Green Cleaning

I wanted to take a minute to address the issue of toxic cleaning products potentially used within your home today.

Its seems to be that in our “germophobic” culture today we are inundated with the idea that our homes cannot get clean unless we put on a gas mask and spray all surfaces with some potent mix of toxic chemicals. This belief is simply and absolutely not true.

It is unfortunate that in the name of “no bacteria” we have not only depressed the ability for our bodies to naturally fend for themselves, we have also created an indoor environment that is quite possibly more harmful than any bacteria would ever be.

How many times have you cleaned the bathroom with your nose and eyes burning? For the health of you—and even more so for your children’s or pets’ (who have a smaller body mass and can get a higher concentration of toxins in their body at a much faster rate)—it is time to debunk this myth.

What’s so wrong with my mainstream cleaners?

Currently, there are close to no regulations on chemicals used in cleaning products for the home. There have not been tests run to look at the cumulative effects of these chemicals on the body over time. Today, it is estimated that the average American has 700 pollutants running through his or her body. Now, imagine the amount of pollutants that your child will have in his or her body if exposed to toxic cleaners from birth on.

The chemicals you may clean with don’t just “disappear” down the drain. They get into waterways and return back to you! Even if they are being filtered out of your drinking water, they are still present when irrigating crops or feeding animals. This means these chemicals have made their way back to through your food. Not good!

The VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and toxic chemicals you smell when cleaning with mainstream products are absorbed into your lungs and then enter your bloodstream. As surely as the breakfast you ate today went down into your belly to be absorbed, these chemicals enter your body through the skin or lung tissue. Over time (or sometimes immediately) you will feel or see the effects of these toxins. (i.e., headaches, wheezing, skin-irritations, dizziness; all the way to developmental disruptions in children or abnormal cell growth within the body.)

Think about it, what else it your body going to do with this stuff? Foreign chemicals floating around in your blood stream. Your body hasn’t a clue what to do with them. It is going to wreck havoc, one way or another.

(P.S. Even if someone else cleans your home for you, the chemicals don’t disappear off the surfaces—they rub onto your skin upon contact. And, the gases remain within your home, especially when the windows are closed! Plus, your cleaner will be grateful if you decide to make a healthy change in cleaning products.)

Here’s the good news: There are plenty of healthy, refreshing, and delicious smelling ways to effectively clean your house safely AND kill bacteria! You don’t have to sacrifice effectiveness and ease of cleaning when you are changing over to more natural products.

Natural cleaners create a breathable, clean, healthy indoor environment. Don’t be fooled by cheap cleaners sold the have “Natural” or “Biodegradable” plastered on the front of the bottle. There are no regulations as to what companies can or can’t put on the bottles.

If you are not interested in creating your own solutions, go to your local health food store to search out some reputable companies with a real concern for the consumer and the planet.

If you are interested in really going “back to the basics” with your cleaning products, start with an arsenal consisting of baking soda and borax for scrubbing tubs and sinks, vinegar (distilled white, diluted) for cleaning glass and insides of toilets, lemon juice as a stain remover, and a general purpose green cleaning solution for floors, countertops, furniture, baseboards, walls, and anywhere else that suits your fancy. (If you would like a “how to” tutorial on how to make a general cleaning solution, check out the video on our website under “Learn More”).

I hope you found this helpful and informative. I have the well-being of your family and children at heart when I share this information. Please try out some of these options and, even if the transition is gradual, being implementing green cleaning into your home. Your body and your family will thank you, and you will feel better for doing it!

BY HEIDI TANKERSLEY