Most childcare managers I talk to can tell me exactly what’s in their lunch menu.
They can’t always tell me what’s in their cleaning products.
That’s not a criticism.
It’s just how it goes.
You’re busy.
The cleaner orders the supplies. Nobody questions it.
But it’s worth questioning.
The chemicals you’re probably using
Walk to your cleaning cupboard. Pick up a bottle. Turn it over.
Look for these: quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), chlorine bleach, glycol ethers, synthetic fragrances, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives.
These are common.
They’re in products you’d recognise. They’re effective at killing germs.
They’re also associated with respiratory irritation, skin sensitisation, and in higher exposures, more serious health effects.
Your staff use these products every day. In rooms where children spend most of their waking hours.
The residue problem
Here’s the part that doesn’t get talked about enough.
Cleaning products don’t just disappear after you wipe a surface down.
Residues remain, on tables, on floors, on the toys kids put in their mouths.
Adults have a better capacity to process chemical exposure.
Children don’t. Their bodies are still developing.
Their immune and neurological systems are more vulnerable.
This isn’t alarmist. It’s basic physiology.
The question isn’t whether your products kill germs.
Of course they do. The question is what else they’re doing in a room full of small children.
What the research says
A growing body of occupational health research links regular exposure to conventional cleaning chemicals with increased rates of occupational asthma, particularly in cleaning staff and healthcare workers. (see links below)
Some of the worst offenders are spray products, because aerosolised chemicals are inhaled directly.
Again, your staff. Every shift.
What a better option looks like
Plant-derived formulations aren’t automatically safe.
But the better ones are designed to biodegrade quickly, leave minimal residue, and avoid the chemical classes most associated with sensitisation and irritation.
The Evolution Organics range is formulated with this in mind.
The products sanitise effectively, that’s non-negotiable in a childcare environment, but without the chemical load that comes with conventional alternatives.
I’d rather stock a product I’d be comfortable using around my own kids. That’s my bar.
A practical starting point
You don’t have to overhaul everything at once.
Start with the products used most in child contact areas.
Tables. High chairs. Play surfaces. Floor cleaners in rooms where kids crawl and sit.
Those are the highest-exposure points.
That’s where the switch makes the most difference.
Want to know more?
I’m happy to walk through the specific products in the range and what they’re suitable for in a childcare setting.
No obligation.
If our products aren’t the right fit for your centre, I’ll tell you that too.
Request a sample and see for yourself.
The products will do the convincing.
Links:
- Arif et al. (2012) — Healthcare professionals, dose-dependent asthma risk https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21602538/
- Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (2011) — Clinical study of professional cleaners https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21285030/
- Ibrahim et al. (2025) — Large French cohort, 220,000 adults https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajim.23725
- Workforce study — Cleaning work and asthma symptoms https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21558474/
- Hospital workers study — Specific cleaning product exposures https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23033509/
- Review: Update on asthma and cleaners (PMC) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3125175/
- Systematic review & meta-analysis — healthcare workers (PMC, 2022) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9059197/