What are chemicals and is it possible to live without them?
Many of us want to use fewer chemicals in our daily lives. That is a reasonable ambition. We want to know what we have around us, what we clean our homes with, and what ends up on our skin, in the water, and in the environment. That's why we also meet people who become curious about Pure Effect but then stop when they see an ingredient list: But you also use chemical substances?
Yes, we do. And here we need to start with something that easily gets lost in the conversation about "chemical-free": everything around us is chemistry. Water is H₂O, common table salt is sodium chloride, NaCl, and the air we breathe consists of various chemical substances. Therefore, the fact that something is a chemical says very little about whether it is good or bad for us. The important thing is what substance it is, how much we are exposed to, in what way, and why it is used. The Swedish Chemicals Agency itself uses "Everything is chemistry" as a starting point when educating about chemicals.
What is a chemical?
In everyday language, the word chemicals has almost become synonymous with synthetic or potentially harmful substances. Chemically, the reality is much broader. Water, oxygen, sugar, salt, acetic acid, and the substances that give a lemon its scent and taste are all chemistry.
This does not mean that we should stop caring about chemical substances. On the contrary. But the division between "natural" and "chemical" easily leads us astray. A better question is what properties a substance has, in what concentration it occurs, how we are exposed to it, and in what quantity. The same substance can pose different risks depending on the dose and exposure.
Are natural chemicals better than synthetic ones?
Not necessarily. Nature is full of fantastic chemistry, but also of substances that can irritate, cause allergies, or be directly toxic. Poisonous mushrooms and plants are natural, but that, of course, does not make them harmless. The Swedish Food Agency, for example, describes how plants themselves produce natural toxins, partly as a defense against insects, microorganisms, and fungi.
A more everyday example is essential oils. They are often perceived as a more natural alternative to synthetic perfume, but even natural fragrances can be allergenic. The Swedish Chemicals Agency states that essential oils can contain substances that are, among other things, allergenic and flammable, and emphasizes that natural origin does not mean that a product is harmless.
The opposite is also true. A synthetically produced substance can be well-researched and used in very low concentrations. The origin simply does not say enough about either health or environmental impact. Pure Effect, for example, uses synthetic perfume in some products but avoids essential oils due to allergy considerations. We do not operate on a "natural at any cost" principle, but rather on finding the solution that provides the right function with properties we can stand behind.
We encounter chemical substances all the time
When we talk about "reducing chemicals at home," many people think of the cleaning cabinet. But our exposure to various chemical substances comes from many more sources. Building materials, furniture, textiles, electronics, cosmetics, and car interiors can all contain or release various substances into their surroundings.
The point is not that we should start being afraid of everything around us. Rather the opposite. If everything is chemistry, the word chemical itself becomes a rather poor tool for determining what we should avoid. Instead, we need to understand the substance's properties, quantity, exposure, and function, and weigh in both health and environmental aspects.
Are baking soda, vinegar, and lemon also chemicals?
Yes. Baking soda, vinegar, and lemon also consist of chemical substances. Sodium bicarbonate has the chemical formula NaHCO₃, the active substance in vinegar is acetic acid, CH₃COOH, and lemon contains, among other things, citric acid. So cleaning with baking soda, vinegar, or lemon is not cleaning without chemicals.
That doesn't make them good or bad. Vinegar and lemon are acidic and can, for example, be useful against limescale, while baking soda is slightly alkaline. But just like with other chemical substances, concentration and area of use play a role. Concentrated vinegar, for example, is not the same as ordinary cooking vinegar. The Swedish Poisons Information Centre describes 24% vinegar as corrosive and warns of corrosive injuries if swallowed or if it comes into contact with the eyes. The fact that a substance is in the pantry or is perceived as natural does not mean that it lacks health or safety aspects.
Environmentally friendly cleaning also involves resource efficiency
When we assess how sustainable a cleaning method is, we need to look at more than just the ingredient list. Resource efficiency also plays a role. How much raw material is needed to do the job? How is it produced? How much needs to be packaged and transported? How much do we use each time, and how long does what we clean last?
Take lemon as an example. Cleaning with lemon can feel both simple and natural, but the lemon has been cultivated, irrigated, harvested, sorted, packaged, and transported before it reaches a Swedish kitchen. If the purpose is to access an acid for cleaning, it is relevant to ask how resource-efficient it is to cultivate and transport a whole fresh fruit specifically for that task. The same question can be asked about vinegar: how much needs to be produced, packaged, and transported to provide the function we are looking for?
This does not mean that lemon or vinegar are poor environmental choices. The point is that natural origin does not in itself indicate how sustainable or resource-efficient a solution is. This, of course, also applies to Pure Effect's products. Concentration, dosage, refills, raw materials, transportation, and how long the product lasts are all part of the total impact.
Gentle cleaning also helps materials last longer
Another aspect is what the cleaning does to what we already own. Vinegar and lemon have low pH, which is part of the reason they can be effective against, for example, limescale. But the same property makes them unsuitable for certain materials. Acids can, for example, damage or dull calcareous natural stone such as marble and limestone.
Strong pH values, both acidic and alkaline, can be useful when a specific cleaning task requires it. But using them routinely on all surfaces is not necessarily gentle or resource-efficient. If a kitchen counter, a floor, or any other surface wears out prematurely and needs to be repaired or replaced, that also has an environmental impact. Taking care of the materials we already have is also part of sustainable cleaning.
Why do Pure Effect products contain chemical substances?
Pure Effect's products primarily consist of water and our bacterial culture, along with smaller amounts of other ingredients that serve clear functions. What differentiates Pure Effect from traditional cleaning agents are the biological processes. Our good bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, help break down organic residues and simultaneously compete for space and nutrients with other bacteria, such as those that produce odors.
However, bacteria alone cannot give a product all the properties required to function well in everyday life. Therefore, the products contain, for example, surfactants that help loosen grease and dirt and make the residues more accessible to the bacteria. Preservative ingredients help the product last over time, and in some products, a small amount of perfume is used.
There is also a specific requirement for the substances we can use: they must be compatible with our bacterial culture. Since the products contain sporing bacteria, we cannot freely choose from all the ingredients normally used in cleaning products. The substances and concentrations must work together with the bacteria without disrupting the biological function on which the product is based. This limits the selection and means that the formulation needs to function as a system where chemistry and biology work together.
The important thing for us is therefore not to be able to say that a product is "chemical-free." That would be neither correct nor particularly meaningful. Our principle is instead that every ingredient should serve a function and that we should use what is needed, no more. You can see what our products contain and what role the ingredients play on the page Pure Effect Product Contents.
But doesn't Pure Effect say "fewer chemicals"?
Yes, and here we believe transparency is important. When we write "clean with fewer chemicals" or "avoid unnecessary chemicals", we are using everyday language for something that otherwise requires a rather lengthy explanation. What we mean is not that Pure Effect is on one side and chemistry on the other. We mean that biological processes can do some of the work that otherwise needs to be solved in other ways.
In Pure Effect's cleaning products, good bacteria help break down organic residues. We therefore use biology as part of the cleaning process and supplement with other substances where they serve a function. In All Clean, a small amount of surfactants is used together with the bacterial culture, and the concentrate is diluted 1:250 with water before use.
So when we say fewer chemicals, it's actually a shorthand for a more nuanced idea: don't use more chemistry than the task requires. Let biological processes do more of the job where they can. And you can clean with fewer products in your cleaning cabinet.
How should consumers think about chemicals?
We believe that one gets further by leaving the question "does it contain chemicals?" and instead asking some better questions. What does the product contain and why are these substances there? How much do I need to use? What health and environmental properties do the substances have? How resource-efficient is the solution? Is it gentle on what I'm cleaning, and are there products or ingredients I can actually choose to omit?
So, wanting to reduce unnecessary chemicals is still a good ambition. But sustainable cleaning is bigger than the number of ingredients on an ingredient list. Health, environment, dosage, resource efficiency, production, transport, and how well we take care of the materials we already own are all parts of the same issue.
For us, the goal is therefore not as little chemistry as possible, but as well-thought-out chemistry as possible. We want to use the right substances in the right amount and let biological processes do more of the work where they can.
And where biology can do the job, we let it do more.
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about Chemicals
Is everything around us chemicals?
All matter consists of chemical substances. Water, oxygen, salt, and the substances in a lemon are examples of chemistry, just like the ingredients in a cleaning agent. Therefore, the word chemical in itself does not indicate whether something is dangerous or harmless.
Are natural cleaning products always better for the environment?
No. Natural origin does not automatically imply anything about safety or total environmental impact. Raw materials, production, dosage, transportation, resource efficiency, and impact on materials also need to be considered.
Are vinegar and baking soda chemicals?
Yes. Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate and the active ingredient in vinegar is acetic acid. They can be useful in cleaning, but are chemical substances just like other ingredients we use in everyday life.
Is Pure Effect chemical-free?
No, and we do not use "chemical-free" as a literal statement about our products. Pure Effect combines biological processes with other ingredients that serve specific functions. Furthermore, the ingredients must be compatible with the sporing bacteria that the products are based on.
What does Pure Effect mean by "fewer chemicals"?
We mean that we want to avoid unnecessary use and let biological processes do more of the cleaning work where they can. The goal is not a chemical-free home, but the right substances in the right amount for the right task.
