritate eyes and lungs. Particularly problematic for anyone with asthma or respiratory sensitivity.
- Butoxyethanol — found in many all-purpose sprays. Classified as a hazardous air pollutant by the EPA. Linked to reproductive harm at prolonged exposure.
- Formaldehyde — used as a preservative in some fabric softeners and air fresheners. A known carcinogen at elevated exposure levels.
- Synthetic fragrance — the single most common delivery mechanism for harmful compounds in home cleaning. One word on a label that legally conceals hundreds of undisclosed chemicals.
530
Unique VOCs identified across 30 common cleaning products — EWG, 2023
2–5×
More polluted than outdoor air — typical indoor air quality when cleaning products are in use (EPA)
62
Toxic chemicals found in a typical American household (environmental health research)
Here is the part that matters most: cleaning product manufacturers are not required to list ingredients. The word “fragrance” on a label is a legally protected trade secret that can represent any combination of thousands of compounds — none of which require safety review before going to market.
You are not buying clean. You are buying the smell of clean. Those are different things.
A Family Brand Worth Knowing
The Home Farm — Built at an Urban Farm in Florida, for Families Like Yours
The Home Farm was created by a health-conscious, nature-loving family living a zero waste, minimalist lifestyle — wild-schooling their children at their urban home farm in Winter Park, Florida. They make organic, plant-based products to keep their own family healthy. Then they share those products with yours.
That is a different origin story than a contract manufacturer formulating for price. This is a family that decided what went into their own home first — and built a brand around that standard. Every product starts from the same question: would we use this on ourselves and our children?
The answer, in every product GenTree Home carries from The Home Farm, is yes.
Out with the old. In with the honest.
Here is what The Home Farm removes from the cleaning equation — and what replaces it.
Out with the old. In with the honest.
Synthetic fragrance — undisclosed chemical mix, common trigger for allergies, asthma, and hormone disruption
Petroleum-based surfactants — derived from crude oil, slow to biodegrade, leave residue on surfaces children and pets touch daily
Ammonia & bleach — fumes linger in enclosed spaces, particularly hazardous around children with respiratory sensitivity
Single-use plastic bottles — petroleum-based packaging adding to landfill waste with every purchase
The Home Farm
Named essential oils — Lemongrass, Lavender, Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Cedarwood. Every ingredient visible on the label.
Organic saponified oils — Coconut, Olive & Jojoba. Plant-derived, biodegradable, gentle on skin and surfaces.
Rosemary extract & organic aloe vera — natural antimicrobial and conditioning agents. No harsh fumes.
16oz glass jar with metal or spray top — recyclable, reusable, and no chemical leaching into the product itself.
Three products. Every room.
GenTree Home carries three Home Farm cleaning essentials — each built on the same organic oil base, packaged in glass, and safe to use around children and pets.
KITCHEN · BATH · FLOORS
All Purpose Spray $22.50 — 16oz glass
One bottle for counters, floors, wood, tile, and every hard surface in the home. Safe to use around children. No ammonia, no bleach, no synthetic fragrance.
KITCHEN · BATH · DAILY
Organic Hand Soap $22.50 — 16oz glass
The soap your family uses dozens of times a day. Organic plant oils, no synthetic fragrance, no stripping agents. Lathers cleanly and conditions as it cleans.
LAUNDRY · SENSITIVE · SKIN
Laundry Detergent $22.50 — 16oz glass
Concentrated at 1/3 cup per load. Works in HE and front-loading washers. Formulated for sensitive skin and septic systems. Vegan and fully biodegradable.
How it feels room by room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Laundry
Pet areas
At GenTree Home, we carry The Home Farm because it meets the same standard we apply to everything on our shelves: purposeful, honestly made, and as kind to the planet as we can find. Their formula philosophy starts in the same place ours does — with a family deciding what they would actually bring into their own home.
This is what it means to clean with intention. Not just removing dirt — but not replacing it with something worse.
