They see me cleanin'... they hatin'... : The Truth About Thieves Household Cleaner
I’ve already done a blog post about Thieves EO in general that you can read about here, but I think we need to talk about the Thieves Household Cleaner (THC) separately.
THC is a product offered by Young Living as a plant-based, all-purpose cleaner - think floors, counters, windows, and appliances. It is available as a concentrate that you dilute typically 1:15 or 1:30 with water depending on what strength you need for your purposes. Along with other ingredients like surfactants and water, it contains the Thieves blend of EOs (rosemary, cinnamon bark, clove, eucalyptus radiata, and lemon).
I’ve noticed a trend in many natural Facebook groups of someone bringing up this cleaner and getting torn to pieces (virtually) by well-meaning individuals who are concerned about the EOs in Thieves and how they apply to safety with pregnancy, pets, and children. There are indeed some safety considerations with these EOs (the link above to my Thieves post outlines them but we’ll break it down here as well) but how do these relate to the cleaner?
Let’s review the safety considerations first, shall we?
[All safety information is from EO Safety 2E Tisserand and Young, the current “gold standard” in EO safety]
Cinnamon Bark -
This is very harsh on the skin due to the cinnamaldehyde - it should be diluted to 0.07%, often rounded to 0.1%, or less to avoid reactions regardless of age.
Use caution dermally with kids under 2 (out of respect for their more sensitive skin).
It can be an irritant for some via inhalation.
It's not recommended for pregnancy or breastfeeding due to animal studies indicating a link between cinnamon ingestion in rodents and negative impact on embryonic development. (Domaracky et al, 2007 - you can read the study here) The precaution was made to encompass all use of cinnamon EO, not just ingestion, given the lack of research on human pregnancies and other methods of use. Breastfeeding precautions are often (not always) extrapolated from the pregnancy ones.
**For context, the human equivalent to the rodent ingestion would be a 150 lb human ingesting about 25 ml of the EO (diluted to 0.25% so as not to fry their innards). It may seem extreme to recommend avoiding it by all routes of use based on this, but there’s a need to establish SOME basis for guidelines. It was the professional opinions of the authors of EO Safety 2e (Robert Tisserand, leading expert in EO research, and Rodney Young, PhD in plant chemistry and pharmacology) that the potential risks do not outweigh the benefits. As always these are recommendations and guidelines, not “rules.”**
Clove -
Another one that can be rough on skin - it is best to dilute to 0.5% or less to avoid reactions.
Similarly to cinnamon bark, use caution dermally with kids under 2
This can be an irritant for some via inhalation
Eucalyptus radiata -
Avoid applying to face/up noses of children under 10, due to 1,8 cineole content
Rosemary -
Avoid applying to face/up noses of children under 10, due to 1,8 cineole content
Lemon -
Phototoxic over 2%
Outside of these more concrete safety considerations, there is a more conceptual notion that exposure to potent antimicrobial oils in young children (think under 2) may hinder the development of a robust immune system, similarly to how it wouldn’t be advisable to use antibiotics in a preventative manner on a regular basis.
So how do these safety considerations apply to use of Thieves EO? (We’re still talking about the EO here, not the cleaner, so diffusion and topical use. There are additional precautions if we get into ingestion so in the interest of brevity - ha, have I EVER exhibited that quality? - that can be another conversation.)
If we are to follow them to the letter, it would be:
Dilute well for everyone to manage skin irritation and phototoxicity
Use extra caution on those under 2 (if you choose to use them all given the immune system development concerns)
Don’t apply to faces or up noses of kids under 10
Be mindful that you don’t irritate airways when inhaling
Consider avoiding entirely if pregnant or breastfeeding
Do you see how no where in there, outside of the respect for developing immune systems under 2, does it say this blend can’t be used on children? Even if you follow the guidelines to the letter, if you wish to use it on children, you could. And if you wish to choose milder oils and blends without these safety considerations, you could do that too. Thankfully, options in the world of aromatherapy are VAST, and there is almost always an oil (or 20) that can achieve a similar result in a safer way. (And if you want some alternatives, look to marjoram, bergamot, orange, lemon, manuka, tea tree, etc) I’m all about personal choice. INFORMED personal choice. Share the precautions, explain the potential risks, and let people decide for themselves where they fall on the risk/benefit analysis.
Same deal with the pregnancy factor. Some folks may take that information and decide nope, I’m good, no cinnamon for me until the baby is born and eating solids. Rock on, plenty of other options to suit your needs. Someone else may feel the relative risk of diffusing a drop here and there is minimal given the available research, and they’re cool with taking that minimal risk. You do you, oily boo. The power comes in knowing not just the recommendations, but the research and science behind them so you can make informed choices.
Ok. So that’s the scoop on the EO. Now, on to the cleaner. How much EO are we talking about exposure-wise with THC?
Short answer: I can’t say with 100% authority because the recipe is proprietary. Boo! But, we can make some inferences based on the price point of both the cleaner and the EO, because we can be sure YL isn’t planning on losing money on this product.
A 15 ml bottle of Thieves EO costs $34.75 (wholesale).
A 64 oz bottle of THC (holy cow, I’ve never bought more than the smaller 14.4oz size because that lasts me over a year! But some people are really dirty I guess!) costs $87.75 (wholesale).
So we’re around $2.32/ml for the cost of the EO.
That means with that price point for the EO, there could be up to 37 ml of Thieves EO in the 64 oz cleaner (leaving a paltry $2 buffer to cover all the other ingredients/packaging. It’s likely much less EO, but for arguments sake, we’ll say that.)
If we convert the cleaner to ml, we’re at around 1,892 ml in the big ol’ jug of THC.
So what percentage of the cleaner is Thieves EO?
At most, likely 1.9%. And that is in it’s CONCENTRATED form. Even at the lower recommended dilution of 1:15 with water, now we’re down to a concentration of…
… 0.12% of Thieves EO in the diluted cleaner, even less if you’re diluting 30 parts water.
Of which you are using a few sprays at a time, with minimal skin contact through whatever paper towel/rag/sponge you’re using, no skin contact if mopping or wearing gloves, and minimal inhalation because it’s so diluted the scent lingers for mere seconds to minutes in my experience.
Are these numbers exact? Surely not, as noted the recipe is proprietary, but even allowing a generous margin for error, it is PROFOUNDLY diluted, and PROFOUNDLY minimal exposure. Without knowing the exact amounts I know this to be true based on how rapidly the aroma dissipates when I use it.
I’m always taken aback when the people advising against the use of the cleaner say things like one should wait hours before allowing a child in the room. It makes me think they’ve never used it, because truly, this is in no way equivalent to the intensity of exposure you’d get diffusing Thieves EO.
So, how do we weigh the risk of the cleaner?
That’s up to you! Personal choice!
With minimal to no exposure to skin, minimal inhalation (if you wanted to mitigate this too, you could wear a mask/open windows), and such a PROFOUNDLY diluted product, my opinion is that the relative risks for pregnancy and children are so minute, I consider it a non-issue. Few things in life are ever zero risk, so we’re always applying that risk/benefit analysis to our choices. For me the risks are itty-bitty-damn-near-non-existent, and the benefit is the cleaner works far better than others I’ve tried, against both mainstream/harsh options and other natural options. That’s where I land on the issue. (Check out my testing of THC here)
If others feel differently? Don’t use it! Don’t use it while preggo, and keep kids out of the room until the scent is gone (for reals, its like 30 seconds, but you should probably lie and say it’s 3 hours just to get some peace from the ankle-biters!) Or if it’s just not your jam, period, that’s ok! Make your own vinegar cleaner (I like to steep citrus peels or conifer boughs) for light cleaning, and use hydrogen peroxide for germy messes (I dilute my THC in HP instead of water for the bathrooms or raw chicken scenarios).
I just don’t see the rationale of putting the fear of death in people over a product that has such minimal risks. Now, let’s face an ugly truth here. There are a LOT of instances where some YL reps dramatically understate or ignore entirely very real risks associated with the products. I’m the first to call out that B.S. and it pisses me off, to be honest. I’ve spent a couple of years trying to spread accurate, research-based information regarding the reality of medication interactions, chemical burns, sensitization, allergic reactions (yes, you bet your booty you can be allergic to EOs!), and possible adverse effects with other health comorbidities. This is my passion and my first priority. But I don’t think it fosters accurate education and awareness of how to safely use and respect EOs when risks are exaggerated and products are forbidden from entire populations of people based on these exaggerated risks.
Now, just to mention a few special scenarios.
Pets. Again, just my opinion, but I consider dogs similar to kids. It seems like minimal risk to me, and at most I’d keep the pup out of the room while I’m mopping both for their safety and to keep those darn paw prints off my drying floors (cleaning counters or bathrooms is a non-issue). I don’t have a dog who would lick the floor after I clean (why would she, I just got rid of all the delicious crumbs!) but some people might, so perhaps do a quick, final swipe with plain water if you’re worried about it.
Cats are certainly more sensitive, and more mobile - all creepy-like with their ability to strut on counters and stare at you like gargoyles from tops of furniture. Maybe shut them in another room while you clean, and do that final swipe with water so they don’t walk on the cleaner and then lick their paws/groom. These are very manageable solutions.
Items kids will be putting in their mouths, toys, etc. Again, I doubt it would harm them, but do the final rinse with water. No biggie. (I admit I sprayed and wiped a plate with THC and licked it a few minutes later out of curiosity. I could barely taste it. A single swipe with a water dampened paper towel, zero taste. And yes, my husband thinks I’m insane.)
Day cares and schools. Ah, here things get tricky. Because you know that personal choice? What if a parent’s personal choice is they don’t want ANY EOs around their kiddo, period? If you know for a fact all the parents are cool with it and none of the kids have any allergies that would preclude it’s use, ok, but honestly? I just wouldn’t do it. I’d use plain vinegar or HP or some other unscented product while the kids are present, and then if I wanted to do a once-over with THC after they go home, I’d go to town. (Some institutions may not allow it anyway, there are often rules regarding what products constitute safe and appropriate cleaners and require associated documentation). I feel similarly about diffusing in public spaces - I just wouldn’t do it. You can read my thoughts about that here.
So, that’s where I stand!
Is THC zero risk? Nope, but what is? In my opinion it’s really, really, PROFOUNDLY tiny risk. (I need to find a new adjective, but that one really fits how infinitesimally small I feel the risk is.) A profoundly tiny risk that can be mitigated with even tinier effort as needed.
There are of lot of EO uses that keep me up at night… but this isn’t one of ‘em.
So go forth, clean all the things with THC! Or don’t! Because: Personal Choice! And if you buy that 64 oz monster, you may want to update your will to bequeath it to someone, because that sucker will outlast you for sure.