Category: Home & Garden
By Stephanie Mitchell
When you buy dish detergent, surface cleaners or bathroom disinfectants, do you know what chemicals you are bringing into your home? Many of the household cleaners that people have been using for years contain toxic, corrosive chemicals that can cause asthma, brain damage, birth defects and cancer, if you’re exposed to them long enough.
Arm yourself with information about the substances you wipe across your kitchen counters or spray onto your carpets – then choose your purchases with care.
Carcinogens
Household cleaning products end up in the air, on your dishes and silverware, and on the counters you and your children touch every day – and you can absorb carcinogens, which cause cancer, by breathing them in, touching them or consuming them.
Carcinogenic cleaning products include air fresheners containing formaldehyde, laundry detergents containing ethoxylated nonyl phenol, and aerosol products containing methylene chloride, and many other common chemicals are currently being tested for carcinogenic effects.
Corrosives and Solvents
Corrosive and solvent chemicals make effective cleaning agents because they dissolve and burn through grease, mildew and grime. They also irritate and burn your skin, eyes, lungs, kidneys and liver, and they can harm your central nervous system.
Breathing in corrosive chemicals can cause dizziness and headaches in the short term; in the long term, they can lead to blindness, depression, memory loss and poor coordination. Children are particularly sensitive to corrosives and solvents – repeated exposure can damage children’s respiratory systems and cause asthma.
Examples include sodium hydroxide, often found in oven cleaners; morpholine, found in scrubbing cleaners and furniture polishes; phosphoric acid, found in bathroom cleaners, dishwashing liquids and mildew removers; ammonia, found in bathroom cleaners and spray cleaners; and sodium hypochlorite, better known as bleach.
Safety
While some of these chemicals cause immediate irritation or pain, others take their toll quietly, over time. Protect yourself and your family by learning all you can about the products on the market and choosing the ones least likely to jeopardize your health. Pregnant women and parents of young children should be particularly cautious. Consider buying only non-toxic, environmentally-friendly cleaning products, which are generally safer for you and your children.
OTHER ARTICLES
Healthy, Natural Cleaning Solutions for Your Home
The Healing Magic of Aromatherapy
Get Beautiful Skin – Naturally!
REFERENCES
- Kewaunee County Emergency Management & LEPC: Solvents & Home Cleaning Products – http://www.kewauneeco.org/lepc/Hazardous%20Waste/solvent.htm.
- National Library of Medicine Tox Town: Solvents – http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=28.
- University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences: Hazardous Household Substances: Alternatives That Are Relatively Free of Toxic Effects – http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/he791.
- Environmental Health Association of Nova Scotia: Guide to Less Toxic Products – http://lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=household.
- GreenLiving: Is Your House Toxic? – http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/six-household-chemicals-avoid.
The goal of a good, thorough housecleaning is a home that smells fresh, sparkles with cleanliness, and presents a healthful, pleasant environment. Unfortunately, in this day and age you may not be getting quite the results you bargained for!
Most of the cleaning products in stores today are supposed to make house-keeping easier and better, but in reality only make it more complicated and hazardous. This is obvious the moment you take the time to read the labels of these “helpful” products: most give poison center phone numbers, toxic waste disposal information and disclaimers for allergic reactions. They smell bad, may burn your skin and eyes, or can cause headaches, irritability and shortness of breath.
You may be asking yourself, “Isn’t there there a better way?”
Don’t despair! We’ve taken the time to put together some healthy, easy, economical and ecological alternatives:
All-Purpose Spray Cleaner
This all-purpose spray cleaner cleanses and disinfects surfaces. The essential oils have strong anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties, as well as being tough degreasers. Just combine the following ingredients in a spray bottle and clean away!
6 oz distilled water
2 oz denatured alcohol
¼ tsp lemon, lime or grapefruit essential oil
10 drops tea tree oil
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Vinegar and baking soda dissolve mineral buildup, while essential oils loosen grime and give a fresh, clean scent. Pour the following mix into the toilet bowl and let it sit for several hours or overnight.
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp baking soda
½ tsp orange essential oil
½ tsp grapefruit essential oil
1 cup distilled water
Wood Furniture Polish
To clean and condition your wood furniture, warm this mixture slightly and apply to wood in small amounts, then rub with a soft cloth.
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
3 drops lemon essential oil
1½ cups water
Carpet Deodorizer
To deodorize your carpets, mix the following ingredients, sprinkle on your carpets, leave for 10 minutes and vacuum up. (Please check for color fastness. Do not use on wet carpet.)
1 cup baking soda
20 drops of your favorite non-resinous essential oil
Fabric Softener
For fresh and clean smelling laundry, add the following to the final rinse cycle of your wash. The scent of lavender essential oil also has a calming and uplifting effect.
½ cup white vinegar
20 drops lavender essential oil
Window Cleaner
To clean your windows to a sparkle while also discouraging flies and other critters from invading your home, spray this mix onto your windows. Buff with a clean towel and then scrub and shine them with sheets of newspaper (black and white only.)
½ cup vinegar
6 cups warm water
½ tsp peppermint essential oil
½ tsp lemon essential oils
Hand Sanitizer
Here is an all-natural hand sanitizer that really does the job. Be sure to rinse hands with it often to help keep germs at bay.
2 oz denatured alcohol
2 oz distilled water
5 drops lemongrass essential oil
Aromatherapy involves healing the body and mind using essential oils, the aromatic ‘essences’ of plants. Inhaling or applying these highly-concentrated aromatic plant essences can cheer you up, calm you down, and make you feel better about yourself.
Essential oils, the foundation of aromatherapy, are the fragrances of plants in their purest, most concentrated form. They are extracted either through steam distillation, with solvents or cold pressed. Fundamentally, these highly fragrant oils are the plant’s ‘soul’, extracted from flowers, leaves, spices, fruits, woods and roots; each with its own benefits to the body and mind.
How Aromoatherapy Works
The way these essences are processed in your body is quite complex. At the bridge of your nose is the olfaction bulb, which is an extension of your brain. About the size of a penny, it contains 20 million hairs that protrude through a thin layer of mucus membranes. These hairs are actually nerve cells that translate odors into nerve messages. The messages travel to a part of your brain responsible for emotions, moods, feelings, and memories. Odors can also stimulate the release of neuro-chemicals and hormones.
The Science Behind Aromatherapy
University research in Milan, Italy, has found that vanilla can treat anxiety and depression. In Russia, eucalyptus oil has cured a certain flu strain, and American and Japanese researchers are studying the effects of inhaling fragrances to relax claustrophobics, improve productivity in the work place, and even to reduce subway violence.
Aromatherapy in Everyday Life
Essential oils’ health enhancing, beautifying and mood elevating properties can easily be incorporated into your lifestyle:
- To combat daily stress place a few drops of mandarin, ylang ylang and petitgrain essential oil on a cotton ball. Keep this cotton ball close to you, on your desk, in your car or in your purse. For stress with mental fatigue, use the fragrance of basil.
- Can’t sleep? Try some valerian, lemon and mandarin essential oil. Place a few drops in a room diffuser or use in a bath before bed. Another way to help you go to “la-la land” is to put a few drops of lavender essential oil on your hairbrush, then comb your hair. This treatment calms your thoughts and relaxes your body. You can also place the oils on a cotton ball and put under your pillow.
- When temporary depression is getting a hold of you, try using essential oils of neroli and petitgrain. Neroli essential oil, known as the bringer of joy, has long been used for depression, shock, anxiety, nervous tension, fear and panic. Petitgrain essential oil comes from the leaves and twigs of various citrus plants. Inhaling or massaging this blend gives strength during emotional times.
- Do you feel a cold coming on? Drop a little eucalyptus essential oil into some boiling water and take a few deep breaths. Eucalyptus possesses disinfectant properties. Inhaling it opens sinuses and breathing passages. Place one to two drops on your pillow before bedtime to help you breathe freely all night.
- For a total relaxing and rejuvenating treatment make an appointment with your massage therapist. Ask her/him to include essential oils to invigorate your body, refresh your mind and uplift your emotion.
- You can also clean your house with essential oils. The antiseptic properties will fight germs, and even insects.
- Place a few drops of lavender essential oil on a cotton ball and toss into your last laundry rinse cycle or into the dryer.
- Scent your drawers and closets, your shoes, etc.
As you can see, essential oils can easily be used on a daily basis to keep you healthy and balanced. Scientists now confirm that they do affect how we think and feel. But, above all, they stimulate and uplift our spirits.
