Are cleaning products getting in our blood?

We went down a rabbit hole on what happens to cleaning chemicals after you use them. Do they stay on the counter, or do they end up in us? We read the research so you don't have to. Here's what we found.

5 key takeaways

1. Some chemicals can get through skin. In a 2024 study, 15 of 17 "forever chemicals" (PFAS) tested were absorbed through lab-grown human skin.

2. Cleaning fills the air you breathe. Domestic cleaners wearing air monitors for 3 days were exposed to a mix of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), many linked to scented cleaning products.

3. Cleaners breathe more of it. People who clean for work have a higher risk of asthma and other breathing problems.

4. It's tracked in our blood. The US CDC routinely measures VOCs in people's blood, and it lists cleaning agents among their uses.

5. The science is still young. These studies don't prove your spray bottle is harming you. They show it's worth knowing what you're using.

Read the studies

PFAS & skin (Environment International, 2024):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108772

VOCs & domestic cleaners (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2022):

https://doi.org/10.1080/15459624.2021.2000615

CDC blood VOC monitoring:

https://wwwn.cdc.gov/Nchs/Data/Nhanes/Public/2017/DataFiles/P_VOCWB.htm

What's in n.a.k.e.d?

9 of our 11 ingredients are found in food products. The other two are sodium coco sulfate, the same cleaning agent used in toothpaste, and essential oils. For the full read up please check our safety page <3