Dear Alice,
Spring is in the air, and so is a cloud of chemicals in most American homes after a day of cleaning. Those modern miracle products that let you spray on suds and wipe off scum, clean the toilet with every flush, and kill airborne germs with a fog of lemon-scented disinfectant might get the dirt out of sight, but what's also out of sight is the chemical residue left throughout your "clean" home.
Most cleaners on the market contain dangerous solvents, acids and other hazardous chemicals that can be harmful to your health. Some of these chemicals are proven to cause irritation to nose, eyes, and lungs, and some are suspected carcinogens-especially with repeated and prolonged use. These invisible hazards can make their way into your system, and into the ecosystem outdoors. You make a sandwich on a surface you just cleaned with Clorox and you've got yourself a BLT sandwich: bleach, lettuce and tomato. That lemon-scented polish looks great on the furniture, but it's off-gassing toxic fumes. Baby's bare skin is soaking up a little carpet cleaner while she crawls to the kitchen to eat a piece of cereal she dropped on the ammonia-washed floor. Outside, your detergents and cleaners flushed down the drains are making the water just a little more polluted.
Don't be fooled by the hype. Clean doesn't have to mean toxic. There were clean houses in the days before foaming action tile cleaners and blue-watered toilets. Ask Grandma how she got her house clean and she'll give you a short list of everyday ingredients that can be used to make cleaners that rival and sometimes out-clean commercial cleaners. (Consumer Reports even found that water alone works better than half the glass cleaners on the market.) These homemade and age-old alternatives are also far less polluting to manufacture, they are far less likely to cause injury if accidentally ingested, they don't cause air pollution indoors or water pollution outdoors, they usually result in less packaging waste, and they cost a LOT less than commercial products. So take a page out of Grandma's guide to clean living and purchase the following items:
White vinegar Used to cut grease and as a non-streak surface cleaner.
Baking soda Cleans and deodorizes, and great as a scouring powder.
Lemon juice Freshens and deodorizes.
Olive oil Use to oil wooden furniture and surfaces.
Mild liquid soap No detergents or synthetic scents, colors, or other additives. Some examples are Ivory, Seventh Generation or Eco-Products dishwashing liquid.
Salt Also serves as a scouring agent.
Borax Cleans, deodorizes and disinfects. Usually found in the laundry section of the grocery store. (This product IS toxic if ingested.)
Reusable steel wool Not commercial cleaning pads that contain toxic cleaners.
Non-chlorine scouring powder Such as Bon Ami (no sodium hypochlorite).
Citrus-based cleaning concentrate Such as Citra-Solv, Seventh Generation, Eco-Products, etc.
Hydrogen peroxide, or hydrogen peroxide bleaches - use instead of chlorine bleach; hydrogen peroxide breaks down to water and oxygen in waste water.
Empty spray bottles Fill with your own mix of non-toxic cleaning ingredients.
Now you have all you need for a truly clean house. Try these recipes to get started: Make your own all-purpose cleaner by mixing 2 Tbsp baking soda with 1 pint warm water in a spray bottle. Add a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of vinegar to cut grease. Clean your toilet bowl by pouring 1/4 cup baking soda into the bowl and letting it sit for 1 hour. Scrub and flush. Add borax for stains. For a no-streak glass/window cleaner, mix 1/4 cup white vinegar and 1 quart warm water. Apply with a spray bottle and wipe with crumpled newspaper instead of paper towels for lint-free results. Polish your silver with a little toothpaste on an old toothbrush, then rinse.
It's safe, simple, effective, and you know what's in your cleaners because you made them. For more cleaning recipes, visit the environmental media services web site at http://www.ems.org/household_cleaners/alternatives.html . For non-toxic remedies for everything from oven cleaners and non-toxic pesticides to metal polishes and stain removers, visit our website at www.ecocycle.org or call us and ask for a copy of Household toxins: a safe environment begins at home.
