I hope that post gets a few more hits this week, since Women's Voices for the Earth released their new report called "Household Hazards." The report details new information about potential hazards of household cleaning products. From the report:
"In most cases, when we choose a cleaning product, we are primarily concerned with whether or not it will do the job, going on the assumption that if a product is sold in the grocery store, it must be safe for use in our homes. This report questions that assumption. Household cleaning chemicals, like tens of thousands of chemicals found in the consumer marketplace, are available to the consumer with virtually no information on the potential consequences for human health and little oversight by the government."
The report looks specifically at five common chemicals in cleaning products: monoethanolamine (MEA), ammonium quaternary compounds, glycol ethers, alkyl phenol ethoxylates and phthalates, and their associations with asthma and reproductive problems.
WVE's top recommendation is to make your own cleaning products - it's safer and cheaper, and of course Bugheart has already gotten us started with some great recipes. Check out WVE's website and the report to find out how to encourage manufacturers to get rid of their toxic ingredients, and how to urge our elected officials to pass safer chemicals policy.
This is an excellent book~
ReplyDelete"Naturally Clean: The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-toxic Cleaning"
I love this list~
http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html
great post, as always
I've been totally converted to home made biodegradable cleaning products. With very little effort you can reduce your shopping bill dramatically and eliminate a whole host of chemicals reaching the waterways and the environment. At the same time the air quality in your home is improved and you are reducing the amount of packaging sent to landfill. It's a win win situation.
ReplyDeleteI love to make my own cleaning products. IMy favorite is peppermint scented soda scrubs.
ReplyDeleteI use some standard products but mostly Ecover. I do as little cleaning as possible with as little product as possible. It's only lite-green environmentally, but appeals to my cheapskate and slacker tendencies. I really don't love to clean!
ReplyDeleteEnjo (and other fibre-based cleaning products) works really well for me - and you only use water, so no worries about cleaning chemicals affecting your family and the environment. Some people miss the 'clean smell' - which isn't really the smell of clean as such, it's just the smell of the cleaning products whose residue is still all over everything!
ReplyDeleteI use ENJO at home as well. I feel better knowing I am doing my part for the environment whilst keeping my family safe and healthy.
ReplyDeleteI really don't miss that "clean smell" and know I have found a cleaning method to last for life. (www.enjo.net)
I know this is an old post now, but I just wanted you to know that I cleaned my oven for the first time with soap, salt and baking powder. It worked well, to my surprise. I wrote about it on my blog, if you are interested: www.nonsonoitaliana.wordpress.com
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