Twenty years ago the word “detox” meant a trip to the drug
rehabilitation center. Today it defines the conscious act of cleaning
up our insides down to the cellular level. Preservatives, pesticides,
chemicals and radiation treatments spur the health-conscious to detoxify
their bodies while making life-long changes that will help keep their
cells clear of harmful substances. In today’s health-conscious home you
are likely to find plenty of fruits and vegetables, raw dairy, grains
and legumes – all preservative, pesticide and GMO free – but if you look
under the kitchen sink you are also likely to find enough chemicals to
wipe out the entire family.
The
average American household has 3 – 10 gallons of hazardous, toxic
chemicals, most of them sitting in colorful bottles right beneath our
sinks. Many common products contain chlorine, alcohol, ammonia, bleach,
formaldehyde, and lye. These toxic chemicals can cause allergies,
birth defects, nausea, inflammation and burning of the entire
respiratory system, confusion, headaches, symptoms of mental illness,
and are linked to neurological, liver and kidney damage, blindness,
asthma and cancer.
No health-conscious individual wants to consume
pesticides, but we ingest them daily through skin contact as well as
breathing them directly into our lungs by using commercial products in
the home. Approximately 1,400 pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are
found in consumer products – many of which are under the kitchen sink.
Checking
labels doesn’t help. Not only are companies exempt from listing all
the ingredients in their bottles of chemical voodoo, but the New York
Poison Control center found that 85% of product warning labels
inadequately informs consumers of potential dangers, like the deadly
respiratory irritant chloramine, which is made by mixing chlorine with
ammonia. The Seattle Poison Center alone receives 70,000 calls per
year regarding spillage or swallowing of harmful substances in the home,
and 1 in 10 children under the age of 6 ends up in the emergency room
due to accidental exposure to household products.
Think about it:
mopping, spraying, and wiping our homes with toxic chemicals make our
attempts at detoxifying our bodies much like trying to punch a hole in
water- it doesn’t work. A carefully watered and fed plant, for example,
will still get sick if its surroundings are contaminated. Why should
we be any different?
Luckily, detoxing the home is easy. All you
need to do is get rid of the commercial cleansers underneath the kitchen
sink and replace them with vinegar, baking soda and castile soap.
That’s it. Age-old, tried and true, these are the ingredients for a
healthy, chemical-free home.
Vinegar cuts grease, dissolves
mineral deposits, removes mildew, soap or wax buildup, deodorizes,
cleans windows and mirrors, is a wonderful fabric softener and hair
conditioner - and tastes great in salads.
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a useful all purpose cleaner.
It can be used as a scouring powder without scratching surfaces; it
neutralizes acids, deodorizes, softens water, and polishes metals,
jewelry, porcelain and plastic. Baking soda softens fabrics and removes
stains and can also be used as a non-toxic underarm deodorant and
toothpaste.
Castile soap is a vegetable oil-based soap. Olive oil
castile soap works well without drying the skin. Castile soap can be
used in place of laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, automatic
dishwasher detergent, and as a mild, general cleanser and body soap.
With
2.1 million human poisonings reported to the U.S. poison control
centers in 1999 and more than 50% involving children under the age of
five, it’s no wonder that the numbers are growing in favor of non-toxic
homemade cleaners. After all, when was the last time you saw a warning
label or poison control number slapped on a bottle of vinegar?
But can these simple ingredients really keep harmful bacteria and germs under control?
Vinegar
is a powerful disinfectant. Undiluted vinegar kills 99% of bacteria,
82% of mold and 80% of viruses according to Heinz company spokesperson
Michael Mullen. The only reason vinegar is not labeled as a disinfectant
is because it would first have to be registered as a pesticide with the
EPA - probably not good for sales in the salad section.
We may
not be able to protect ourselves from all the harmful substances
contaminating our planet, but we do have the power to reduce the amount
of toxic chemicals we come into contact with on a daily basis.
The
concept of becoming healthy begins in the mind. Once the concept
becomes conscious it can expand into action, usually by a change toward a
healthier diet. More consciousness will lead the health-wise to
detoxify their bodies of accumulated harmful substances. Healthy steps
in the right direction. But why stop there? Perhaps when our homes are
free of dangerous toxic chemicals we will be ready to take the next
step - the vital step toward detoxifying our planet.
Recipes
Each
“detox” needs to be adjusted to the individual. In the same way, each
home has different needs, so experiment with the recipes below to find
out what works best for you.
Air Freshener: Air out your home
daily. There is no air freshener like outdoor oxygen – even in
Manhattan or L.A. You can also place small bowls of baking soda and/or
vinegar around the home to catch unpleasant odors. Simmering your
favorite aromatic herb in water will give a nice, overall scent to your
home. You can also use essential oils for the same purpose. Use
Lavender to relax and ease headaches.
All-purpose cleaner: Every
morning I fill my kitchen sink with hot water, a handful of castile soap
flakes and a tablespoon or two of baking soda. I use this to wipe down
surfaces as well as a pre-wash for the dishes in the dishwasher. A
more basic cleaner is simply baking soda in water. The proportions
depend on the task at hand.
Oven cleaner: Make a thick paste of
baking soda and water. First wipe down the oven with the hot water,
soap and baking soda mixture, then scrub out any burnt spots, and after
that apply the paste. Let stand for a few minutes before washing off.
Disinfectant:
Plain white vinegar, undiluted. You can also use a couple of drops
of tea-tree essential oil in hot soapy water.
Drain Cleaner: Pour
½ cup baking soda down the drain, then ½ cup of vinegar to follow.
Cover the drain immediately so that the vinegar can react with the
baking soda. Then run hot water to flush the drain out.
Floors: A
few spoonfuls of vinegar added to the water in the mop bucket will
clean all floor surfaces. For linoleum, add a few drops of olive oil,
and to buff the old wood floors use equal amounts of olive oil and
vinegar and rub in.
Brass and copper: Use lemon juice with a bit
of salt. Either rub a lemon slice directly on the metal, or simply rub
the mixture in with a soft cloth. If you are not pleased with the
results, try a mixture of vinegar and salt instead.
Silver:
Aluminum foil sprinkled with salt and baking soda in a bowl of water
cleans silver beautifully. Submerge silver in the bowl. Let sit a few
minutes, or until the tarnish has gravitated to the aluminum foil then
dry and buff.
Laundry: Replace hazardous laundry detergents with
pure castile soap. Adding a ½ cup of baking soda to the wash will help
whiten whites and brighten colors. The baking soda also acts as a water
softener, therefore boosting the effectiveness of the soap. Add a cup
of vinegar to the rinse cycle as fabric softener. The vinegar also
strips away any residual soap left on the clothes. Don’t worry, your
clothes will not smell like a bowl of salad. Vinegar leaves no odor
once dry. Still, I like to add a few sprigs of lavender to the dryer in
a small cotton pouch if I don’t hang up the clothes to dry outside.
You could also add a few drops of essential oil like ylang-ylang with
the vinegar rinse if you wish. If you need bleach, try hydrogen
peroxide instead of chlorine.
Automatic dishwashing liquid:
Dilute castile soap in water (if using flakes). Add any citrus
essential oil or combination of oils. Lemon, orange, bergamot and
lavender are nice. Store liquid in a bottle and place a tablespoon in
the automatic dispenser of your dishwasher. For very dirty dishes, add ½
cup of vinegar to the cycle to cut grease and shine the glassware. I
often simply fill the dishwasher dispenser with vinegar and wash at a
higher temperature.
Toilet bowl cleaner: Use baking soda as a scouring powder on the inside of the bowl.
Window
cleaner: ½ cup of vinegar in a spray bottle filled with water. Use
newspaper instead of paper towels for streak-free windows and mirrors.
Marble
surfaces: Marble is the only surface where vinegar is not recommended
due to its acidic nature. Baking soda sprinkled on marble, then washed
up with a wet sponge works well, or you could make a castile soap and
baking soda solution as well.
Litter box: add a generous layer of
baking soda on the bottom of the litter box to help keep odors at bay.
Also spread baking soda on the bottom of the garbage can.
Sources:
[http://www.ems.org/household_cleaners/household_toxics.html]
[http://www.ems.org/household_cleaners/facts.html]
[http://es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/safe-fs.html]
[http://www.maripoisoncenter.com/public/household.htm]
http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/node/80
http://www.healthychild.com/database/guide_to_safer_cleaners_and_disinfectants.htm
http://getfrugal.com/articles/bakingsodarecipes.html
http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/food/cancer_toll.htm
