It should be common knowledge by now that the harsh chemical cleaners can pollute the indoor air in your house and cause asthma and allergies as well as harm aquatic life. However, finding your way in the maze of the so-called natural products may seem slightly daunting.
Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation products says “Just because a product says it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s nontoxic.” And David Steinman, the author of “The Safe Shopper’s Bible” (available at amazon.com) suggests checking the labels and choosing the mildest solvent possible, for instance natural grain alcohol instead of toxic butyl cellosolve; coconut oil instead of petroleum-based detergents; natural-oil disinfectants such as eucalyptus, rosemary or sage rather than triclosan (common ingredient in soaps and cleaning products).
Here are a few tips for safer cleaning products:
- Replace conventional dishwashing detergents, all-purpose cleaners and disinfectants with the green varieties, such as Seventh Generation Natural Dish Liquid or Automatic Dishwasher Gel, Seventh Generation Natural All-Purpose Cleaner; Ecover cleansers, dish soaps; Aubrey Organics Earth Aware All-Purpose Household Cleanser; Vermont Soapworks Liquid Sunshine NonToxic Cleaner; Naturally Yours Gentle Soap for dishes or all-purpose cleaning.
- Furniture and metal polishes contain nerve-damaging petroleum distillates and may cause eye and skin irritation. Thus, use Hope’s Lemon Oil or Hope’s brass and silver polishes or simply clean your furniture with a mixture of 1 tsp olive oil and ½ cup white vinegar.
- Antibacterial soaps and cleaners are a known cause for growth of resistant bacteria. Instead, wash your hands thoroughly with plain soap (natural preferably) and warm water and for disinfecting bathrooms and kitchens use Seventh Generation sanitizers or Earth Power’s Herbal Disinfectant.
- For your laundry, stain removing and fabric softening, look for vegetable-based ingredients, fragrance- and dye-free or natural citrus-oil products, e.g. Seventh Generation Free & Clear laundry products (they work like a charm! Even remove stains without pre-washing or soaking). If you have heavy, stubborn stains, a good solution is soaking in water mixed with borax, lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar. And to soften fabrics, add ¼ cup baking soda to the wash cycle.
- Air fresheners and other perfumed products may cause asthma and allergies so to remove odors from you home, use baking soda, sprayers of lemon or any citrus fruit, cedar blocks or sachets of dried flowers or herbs. These natural ingredients provide a gentler way of refreshing your indoor air.
- Corrosive ingredients in conventional drain, oven and toilet-bowl cleaners cause severe eye, skin and respiratory irritations so replace them with any of the following: Earth Friendly Earth Enzymes Drain Opener, Naturally Yours Enz-Away enzyme drain opener, Ecover Toilet Cleaner, Ecover Cream Cleaner, or 1st EnviroSafety’s plant-based colloidal cleaners. Or if you cannot find any of these products, a paste of washing soda and water works well for ovens and pouring down a fair amount of white vinegar down the drain and leaving it for a while works well in removing nasty odors and cleaning the drain. For toilets, try a mixture of water, baking soda and lemon juice.
