Household Cleaners are Dangerous
Household cleaners (and similar household products) are a huge source of toxins in our lives. Did you know that women who do not work outside the home have a 54% higher risk of dying of cancer than those who do*? I’m sure there are multiple factors involved in that increase, but undoubtedly one is the close proximity to household cleaning and “beautifying” products day-in and day-out.
(And you would be amazed at what they don’t have to tell us. For instance, if you look up the material safety data sheets for dryer sheet ingredients, several say not to allow contact with skin!)
It doesn’t take long for these toxins to permeate our body, either! It’s estimated that within 26 seconds of chemical exposure, that chemical will have made its way throughout your entire body.
But They Don’t Have to Be!
The good news is, a little bit of care and attention to choosing alternatives to conventional household cleaners can make your home a whole lot safer — with the side effect of being kinder to the environment, too.
My favorite alternative is Norwex Envirocloths, window cloths, and other various Norwex cloths, dusters, etc. Why? Because the vast majority of household messes can be cleaned with only the cloth and water. Not only is that about as non-toxic as it gets, it saves me money, too (because I don’t have to buy consumable cleansers).
For tougher messes (and laundry and dishes) there are cleanser options, too — cleaning paste, descaler (which is awesome on the ridiculous hard water deposits in my house), oven cleaner, etc. — which are much safer and healthier than their mainstream versions. (And yes, they work. 🙂 )
There are other good options available, too. For instance, Seventh Generation’s dishwasher tabs and rinse agent out-perform their “big name” counterparts, for us.
What About that “Clean” Smell?
Some people consider it a down-side of natural cleansers that they usually don’t smell like much, and don’t leave a fragrance behind. They’ve come to associate the smell of chemicals with “clean.” That’s actually kind of yucky if you stop and think about it.
One really good option is to simply retrain your nose. Get those nasty chemicals out of your house for a little while and I guarantee your tastes will change. Once you’ve been largely chemical-free for a while, if you bring the chemicals back in, you will notice them! Big-time.
But it’s normal to want our houses to smell nice, too! Essential oils are a great option for making the house smell great, while building health rather than disrupting it. A diffuser is an ideal way to get those wonderful scents permeating the air. If you don’t have one, though, you can “hack it” a couple other ways.
Most essential oils can be applied — just a drop! — to a cold light bulb. Then you can turn the bulb on and the heat will help diffuse the scent. (You don’t want to drop cold oil onto a hot glass bulb, though, or it might explode.) You can put a drop inside the cardboard tube of your current toilet paper or paper towel roll, too. When the roll is “spun,” the movement of the air will also move the scent. Of course if you’re running a fan or something, you could put a drop on the front of that, too.
*Toronto Indoor Air Conference, 1990
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