How to: Evict toxins from your home
Want to cut down on the potentially harmful chemicals that can easily build up at home? Here are some simple steps you can take to make your home a toxin-free haven!
• Bleach is a powerful corrosive substance, so try to use it very sparingly, if you use it at all. The sort that contains phosphates can upset the balance of natural systems in rivers and lakes, so you should always try to buy phosphate-free varieties, e.g Selden ACT toilet cleaner. Alternatively, white distilled vinegar can be used to disinfect, clean and deodorize. But be warned: NEVER use bleach and vinegar together, as the two can cause a reaction releasing toxic chlorine gas.
• When decorating, always buy the right amount of paint for the job. Alternatively, choose a paint that does not contain volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), like the range from Oliver Heath. VOCs are solvents that evaporate during use (hence the horrible smell associated with painting), can damage the environment and affect human health. B&Q has introduced a handy labelling system that tells you a product's 'VOC count'. There's some great info on the nasties found in paint here, as well as some great tips on where to dispose of old tins if you do over-buy.
• If you have an older home, have paint in your home tested for lead. If you have lead-based paint, cover it with wall paper or other material instead of sanding it or burning it off. Lead has been shown to be very harmful to human health, and is especially dangerous to babies and pregnant women.
• Mercury is very hazardous, but small amounts of it can be found in a small number of everyday items, including non-alkaline batteries, old-fashioned thermometres and fluorescent bulbs. While fluorescent bulbs are worth keeping for their low energy consumption, you should try to eliminate mercury from your home by avoiding these products where possible, and dispose of items containing mercury at an appropriate drop-off facility when necessary.
• Get all your cleaning products together and review their labels. If they contain substances you don't know about, google is your friend, so look them up and then decide if you want to keep them in your cupboard! Consider alternatives like baking soda, scouring pads, water, lemons or a little more elbow grease.
• If you've got a rodent problem, use humane traps instead of rat and mouse poisons and insect killers. Then take the trapped animals to a safe spot and release them.
Chlorine bleach also impairs the performance of the biological filters in sewage works by killing the bacteria in them, so more pollutants may be released into the waterways.
For actual bleaching purposes, various percarbonate based products are available, which are more environmentally sound if not exactly harmless...
Very good article. Thanks.
Posted by: Mr.B | November 1, 2007 9:10 AM