Green Cleaning.....better and safer!

Cleaning is basically a fact of life and has become a necessity. How you clean is entirely up to you. But what does "clean" mean? We all grow up with the over powering stench of amonia meaning that our homes are "clean." I grew up associating "clean" with the chemical stench of the many cleaning products that were assumed to be cleaning and sanitizing. Associating chemicals with clean is a common yet dangerous mistake.

Have you ever stopped to think about the WARNING labels on any product containing amonia or bleach? Why would there be a WARNING on a product that is suppossed to be helping me maintain a CLEAN AND SAFE environment for me and my family? Yes the government allows the use of potentially hazardous ingredients in these products, but we are warned that we should not have long exposure to nor inhale the products. We are also told that they could cause irritations, blindness, and potentially even death! Were you aware that companies do not have to list ALL of the ingredients in their hazardous products? They are only legally required to list the products that have already been found to be hazardous to our health. Honestly, the government has no clue as to what ingredients in common household cleaners are safe because they do not require manufacturers to test them.

There has not been sufficient testing done to determine the long term effects of exposure to commercial cleaning products. Many ingredients in common household cleaners have been linked to various childhood health problems, such as asthma or even some cancers. Is it your fault? NO! The manufactures do not inform us of the potential carcinogens, hormone dusrupters, neurotoxins, etc...Why should they inform us? They know that if we, the consumers, were aware that the products we depend on contained dangerous chemicals, we'd stop buying them!

Despite the warnings, consumers continue to buy hazardous cleaning products. So to help clarify things a bit, here are a few of the WARNINGS used on product labels:

DANGER: products with this word on it must be used with EXTREME care. If used incorrectly, you could get sick, hurt, go blind or die! This label is also applied to products that can explode if heated.

WARNING: less of a warning than DANGER, but still means that you get become sick or get hurt. This could also mean that the product can easily catch fire.

CAUTION: used on products that can irritate your skin, make you sick if you inhale the fumes, or hurt you if it were to get in your eyes.

Here's a little challenge for you. Go grab on of your conventional household cleaners. Examine the label. Think about what I've told you about the WARNINGS. Next look at the ingredients, I bet you can't even pronounce half of them! Go to the Household Products Database at the National Institutes of Health (hpd.nlm.nih.gov), and look up two or three of your favorite cleaning products. You can even try looking up one of the ingredients commonly in cleaners such as butylcellosolve. Believe me, you will be shocked, I sure was!

Knowing what you have just read, take it upon yourself to expose your family and yourself to less chemicals!

Over cleaning is one of the reasons why so many of use have developed allergies, we do not allow our bodies to develop an immunity to many things in our environment because we are always killing through over sanitizing. Sanitizing is needed for extreme cases, such as a cancer patient that might be undergoing a bonemarrow transplant and will not have an immune system for some time.

Choose or make effective green cleaners and clean kindly! Most green cleaners are plant-based so that soaps and detergents are biodegradable. Biodegradable means that they break down easily instead of creating more garbage. Use cleaners that contain plant based solvents and ammonia-free glass cleaners. Get rid of any cleaning products that contain any potentially harmful ingredients. As mom always says, it's better to be safe than sorry.

When getting rid of household cleaners, please dispose of them properly. Do not empty the cleaners into your sinks. The chemicals will up affecting the planet. Look up a local "CLEAN UP DAY." Workers take all of you potentially hazardous cleaners and chemicals to properly dispose of them. Take a close look at how these workers are dressed. You will notice that they look like astronauts, covered from head to toe. They wear protective gear so that they do no absorb any of the chemicals through their skin or inhale any of the fumes. Now how many times have you locked yourself in the bathroom with the same cleaners that these workers don't even want to be exposed to?