The Importance of using non toxic cleaning products!

The environment is under assault—there’s global warming, toxic chemicals in our air and water, landfills, stripped mines, pesticides in the farmland, just to name of few of our Mother Earth’s challenges. Natural household cleaners are a safe alternative to chemical cleaners for a clean, greener home, and "green cleaning" is a more pleasant experience than cleaning with toxic products.

Cleaning products typically contain dangerous toxic irritants and dyes. Some even contain solvents. Household bleach is a corrosive irritant and many multi-purpose cleaners contain a cocktail of chemicals, including ones which are thought to act on the central nervous system. Many people have developed allergies and environmental illness as a result of over-exposure to the toxins in the environment, and that includes exposure to dangerous chemicals in cleaning products.

The chemical composition of natural household cleaners is usually simple and many of them have been in use for generations. They don’t harm the environment and they don’t harm us! Have you ever felt faint after walking by the cleaning products in the grocery store? I have made my case.

That’s why, I recommend green cleaning, and I only use only non-toxic, bio-friendly cleaning products—they smell great, clean thoroughly and are safe for me, my pets, and the environment. Non-toxic products break down harmlessly on the soil and in the water, so they do not damage wildlife, plant life, or humans.

Here are my favorite brands of non toxic cleaning products:

Life Tree

I was hooked on the smell as soon as I got a whiff! What a contrast to the chemically laden and awful smelling products Clorox has on the market. Life Tree was the first company in the U.S. to bring consumers a complete line of natural, biodegradable household cleaning products. I admire companies who are committed to creating environmentally friendly products.

I love their dish washing liquid>

Note: At one time I used Seventh Generation dishwashing soap, but was disappointed to learn it contains odium laureth sulfate—a foaming ingredient commonly found in products like soaps and shampoos. It is a concern because 1,4 dioxane is a carcinogenic byproduct of this and other ethoxylated ingredients, and it is often found in products containing sodium laureth sulfate. Cocamide MEA contains diethanolamine (DEA), which the National Toxicology Program found to cause cancer in laboratory animals.)

Citrus Fresh Dish Soap, pH 7
Ingredients: Purified water, Alkyl ether sulfate (nonionic surfactant, derived from natural source), Alkanolamide (anionic surfactant, derived from coconut oil), Linear alkylate sulfonate (nonionic surfactant, derived from natural source), Aloe vera extract, Calendula extract, Fragrance (botanically derived).

The product makes your kitchen smell lovely and does a great job on your dishes!

Fresh & Natural Bathroom Cleaner, pH 7

Ingredients: Purified water, TEA lauryl sulfate (anionic surfactant, derived from coconut oil), Cocamide DEA (nonionic surfactant, derived from coconut oil), Sodium chloride (salt, thickening agent), French lavender oil, Australian tea tree oil>

I use this for all bathroom cleaning, and it is so gentle you can wash out the tub with it while you are sitting in it! It makes the bathroom smell like lavender and the tea tree oil is a great non-toxic disinfectant!

Fresh & Natural All-Purpose Spray Cleaner, pH 10
Ingredients: Purified water, Sodium carbonate (softens water, enhances surfactant activity and increases alkalinity, derived from mineral sodium carbonate), Sodium citrate (softens water and enhances surfactant activity, derived from citrus fruit), Sodium dicarboxylate-hydrotrope (holds together surfactant and inorganics, derived from vegetable oil), Linear alcohol ethoxylate (nonionic surfactant, derived from coconut oil) French lavender oil, Australian tea tree oil.

This is great for your kitchen counters, cupboards, and other surfaces! Again, I love the smell of the lavender and the tea tree oil adds lots of cleaning power.

Ecos – Earth Friendly Products

After checking out their website, I was even more impressed! They never use petrochemical, non-ionic ingredients, they check possible ingredients for what’s called ‘Responsible Sustainability,’ by asking questions like: Is this from a rainforest? Is it needed in the area to sustain any endangered wildlife? Are workers given a fair wage for their labor? If all indicators are a go, they create the product.

This company uses as many N.O.P. Certified Organic essential oils as they can find. Then, each new product undergoes in-house testing and some are submitted to a consumer testing agency to undergo rigorous and objective third party testing.

Every single essential oil they employ is a scent that is pure, real and 100% natural. Each cleaner is the result of hundreds of man-hours in research and development. And every formula is formaldehyde free.

I found these Ecos environmentally friendly products at my local health food store and they are fantastic:

Furniture Polish—It’s made from natural olive and orange oils. I use it on my wood furniture and it actually makes me enjoy dusting because the smell is divine—it also moisturizes the wood and removes dirt and anything that may feel a bit sticky!

Uni-Fresh Air Freshener—is a nontoxic concentrated air freshener that helps eliminate odors. It contains 100% natural ingredients made from essential oils. Think of the ghastly odors coming from the air freshener isle at the grocery store – they are worse than the smells you are trying to cover! I made my point.

Bi-O-Kleen

All Temperature Laundry Liquid with Grapefruit Seed and Orange Peel Extract - this has been my #1 favorite laundry soap for years! It smells fresh and actually leaves clothes smelling clean without that awful chemical smell left by most commercial brands that are filled with toxic chemicals. You know the sick feeling you get when you walk past the laundry soap at the grocery store. I have made my point. It is highly concentrated so it is saves you money, too.

• Phosphate & Chlorine Free
• 64 Full Loads!
• Gentle to Skin

You only need 1 oz. per load and it comes with a tiny measuring cup! I love the smell of the Grapefruit Seed and Orange Peel Extracts. I find all of these selling points to be true!

• Environmentally friendly products with no negative effects on rivers, streams, plants or wildlife.
• Super concentrated, no salt or thickeners.
• Rinses free of residue, a cause of skin irritations, rashes and stiffness in clothes and fabrics.

• Naturally controls musty mildew and sour odors. Great news for towels!

· No animal testing or ingredients.

· Made in the USA

· Vegan

Contains NO: Glycol ether, butyl, chlorine, petroleum solvents, phosphate, MEA, EDTA, alcohol, nonyl phenol, sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, artificial fragrance, colors or preservatives.

Arm and Hammer Baking Soda - a classic environmentally friendly product!

This product has long been an effective and inexpensive cleaning product.

I keep an open box in my refrigeration to absorb odors!

I use this recipe to clean my refrigerator inside and out because it leaves no smell and makes everything sparkling clean!

Solution:
4 tablespoons of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda dissolved in 1 quart of warm water.

Paste:
3 parts of ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda and 1 part of water, mixed. (Adjust amounts for best consistency).

Sponge:
ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda lightly applied to a clean damp sponge.

Sprinkle:
ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda sprinkled directly on a surface. Their shaker is ideal for this use.

And Remember: After each cleaning method, rinse surface thoroughly with water.

Every decision we make has it's impact on the world! Using non toxic cleaning products will make you, your family, pets, and the planet healthier.

Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought of - Sold on Amazon - see links below!

Green window cleaner recipe from Oprah

From Sandra Bullock - an effective natural cleaner from windows!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This is not simply a useful and informative book about the innumerable uses for good old baking soda, saving tons of money, and in the process not harming the environment. It is also entertaining and sometimes downright funny--it would be a great gift for anyone, including yourself. I expect that Vicki Lansky had a blast putting this book together, and her enthusiasm is evident in the text. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
You might wearily expect that a book with a title like this one is just another Hints from Heloise clone (which is not necessarily a bad thing), but in this case it's far better than that. For, besides an incredible accumulation of recipes and other uses for baking soda, this book contains an entertaining history of the baking soda industry and the story of how and why this wonderful substance came to be invented. Baking soda, Lansky says, is a wildly successful instance of a product developed to fill one specific need (i.e., "for an affordable, clean, consistent leavening agent") being found to have myriad other uses. Charming as this background is, the promised 500-plus uses of baking soda constitute the book's raison d'etre. Lansky easily fulfills the promise without resorting to list extenders of any kind, in the end producing a thoroughly enjoyable, useful little volume. Mike Tribby --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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