Alternatives
are available for toxic household products
Many household cleaning products are considered hazardous waste and could
potentially be harmful to your family or the environment.
With this in mind, you may want to make your own cleaning products or
purchase non-toxic products (especially if you suffer from Multiple Chemical
Sensitivities). Here are a few
recipes and cleaning tips:
Air
freshener – Boil an orange/lemon peel in water
or simmer cinnamon. Set out a bowl
of vinegar to remove odors overnight.
Carpet
refresher – For odors, sprinkle dry cornstarch
or baking soda on carpet and vacuum.
Chrome
polish – Dip soft cloth in undiluted white
vinegar
Spot
remover for dishwasher – Add a few table-spoons of
vinegar to dishwasher (cuts grease and leaves dishes sparkling).
To clean your dishwasher: Run it empty with a cup of vinegar.
Cleaning
silk flowers, etc. - Put them in a bag with some
salt and shake – the dust will stick to the salt.
Toilet
bowls – Drop a denture-cleaning tablet into
the bowl; or sprinkle baking soda into the bowl, add vinegar and scour.
Disinfectant – Mix ˝ cup borax in 1 gallon of hot water.
Oven
cleaner – Make a paste from baking soda and
water, scrubbing stains with steel wool. For
tougher stains, add salt (except self-cleaning oven).
Non-toxic
products can be purchased from:
The Clean Environment Co (phone: 402 464-0988 or e-mail at envirocycl@aol.com;
website: http://www.ecomall.com/biz/clean.htm).
Kokopelli’s Green Market (phone: 800 210-0202 or website:
http://www.kokopelliltd.com/Green_Market/Cleaning.html?EcoMall)
Orange Glo NW (800 672-6456 or Website: http://www.orangeglo.com)
Watkins, Inc. (phone: 800 247-5907
or Website: http://www.watkinsonline.com/).
Note: 50% of net proceeds will go to the American FMS Association (Use
ID#322543 when ordering).