subject: Green Clean Your Home And Save Mother Nature [print this page] House decorating and air cleaning products are a major source of indoor pollution. In fact, the concentration of pollutants in indoor air can be more than 100 times higher than outside, mostly due to the after effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that disperse from many of these products. Here are some things you can do to reduce the pollutants thriving in your home.
One simple step is to wait for a day when Mother Nature is cooperating and open the windows and let them all out! Room fresheners and scented cleaning products must be avoided at all costs for they contain many VOCs and other poisonous chemicals. They not only poison the air, they can also trigger skin, eye and respiratory reactions and harm the natural environment. If you want a refreshing and natural scent, keep a vase of flowers in the room.
About a decade ago, New Scientist published the results of a study concerning air fresheners and aerosol sprays. Habitual use of these products resulted in 30 percent more ear infections and 22 percent higher cases of diarrhea among infants below six months of age and for mothers, a 19 percent higher possibility of suffering from depression and a 25 percent increase in headaches.
Consumers should know about the procedure of "green washing" before they go to buy "green" cleaning alternatives. This refers to the assumption that a product is non-toxic just for the reason that the word "natural" appears on the label. The word is meaningless and unregulated as applied and can mistakenly point to anything under the sun. Consumers are advised by David Steinman, coauthor of The Safe Shopper's Bible, to concentrate exclusively on the product label and look out for eco-friendly components that are "known cleaning performers." Some of these include: grain alcohol, coconut or other plant oils in detergents and plant-oil disinfectants such as eucalyptus, rosemary or sage.
You can also clean efficiently with products made at your house. By mixing water, baking soda, plain soap, vinegar, washing soda (sodium carbonate), lemon juice, and borax, you can create a safe and useful house cleaner. The public must be made aware of cleaning products that are poisonous, and according to Philip Dickey of the Washington Toxics Coalition, these can include: corrosive drain cleaners, oven cleaners, acidic toilet-bowl cleaners, and anything containing chlorine or ammonia, which can be fatal if mixed.
