Choosing Safer Cleaning Methods for Your Home

If you check out the cleaning supplies aisle in any grocery store, you’ll see that the shelves are filled with products designed for every cleaning purpose under the sun. From cleaning the floor to polishing the furniture to doing the laundry, you can find something intended for every job.

House Of Horrors (Photo credit: BrittneyBush)

But the chemicals in these products carry labels warning of everything from harmful vapors, to skin irritants and more. It’s a fact that cleaners with chemicals in them are dangerous to you and your family’s well being, by releasing their fumes and toxins into your home.

You can smell the scent of these chemicals in the air immediately upon entering the cleaning aisle - even though they are all still in sealed containers - and after you’ve used them in your home. When you clean your baby or toddler’s high chair tray or his toys with a chemical cleaner, those toxins are there where he eats and on the toys he sticks in his mouth.

However, there are effective, safer alternatives to dangerous chemical-laced products. You can use organic, natural products and have a home that smells great, shines with cleanliness and is toxin-free.

Look for organic cleaners that are all-purpose cleaners so that you can use them in the kitchen and in the bathroom, too. If you have a baby or toddler at home and need to clean the toys or baby’s highchair, there are organic cleaners that are non-toxic, don’t have an odor and will get your child’s playthings clean.

Cleaning (Photo credit: go_greener_oz)

You can get concentrated, organic cleaning products that can clean your home from top to bottom. These cleaners aren’t toxic, so they’re safer to use and they are also biodegradable. Plus, these organic cleaners aren’t tested on lab animals, either. Cleaners using Birch bark extract and relaxing scents not only clean your home but give it a fresh, natural clean smell, too.

You can even make some of these safer cleaning solutions for your home yourself, but if you’re like most of us, time isn’t something you have a lot of and you need the convenience of purchasing organic cleaners. For example, it’s easier and less expensive to buy organic toothpaste to clean any tarnished silver than it is to make your own silver cleaner.

The same goes for dish cleaning soap, you can buy an organic, non-toxic foaming dish soap that’s concentrated so it lasts and it’s safe to use on any dish as well as baby items. To wipe down kitchen counters, you can use a glass and surface cleaner that’s biodegradable.

There’s no end to the amount of safe and eco-friendly products you can use to get your home clean. You won’t have to sacrifice quality or appeal in the form of scents, either. Organic cleaners are no longer a rarity. They’re now mainstream because more people have learned about the dangers of chemicals in cleaning products, and are taking steps to protect their family and environment from pollutants.

You can find lots of suggestions for natural and safe household cleaning products on our website at: http://www.newholisticliving.com/recommended-products-for-detox--green-living.html

Choosing Cloth vs. Disposable Diapers?

With all the decisions new parents have to make you wouldn’t think diapers would be such a tough decision, yet it is one parents routinely struggle with: cloth or disposable diapers?  While cloth diapers are obviously better for the environment, and may contain fewer harmful chemicals, they're also more inconvenient than disposables. What is a health and eco-conscious parent on the go to do? This article lays out the pros and cons of both types to help you make the right decision for you and your family.

Disposable diaper, size 12-25kg/26-55lb. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Disposable Diaper Pros

• Disposable diapers are extremely convenient, no doubt about it.  It makes changing your infant a quick and easy process.  When you’re shopping and you have to change a messy cloth diaper, you don’t get to just drop it in the garbage, you have to haul it around with you.  Ick!

• Disposable diapers may seem to fit better.  The adjustable adhesive fasteners make it easy to fit any size or shape baby.  This is not always so with a cloth diaper which always seems to stretch out once you have it on your child and certainly more so once it’s been soiled.

Disposable Diaper Cons

• Disposable diapers are petroleum-based products, which means they’re just downright awful for the environment.  Carbon emissions are created in the manufacturing of disposable diapers, fuel is used in the transportation from manufacturer to store and diapers don’t biodegrade but sit in landfills for decades.  (Yes, decades!)

• Disposable diapers also contain a number of chemicals, which may harm an infant’s sensitive skin - remember that an infant's skin is much thinner than an adult's, meaning they are absorbing a lot of the chemicals from diapers into their bodies. Double ick! 

• Disposable diapers are more expensive than cloth diapers even if you have a diaper service.

Cloth Diaper Pros

Baby in cloth diaper. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Cloth diapers can be environmentally sound, particularly if you purchase organic cotton diapers.  And while cloth diapers have to be laundered, which does contaminate the water supply and use water, they can be washed with biodegradable detergent.  This makes them more environmentally friendly than disposable.  However, if you have a diaper service then you’ll also have to weigh in the fact that delivery is contributing to greenhouse gases.

• Cloth diapers, if they’re organic, don’t have harmful chemicals in them which means they’re not going to be as likely to irritate your baby’s skin - or contribute to increasing the toxins in his or her body.

• Cloth diapers don’t fill landfills.  They’re reusable.

• Cloth diapers are generally a lot less expensive than disposable over time.

Cloth Diaper Cons

• They’re inconvenient, particularly for moms on the go.

• They don’t necessarily fit as well, though some cloth diapers being manufactured today do have a better fit and fastening system than the old rectangle and diaper pin method. (In fact, many are now made with elastic leg bands and velcro fasteners, making them as easy to put on and take off as disposable diapers.)

• If cloth diapers are not organic, then the cotton used to make them is grown and harvested with pesticides, chemical fertilizers and other environmentally harmful chemicals.

Wrapping it all up

Disposable diapers are more convenient, though more expensive and they are generally an environmentally unfriendly practice.  There are some more natural disposable diapers (such as gDiapers) but they tend to be quite expensive, and may still be inconvenient to dispose of in some cases.  Cloth diapers, if they’re organic, are the most environmentally sound practice - and the healthiest for your baby.  The downside is they’re inconvenient.  Ultimately, the decision to buy disposable or cloth must meet your personal needs as well as your lifestyle. But if you're leaning towards cloth, take a look at some of the newer designs - you may find them a lot easier to handle than the cloth diapers of old.

A Few Eco-Diaper Choices:
   

Different Types of Toxins and How They Affect Your Health

You may have heard that detoxing helps improve your health. What you may not know is how. What happens when you remove toxins from your body? And what types of toxins are inside you?

Image via WikipediaToxins come in a few different categories. They include:

* Household toxins
* Food toxins
* Environmental toxins
* Lifestyle toxins

Let’s take a closer look at each type of toxin.

Lifestyle Toxins

These toxins are the easiest to eliminate from your life. However, the detox and withdrawal process can be quite challenging. Lifestyle toxins are the toxins you get from smoking, taking prescription and over the counter medications, and drinking alcohol. Sugar and white flour can also act as significant toxins in your body and cause serious problems. Even high levels of caffeine can cause health problems.

Food Toxins

Food toxins include artificial sweeteners like aspartame and Acesulfame K. It also includes chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and preservatives. During the farming and manufacturing process the food you eat is exposed to hundreds of chemicals. The human body isn’t equipped to manage these chemicals. Thus those chemicals stay in your body. The result can be severe including cancer and immune or neurological disorders. Detoxing helps get them out of your body.

Image via WikipediaEnvironmental Toxins

Go outside and take a breath of fresh air. As cleansing as that breath can feel, it is contaminated by toxins (at least if you live in just about any urban or suburban area). These toxins are off gasses from farming and manufacturing processes. In addition, combustion engines and other systems create pollution. That pollution finds its way into your body in the air you breathe and the water you drink.

Household Toxins
There have been many studies that have shown that the air inside your home is much more dangerous than the air outside your home. Indoor pollution is a real problem. Household cleansers are filled with chemicals. You breathe them in whenever you use them. Additionally, bath and body products are also filled with chemicals.

Toxins are everywhere. They’re inside your home, workplace and the places you visit. They’re also in the food you eat and the things you drink. You can minimize your exposure to toxins by eating organic and locally grown foods (or even growing your own). Use natural cleaning products in your home and bath.

You can also purge the toxins from your system by occasionally going on a detox program. You’ll be able to purge the toxins from your body and maintain your health. It’s a great way to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. You can gain renewed energy, better sleep, more mental clarity and even lose weight by occasionally detoxing. Take great care when you detox. Follow your doctor’s guidelines and treat your body well.

For more on toxic load and what you can do about it, visit our website at www.newholisticliving.com. 

The Environmental (and Toxic) Impact of Dry Cleaning

Dry cleaning has been a long standing way of keeping your fine clothes in good shape. And it’s simple. You take your clothes to the cleaner, drop them off and a few days later they’re returned nice and clean. It’s convenient to be sure. However, dry cleaning also has a profound impact on the environment.

Image by mag3737 via Flickr#1 Dry Cleaning Extras Fill Landfills
Each piece of dry cleaning you pick up is hung on a nice hanger. Generally, those hangers end up in the garbage. Some dry cleaners give you a credit if you take them back and reuse them. However, most people forget to return them or just throw them away.

Additionally, all dry cleaning items come covered with plastic. This plastic gets tossed in the garbage and ends up in landfills. The end result is that there are a lot of hangers and plastic bags sitting around your local landfill.

#2 Toxins
The primary chemical used to for dry cleaning is Perchloroethylene. This toxic chemical is also known as tetrachloroethylene, perc, PCE, C2Cl4, Cl2C=CCl2, or tetrachloroethene. It’s used in more than 90% of the dry cleaners throughout the United States.

Perc is a petroleum byproduct and it is toxic to the environment. It’s colorless and clear so it’s not apparent when it ends up in our soil or water ways. Additionally, dry cleaners use chlorinated solvents, acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and petroleum naptha to clean stains and for other dry cleaning processes. These chemicals are also toxins. The environment is contaminated to these toxins via air born exposure. It also ends up in our soil and waterways - and guess what - eventually, back in your body!

#3 Human Complications
PERC is a known animal carcinogen. International Association for Research on Cancer has deemed it a likely human carcinogen as well. Among women who work in dry cleaning, Perc has been studied and has been shown to cause:
* menstrual irregularities,
* fertility problems,
* spontaneous abortions

Image via WikipediaPerc found in drinking water has been shown to cause liver and kidney damage. Additionally, the other dry cleaning chemicals has been shown to cause:
* Central nervous system damage
* Liver and kidney damage
* Skin irritation
* Respiratory problems
* Confusion,
* Dizziness
* Headache
* Loss of memory
* Eye, nose and throat irritation

Alternatives to Perc
While dry cleaning chemicals are quite toxic to both people and the environment, they’re not your only option. Many dry cleaners are now using more environmentally friendly methods. They include: wet cleaning and CO2 solvents.

You can also choose to not dry clean your clothing. Most “dry clean only” clothes can also be hand washed or steam cleaned. If you do dry clean your clothing make sure your cleaner uses an alternative to Perc. It’s better for your health AND the environment.

Keeping The Environment Safe From Harmful Chemicals

Think about recycling and maybe the first thing to pop into your head isn't damage that's done to the earth when we use products with harmful chemicals, but that's part of the cycle, too.  As well as reducing waste, recycling products and reusing what can be reused, protecting the earth from harm is all a part of the same cause.

Image via WikipediaIt's not something we set out to do, at the beginning of the day; the thought isn't, "Hmmm, how can I hurt the Earth today?"  It probably sounds something much more like, "Gee, I need to clean today, let me reach under the cupboard and see what I have," not realizing that whatever is done with the products I use to clean, once I've cleaned, can be harmful to not only the earth itself, but any living things that may come in contact with the wash off.  We live in a sterilized world, where the idea of a clean home, clean work place and clean where ever we take our children is the first order of business.  But we need to stop and think about what harm we may be doing in our quest for the cleanest living area. 

Is it worth a colony of ants to clean your kitchen floor with a harmful chemical, and that when you dump out the bucket that contains those chemicals, onto the ant hill, you risk wiping out the entire population?  Maybe you don't like ants, and that wasn't the best example, but you know what I mean.  We have a responsibility to the other creatures that share this Earth with us to not purposely do it, and them, harm.  We need to be mindful of what our actions are producing and how our actions affect all other living things.

There are so many options for safe-cleaning on the market today that you don't really have to look much further than your local grocery shelf.  Pay attention to the words that describe the items you are buying.  Do they contain the words, toxic, poisonous, or dangerous?  If they do, then keep reading the next product's ingredients, there is a better choice out there. (Try Earth Friendly, or 7th Generation for some good alternatives.)

Many synthetic chemicals are not easily broken down by natural processes after they have been used and may make their ways into the streams and lakes and have a disastrous affect on any forms of life that inhabit them. It will only take a little effort on the part of consumers to prevent these things from happening, but we must start somewhere.

Image via WikipediaWe need to be careful with the chemicals we have easy access to and become more responsible for what happens as the result of our choices.  It really isn't all that hard to make an informed choice and help the Earth; we certainly don't want to hurt it but being irresponsible with basic cleaning products can do just that; we can end up causing great harm to the planet on which we live.  Remember, it doesn't take much more than a little awareness to be an advocate for the health of the place we call home.

Be Smart.  Shop Smart.  Clean Smart.

For some suggestions for safe, truly natural cleaning products, check out earlier posts on this blog, or visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html. (You can also find a free checklist there for reducing other toxins in your home as well.)

Recent News on Reducing Your Toxic Load

Image via WikipediaHere are some interesting recent articles on how to reduce your toxic load. Reducing the levels of toxins in our bodies is imperative, as we are exposed to so many toxic chemicals on a daily basis, which contribute to hundreds of different health problems. It isn't possible to eliminate all exposure to these chemicals (at least not in today's industrialized society), but you can take steps to reduce your exposure as well as remove existing toxins from your body and improve your health.

The first article below gives some great tips on easy ways to detoxify your body, and for other ideas, be sure to visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html, and pick up a copy of our FREE Home Checklist on ways to detoxify your home.

10 Easy Steps to Detoxify Your Body and Improve Your Health | Ing ...
The accumulation of these harmful substances in the body is known as “toxic load” – sometimes referred to as “body burden.” Over time, the buildup of environmental toxins in our systems can lead to chronic or severe health problems. ...
Publish Date: 12/04/2010 3:43
http://www.ing-mueller.net/10-easy-steps-to-detoxify-your-body-and-improve-your-health.html

Dump Your Toxic Load
Although the body has a natural way of healing itself, and dumping these harmful toxic chemicals, sometimes it can't handle the process alone. The body's system for natural detoxification needs some sort of support in order to function ...
Publish Date: 11/12/2010 16:50
http://www.diet-articles.co.uk/blog/weight-loss/dump-your-toxic-load

The Organic Pharmacy's Margo Marrone Dishes on Holiday Beauty ...
I consider fragrance, as well as our skin care and makeup, to be an extension of health – reducing our toxic load but at the same time not having to give up glamorous effective products to use. Ultimately, we all want beautiful products ...
Publish Date: 12/01/2010 13:59
http://www.makeupandbeautycare.com/view-all/the-organic-pharmacys-margo-marrone-dishes-on-holiday-beauty-remedies-a-tfs-exclusive.html