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For week three, the book has us going one step further: reducing the number and amount of chemicals we're using to clean the house. When I read that every person in America has at least 700 different pollutants in his or her bloodstream, I start thinking that maybe I don't need to spray the counter with antibacterial Lysol three times a day.
Curious about what kind of chemicals I'm actually spraying around our house on a daily basis, I try to decode the ingredients on the three products we use the most: a disinfectant spray that kills germs, dissolves soap scum and grease, and deodorizes; a heavy duty bathroom cleaner that seems, now that I'm studying them, to do exactly the same thing (why do we use both of these?), and our dish soap with bleach alternative. None of the labels are especially helpful. The dish soap says it "contains biodegradable surfactants"—which are usually harmless, but it doesn't go into any detail about what the bleach alternative is. Both the spray cleaners list only a tiny percentage (3.2% and 0.22%) of their ingredients, but do stress that they are hazardous to humans and animals. The same chemicals that make cleaners effective--solvents that dissolve grease and oils; synthetic scents; pthalates, which extend the life of a product's scent; formaldehyde; and antibacterial compounds--may also be responsible for everything from headaches to asthma to cancer. In addition to the danger they pose to people and animals, they're hard on the earth: toxic, prone to accumulating, and not biodegradable. That's not even taking into account the energy, gasoline, and plastic that goes into the production.
So I'm on board: Maybe it's time we switched to something a little more eco (and people!) friendly. Since everything we use is antibacterial, I must be more nervous about germs than I thought—but surely I can use the Lysol once a day and that would be plenty, right? That's my goal for this week—if I can just forget all those commercials with the creepy animated germs covering the little kid.
More on getting rid of hazardous cleansers:
Dispose of Toxic Household Chemicals, Safely
How to Detox Your House
More on green cleaning:
How to Go Green: Top Tips
Book Review: Seventh Generation's Naturally Clean
More about organic household cleaners:
Meet an Expert Dad: Kevin Schwartz, Founder of BabyGanics Natural Cleaners
Buy the Book:
Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living
Blythe Copeland is a freelancer writer living on Long Island. Read more about her foray into the green life as she follows the plan set out in Ready, Set, Green: Eight Weeks to Modern Eco-Living, the new book from the editors of TreeHugger and Planet Green.com.
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