All About Water

• Lemon polish: mix ten drops of pure lemon oil (check the oil’s ingredients carefully to verify that it does not contain petroleum products) with two tablespoons of lemon juice and a small quantity of olive oil.
• Cornstarch polish: sprinkle cornstarch on a rag and rub it into the furniture until it gleams.
• Linseed oil polish: combine 1/8 cup of food-grade linseed oil, 1/8 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup lemon juice to create a great natural furniture polish with a pleasant smell.

We can help our planet by living green in many ways, large and small. One decision in the grocery store or car dealership can make a big difference for the environment and your health. Using eco-friendly cleaning products in the kitchen can minimize pollution and enhance the healthiness of your home environment. All cleaning products are not created equal. Some are downright dangerous, while others clean just as well but are safe and environmentally friendly.

The chemicals used in cleaning products and their packaging, can harm the environment and our water supply. Cleaning products contain thousands of untested chemicals, but are flushed down drains into our waterways. These chemicals may leak into streams and rivers, where they may take a long time to decompose into harmless substances, or may never break down at all. Algae blooms can kill life in waterways. “Nutrient overloads” in waterways, caused by cleaning chemicals, have ruined popular fishing areas and shellfish beds.

Some of the chemicals in cleaning products enter the food chain and can return to us in toxic form to cause cancer or even birth defects. Some harmful chemicals commonly found in cleaning products include phosphates, alkalies, bleach, ammonia, acids, alkylphenol ethoxylates, phosphorus, nitrogen and VOCs. Phosphates pollute ocean, river and stream ecosystems with algae blooms and even dead zones.

When we drink water or eat foods that have been contaminated by the dangerous chemicals in cleaning products, we may face health consequences. Over one hundred of the chemicals found in cleaning products have been linked to health problems like allergies, skin rashes, birth defects, cancer, headaches, depression, joint pain, chronic fatigue, chest pains, asthma and dizziness. We can acquire these health problems by breathing air tainted by our cleaning products. Dish washing detergent accounts for the largest percentage of accidental poisonings of children in the home. Housewives have a 50% greater chance of getting cancer than working women; scientists suspect that housewives’ daily cleaning agent usage is to blame. Choosing eco-friendly cleaning products improves your health as well as environmental health.

Hundreds of green, eco-friendly cleaning products are available for our kitchens. We need only find and choose them. Purchase eco-friendly cleaning products online or at your local retailers. Read labels and ask questions to find the best products. Ask for non-toxic cleaners: you should never pour anything but natural substances down the drain. We can also make our own eco-friendly cleaning solutions out of common household substances like salt, vinegar, lemon juice, water and baking soda.

Toxic cleaner usage in bathrooms around the country has harmed our environment for decades. Respiratory irritants in conventional bathroom cleaners increase air pollution. Toxic chemicals in cleaners, personal hygiene products and pharmaceuticals are washed down the drains of American homes and contaminate our drinking water. These cleaners impact not only those who obtain their drinking water from a government-regulated source, but also the 15% of our population who use unregulated, private wells. The environment would greatly benefit from green cleaning supplies.

The EPA has created a list of contaminates that includes every known substance found in drinking water and how much of these substances we can safely consume. Many of these contaminants enter the water system via improper disposal, but others enter through unsafe cleaning products. Using green cleaning supplies is the best way to ensure safe, clean drinking water. Phosphorus and nitrogen are two of the top contaminates found in drinking water. According to the American Water Works Association, higher levels of these substances in water can be attributed partly to toxic bathroom cleaners. Green cleaning supplies avoid using these chemicals in order to reduce the impact of household chemicals on the environment.

Pollutants found in drinking water can cause a multitude of diseases, including nervous disorders and some types of cancer. Airborne particles released by traditional cleaning products cause or aggravate respiratory diseases like asthma.

Purchase green cleaning supplies from health markets or make green cleaning supplies at home using common household ingredients. These green cleaning supplies effectively disinfect bathrooms. Commercial green cleaning supplies offer non-toxic substances in recyclable packaging, further reducing their environmental impact. There are endless recipes for homemade green cleaning supplies, and though the results may vary from batch to batch, all are generally effective.

Many companies are “green-washing” their products to seem more environmentally friendly than they actually are. Always read the ingredient and warning labels found on any products that are sold as green cleaning supplies. Many so-called green cleaning supplies merely change the proper names of toxic chemicals to less offensive-sounding titles. Greenpeace has investigated many of these faux-environmentalist companies’ and found that they touted their products with false information to make their products seem eco-friendly.