Non-toxic cleaners
Author: Christine Kowalski

There are approximately 70,000 chemicals now in commercial production, many of which are used in household products, according to the Web site for the Cancer Prevention Coalition (www.preventcancer.com).
There also are a dizzying number of reasons to limit the amount of chemicals used in the home: accidental poisonings, chemical sensitivities, environmental damage and exposure to suspected carcinogens, to name a few.
“Most Americans would assume that basic toxicity testing is available and that all chemicals in commerce today are safe. A recent EPA study has found that this is not a prudent assumption,” quotes the author of “Organic Housekeeping,” Ellen Sandbeck, from a 1998 EPA study. “The EPA looked at a set of 491 chemicals found in commonly used consumer products and found that only 25 percent of them had been tested for toxicity,” writes Sandbeck.
While it would be difficult to completely eliminate toxic chemicals from our homes, there are alternatives to such products that are better for our health, safer for the environment and often less expensive.
A few basic housekeeping chores can be completed just as easily with common kitchen products as they can with bottles plastered with “warning” and “caution” labels.
Amy Mason, a Charles Town, W.Va., mother of four, made a gradual shift from conventional to green — environmentally friendly — products. Before she began researching chemical cleaners, she says, “I never really gave it a thought. You just go on using what your mom used.”
Mason now uses a few simple and inexpensive replacements for some of her chemical cleaners.
“I just use baking soda to clean the sink,” she says, adding that vinegar and water make a great window cleaner. The primary benefit of choosing green products is peace of mind, says Mason, and, “just knowing that you’re doing the best for your family’s health.”
Going green doesn’t have to mean sacrificing convenience. Many of Mason’s cleaning products are store-bought.
“We keep reworking our budget to include more,” she says. “Once you change, it’s hard to go back without feeling bad about what you put on your skin and in your environment.”
There is no shortage of green cleaning products available in stores and online. Most grocery stores offer at least a few green cleaning products.
The Common Market, a natural foods and products cooperative in Frederick, stocks shelves of cleaning supplies. Phyllis Williams, grocery buyer for The Common Market, says its customers are purchasing green products for health and environmental reasons. Shoppers who look for plant-based products are choosing “one less use of petroleum … and have something else that cleans just as well.”
Kristen Gingery, a Berkeley Springs, W.Va., mother of two, was buying laundry soap recently at The Common Market. She says all the cleaning products she uses are environmentally friendly, in part due to her concern for her children’s sensitive skin. She admits that her cleaners are initially expensive, so she finds products that “go a long way.” A 16-ounce bottle of Citra-Solv, for example, makes eight gallons of cleaner.
“I don’t feel bad cleaning my floor with it and having my kids and dogs on it,” she says.
When shopping for cleaners, Mason recommends having the Cleaning Products Smart Shoppers Card, printable from National Geographic’s Green Guide Web site (www.thegreenguide.com). The card fits in a wallet and lists products recommended by the organization.
Still having trouble getting excited about housecleaning? Some cleaning services use green products and methods.
Maid Brigade, a national housecleaning service, instituted a Green Clean Certified system last year.
Aaron Kerns, manager of Maid Brigade of the Tri-State Area, says the change was the right move. The new system works as well as the old, says Kerns, and the green cleaning products are a determining factor when clients choose a cleaning company. Employees and customers are pleased that the new products don’t give off strong chemical odors.
“Often, people aren’t home when we’re cleaning, but their pets are home,” says Kerns, explaining that pet safety is another reason to be aware of the chemicals used in housecleaning.
As part of the comprehensive change, the company has replaced cotton cleaning cloths with microfiber cloths, which leave less lint and are more effective. The shift has even impacted methods at the franchise’s office, reducing the laundry from 200 to 300 cloths on a busy day to about 70 a day.
To begin your own research on natural cleaners, you can look to the Internet for health and safety information on household products (www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov) and recipes for cleaners (www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html).
Libraries and bookstores offer these and other green housekeeping books:
“Organic Housekeeping” by Ellen Sandbeck
“Clean & Green” by Annie Berthold-Bond
“The Safe Shopper’s Bible: A Consumer’s Guide to Nontoxic Household Products, Cosmetics, and Food” by David Steinman and Samuel S. Epstein


Supermarket superstars for natural cleaning
A few grocery store items are mainstays in natural cleaning recipes:
Baking soda: Absorbs odors, mild abrasive cleaner
Borax: Disinfects, deodorizes, inhibits mold growth
Lemon juice: Deodorizes, cuts grease
Vinegar: Cleans windows, dissolves greasy or mineral buildup.
— adapted from “Clean & Green” by Annie Berthold-Bond

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