As a girl, I spent some of my Spring breaks with my Grandmother, who took Spring cleaning very seriously: she washed windows and walls, the dotted swiss and lace curtains were laundered and pressed, rugs were taken outside and beaten, the linoleum was stripped and rewaxed and the furniture was buffed with butcher's wax. The air was heavy with the smell of ammonia, bleach, and who knows what else. Those smells signified that her house was clean.
These days, most of us take a more casual approach to cleaning but our cleaning products are still based on the bleach and ammonia of the past. Grandma had the good sense to fling open the windows on cleaning day whereas most of us are tackling cleaning on the fly between errands and carpools and never think to open the window just to spritz down the shower tile. As a result, our indoor air quality can adversely affect our health.
The EPA says: "There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution."
The Seventh Generation company has a comprehensive Guide to Creating a Healthy Home. They are one of many manufacturers that make green cleaning products which I've tried. Still, it bothers me to have so many bottles of products and I've started a personal mission to simplify my cleaning. I was talking to my neighbor, Joan, about this and she shared with me a pamphlet that she picked up from Greenpeace some years ago. They say that "the first step in 'detoxing' your home is knowing what substances to say 'NO' to." Plastics (which cause pollution in all stages of their production and use), solvents (which are often petroleum-based chemicals), aerosols (uh, you know these are a no-no, right?), and biocides (insecticides & herbicides which we'll cover later this Spring).
Greenpeace suggests that five basic ingredients can be used in many safe home-cleaning needs:
- Baking soda--cleans and deodorizes, softens water to increase sudsing and cleaning power of soap, good scouring powder
- Borax--cleans and deodorizes, excellent disinfectant, softens water, great for laundry, don't use near food, be sure to wear gloves
- Soap--biodegrades safely and completely and is nontoxic. Purchase soap without synthetic scents, colors or additives.
- Washing soda--cuts grease and removes stains, disinfects, softens water, also known as sodium carbonate, be sure to wear gloves
- White vinegar--cuts grease and freshens.
A handy website listing recipes using these ingredients can be found here. The author includes tea tree oil which made me curious. I found a site that lists the efficacy of tea tree oil in killing all kinds of nasties, in fact, the oil is being used in England to combat MRSA in hospitals. I found another recipe for an all-purpose cleaner using 1/4 tsp tea tree oil to 1 quart of warm water.
Happy Spring!
