If you have not yet read the last post, please read it first as this will expand upon that information.
To find out what’s lurking on your shelves, go to the National Institutes of Health Library of Medicine Household Products Database. You can search almost any brand of cleaner you use, find out what’s in it, and uncover its links to health effects. Or search by chemical ingredients (see list below for some examples) and discover what brands contain it.
The information may shock you. It most probably WILL shock you.
Chemical ingredients to look out for:
Sodium Hydroxide
Hydrochloric acid
Butyl cellosolve (2-Butoxyethanol)
Formaldehyde
Bleach (sodium hypochlorite)
Ammonia
Sulfamic Acid
Petroleum distillates
Sulfuric acid
Lye (potassium hydroxide)
Morpholine
So, what can you do? Here are four suggestions:
1) Get educated by visiting the link above and getting the information on the products you currently use.
2) Get rid of all the nasties from your home. Please recycle or dispose of these items in an environmentally friendly way.
3) Welcome into your home safer choices- Cleaning products that are truly cleaner, either natural choices you find in your home or green cleaning, biodegradable choices that do not contain the harmful toxins and chemicals found in most store brands.
Fresh air. Open your windows to reduce indoor air pollution.
Essential oils. Use these instead of air fresheners.
Plants. Besides being nice to look at, they can absorb harmful gases and help clean the air.
Organic bedding. Avoid standard bedding treated with chemicals.
Floors made of recycled and renewable resources.
Healthier paint. That new paint smell can be as nasty as it smells. Choose low VOC paint instead.
4) Clean up our collective home
Make the earth healthier for all of us who call it home by using these things in yours:
Compact fluorescent lighting. They last a whole lot longer.
Energy Star-rated appliances. Save money and energy.
A low-flush toilet. Replace the largest user of water in your house. Ultra low flushers cut water use by one-fifth.
Low-flow showerheads. Same pressure. Less water.
Your flicker finger. Turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them.
Gray water system. Install one to recycle used household water for your lawn.
Tankless water heater. Save money, energy, and space in the broom closet. Use it to store your new Clean Starter Kit!! (Don’t worry, it is not that big!!)
So there’s enough information to get you started. Please contact me for more information and look for future posts. There is lots of information to share and my job to get the word out. Thanks for reading!