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Beth Aldrich, mother
of three, is an Integrative Health and Nutrition Coach, writer
and public speaker, www.restoringessence.com.
She is the publisher and founder of, www.ForHerInformation.com,
the online magazine for women and is the host of the Seattle
and online radio show, A Balanced Life with Beth Aldrich. Her
favorite (occasional) treat is chocolate cream pie!
 Comparative
risk studies performed by the Environmental Protection Agency
have consistently ranked indoor air pollution among the top
five environmental risks to public health. Many cleaning products,
which we inhale, are prime indoor air polluters, as well as
poisonous, if ingested. Companies are not even required to
list all the ingredients and their concentrations on the bottles,
even if they are hazardous.
But cleaning your home can be easy, cheap and toxic-free
by using basic ingredients such as club soda, olive oil, vinegar
and baking soda. For example, Consumer Reports Books (a division
of Consumers Union) has found plain water, as a glass cleaner,
to be more effective than commercial equivalents. Use olive
oil (with lemon essential oil for fragrance) to polish your
furniture; vinegar, water and an essential oil for fragrance
to mop your floor; or salt and lime juice to remove rust.
To get you started, we’ve listed some natural, homemade
cleaning recipes from Annie Berthold-Bond’s book, Better
Basics for the Home (Three Rivers Press, 1999).
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ALL-PURPOSE CLEANER
An all-purpose cleaner is all you need for most walls,
countertops, baseboards, fixtures, appliances and bathrooms.
Alkaline All-Purpose Cleaner
1/2 tsp. washing soda
2 tsp. borax (see "Basic Cleaning Tools")
1/2 tsp. liquid soap or detergent
2 cups hot water
Combine the washing soda, borax and soap in a spray
bottle. Pour in hot water, screw on lid and shake well
before each use.
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CLEANING FLOORS
Run a damp mop over floors before cleaning to pick
up dust. To clean slightly dirty floors, use a spray
of equal parts of white vinegar and water (add some
lemon or mint oil for a pleasant scent). For heavy-duty
cleaning, you’ll need:
Basic Floor Cleaner
1/4 cup liquid soap
Up to 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar or lemon juice
2 gallons warm water
Mix in bucket and use with a mop or sponge. Rinse with
1/2 cup of vinegar and 2 gallons of warm water to remove
soap residue.
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TOILET BOWL CLEANERS
Conventional extra-strength toilet bowl cleaners usually
contain strong acids. But if you regularly clean, you
don’t need them. Use instead:
Annie’s Toilet Bowl Sizzler
Add 1/2 cup each white vinegar and baking soda to the
toilet bowl; let sizzle. Scrub with brush.
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Safety Tips
+ Avoid putting homemade cleaners in used commercial cleaner
bottles, as your ingredients might interact with chemical
residues. New spray and squirt bottles are sold at hardware
and drug stores. Washed food bottles, like those from ketchup
and mustard, also work well.
+ Label homemade cleaners with ingredients and date.
+ Store where children can’t reach.
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fhi Resources:
Clean and Green by Annie Berthold-Bond (Ceres
Press, 1994)
Clean Up Your Act! by the League of Women Voters
of New Castle, P.O. Box 364, Chappaqua, New York, 10514
(1994)
Clean House, Clean Planet by Karen Logan (Simon
& Schuster, 1997)
Source: thegreenguide.com
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