Microorganisms for Household Cleaning and Pet Care

[Read on Ethical Revolution]

Last year I was listening to the Accidental Gods podcast with Manda Scott @Eceni (which had been recommended to me by Jonathan Schofield @urlyman) and the first episode I listened to really chimed with some intuitions I feel I’ve held for a long time.

It’s a brilliant episode and well worth a listen for some fantastic insight in to the benefits of using microorganisms over the traditional chemicals we use in both cleaning and pet care. In it we learn from Joe Flanagan of their contrasting effects on human, animal and planetary health.

Joe has set up a company with his wife called Ingenious Probiotics which harnesses the power of live, naturally-sourced microorganisms to create sustainable care and cleaning products with enhanced functions and benefits. Their focus on health and ecology ensure these are true microbiome innovations for a sustainable future. 

Read more on the science and ethics behind probiotics

Having had conversations right at the heart of power with the UK Health Secretary and industry heavyweights who control NHS contracts, Joe sheds some light on the powerful and dark forces that are essentially keeping us bound to the chemicals that he thinks are likely to kill us off long before the effects of climate change do!

So much of what he said resonated with me. For a long time I’ve tried to avoid traditional chemical cleaning products, whether that be in household cleaning: washing up liquids, detergents etc. or personal hygiene in terms of shampoos and that sort of thing.

It makes total sense to me that we should not be sanitising surfaces in a way that wipes out 99.9 of bacteria (for only a matter of moments) before it is all instantly recolonised again, only this time starting out with the strongest, deadliest 0.01% of bad bacteria that didn’t get wiped out, making them ever more dominant!

Indeed that’s why we now get superbugs such as MRSA. What we think is making things clean is actually making our living environments more dangerous, ramping up anti-microbial resistance and at the same time advancing a heavily polluted world of forever chemicals.

Read more probiotic cleaning for reducing antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

The Hidden Dangers in Conventional Cleaning Products

Many traditional cleaning products contain carcinogens and harmful chemicals that are not always listed on the label. A 10 year study found people working as cleaners who used conventional products were 58% more likely to develop lung cancer than office workers. Meanwhile a 20 year study revealed that using some cleaning products can be as harmful to the lungs as smoking twenty cigarettes a day.

Read more about how non-toxic cleaning products help reduce cancer risks

Ingenious Probiotics as part of the Ethical Revolution

Having listened to the episode I got in touch with Joe who sent me a sample of their Universal concentrate cleaner for use on practically anything, along with a couple of probiotic pet care products. I made a video demonstrating their use and the effect they had.

Probiotic Household Cleaner

The idea is that by using probiotics you clean in a natural way that restores healthy balance to your living environment.

There’s no need to use harsh chemicals when naturally-sourced, eco-friendly products do a better job.

Probiotic cleaning formulas can be used in place of your usual household cleaning chemicals, sprays, air fresheners and harsh detergents to keep your home clean and hygienic without exposing you, your family or your pets to toxic residues and fumes.

And because the Universal Concentrate Cleaner contains a cocktail of probiotics just a tiny amount of it goes a long way, making a 1 litre bottle last a lot longer than traditional cleaner of the same size.

All of the products supplied by Ingenious Probiotics are:

• Vegan
• Cruelty-free
• Free from harmful chemicals, toxins and carcinogens.
• Eco-positive: better for humans, pets and our environment.
• Scientifically proven to be safe for respiratory health and indoor air quality.
• Hypo-allergenic, non-irritating and suitable for sensitive skin.
• In bottles made using ocean recycled plastic that are fully recyclable.

Probiotic Pet Care

As Ingenious Probiotics have a range of probiotics for pet care I also told Joe about our dogs. He sent me some treatments and gave me some advice. I made a video of the treatments in action. Here’s the low-down on the dogs, their issues and the treatments:

Breath

So, Bob, is 15 going on 5 – still has his ‘joie de vivre’ and loves nothing more than running about after balls with his three year old pals, Ted & Ralph. Incidentally they’re all fed vegan diets as have all our animals been and all have lived long and healthy lives (I’ll make a video on their diets at some point). But Bob’s breath isn’t the greatest these days. In the absence of a ‘smellibell’ monitor I bravely put my nasal receptors in the vicinity for you to judge my reaction!

Ooof! Yep, so Joe says that using good bacteria to out compete the problem causing bacteria in the mouth should do the trick – A couple of sprays of LUCAA+ Pet Probiotic Dental Care each side of the mouth twice a day – Getting the probiotics to the inside of the lips, with no need to make the dog open his mouth wide.

The LUCAA+ Pet Probiotic Dental Care is naturally sourced from plants and is packed with beneficial good probiotic bacteria that will quickly restore a healthy microflora balance in the dog’s mouth. It helps clean the teeth and gums on a microbial level and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria.

I did this for a few weeks and then repeated my ‘smellibell’ test to see if there was any noticeable difference! Joe noted that because of his age and therefore years of build up of plaque and tartar, it may be a little more difficult to eradicate odour (but it wasn’t!) and that other case studies have shown it to be an effective remedy when used from a younger age. Here’s one with four year old Dexter.

“Probiotic dental spray reduces plaque and tartar build up and bad breath, as well as the risk of inflammation and periodontal disease.”

Skin

Next it was Ralph’s turn. Despite him and Ted coming from the same litter and having the same diet and living environment Ralph does seem to have skin issues which Ted doesn’t suffer from. Whether it’s related or not his coat is also not as thick and he has some balder patches.

For this Joe said that there are quite a few possible contributing factors for skin issues. He recommended I use the Allergen Free spray to out compete any types of bad bacteria that might cause dermatitis and as reduce bio allergens at the same time. I was advised to use it both directly on to the skin and over bedding, starting twice a day and monitoring to reduce down when things began to improve.

The Allergen Free spray is naturally sourced from plants and is packed with beneficial good probiotic bacteria to restore a healthy skin microbiome, reducing the risk of itchy, flaky skin, excessive scratching, hotspots and rashes.

Other things that might contribute to skin conditions would be diet, antibacterial products, anxiety, mites (you would know if that were the case) and yeast (usually related to diet). Of all of those the only one that is different between Ted & Ralph is anxiety. It’s true that Ralph has a more anxious personality. So if the problem was from anxiety I was unsure whether the spray would have an effect or not.

However, looking at a case study on beautiful Molly the symptoms seem almost identical to Ralph. With Molly there was a noticeable improvement within a couple of weeks and big improvements after a few months. I gave it a go on Ralph AKA ‘Wiggles’ (from the way he saunters in to a room to excitedly greet you!) and reported back a few weeks later.

Read How Probiotic Cleaning and Pet Care Supports a Circular Economy

You can see in the videos just how effective the probiotic pet treatments were, so I highly recommend them.

A healthier, safer and greener future

To move towards a healthier, safer and greener future we should all be switching to environmental probiotic cleaning products and pet care.

Read some more about Ingenious Probiotics here.

Watch my video checking out the products and trialling two of them on my dogs.

[Via Ethical Revolution]