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Baking soda, borax, white vinegar and lemons.
That’s all you need to start "green cleaning" this spring, a cheap, healthy and environmentally conscious way to reduce the use of toxic chemicals inside your home.
Why use lemons as natural air fresheners or use distilled white vinegar to deodorize your cutting board? As the Sioux say, "The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives."
Green products are less likely to release toxins into lakes, rivers, oceans and ground water. They’re less likely to cause air pollution and skin irritation.
And they're safer for you and your children. The ingredients in many common household cleaning products have not been adequately tested for safety and studies have linked exposure to a number of health disorders, from asthma to cancer.
On the environmental front,
"If each household in Chicago switched to cleaning products that contain low levels of volatile organic compounds, it would remove as many hydrocarbons as taking 28,793 cars off the road," according to Clean Air Counts, a northeastern Illinois regional initiative working to improve air quality to foster economic development.
It’s not hard to do. Here are six natural household cleaning tips from Clean Air Counts, a program of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus.
- White vinegar cuts greasy residue. Use it to clean windows, counter tops, chrome, greasy surfaces and floors.
- Borax disinfects, deodorizes, kills mold and mildew and is great for laundry. Use it for toilets, tubs and floors. It’s available in the detergent aisle at most grocery stores and the cleaning aisles of hardware stores such as Ace Hardware and Home Depot.
- Baking soda can be placed around the home in small bowls to absorb odors. It also cleans sinks and is great for laundry. Lemons are a great natural air freshener.
- Make your own furniture polish by mixing two parts any vegetable oil with one part lemon juice.
- To get stuck-on food off a pot or pan: sprinkle salt, add cool water, leave for one hour then wipe clean.
- Buy non-toxic, biodegradable dishwashing detergents that do not contain chlorine or phosphates. Products include Bioshield Dishwasher Concentrate, Earth Friendly Dishmate, Ecover Dish Liquid, Naturally Yours Dishwashing Detergent, Seventh Generation Automatic Dish Powder and Seventh Generation Dish Liquid.
And finally, here’s a recipe for an all-purpose cleaner:
4 teaspoons Borax
½ teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
2 cups hot water
Spray bottle
Combine the Borax, soap or detergent and water in a spray bottle. Shake to blend. Spritz the area and wipe with a clean soft rag. For harder spots, let the cleanser sit for five minutes before wiping.
*reprinted with permission from the author.
NOTE FROM JULIE MURAD:
All of the ingredients listed in the above green cleaning tips are generally considered benign and safe around parrots. Remember that parrots have highly specialized respiratory systems and are able to utilize oxygen far more efficiently than humans. As a result, they are far more sensitive to any environmental particulates (minute airborne particles) than we are. Even the safest, non-toxic cleaner - once aerosolized - can become a deadly danger for your companion parrot.
The Birdbrain recommends dampening a towel with the cleaning agent instead of putting the mixture into a spray bottle if the liquid will be used in close proximity to your pet birds. Applying the cleaning liquid with a towel does not cause the cleaning agents to become airborne in the same manner as when sprayed. Please, exercise caution whenever cleaning around your bird, or in fact, whenever using any aerosolized liquid, with the exception of plain water. Remember that many commercially available cleaning products contain ingredients that can be toxic to your bird.
If you must spray any surfaces in the area surrounding your bird, remove your bird completely from that room and put it safely in another separate location. When cleaning with or using any sprayed liquids (except water), make certain that the area is well ventilated. With the cooler temperatures ahead for many of us in the cooler climes, securely closed windows can trap airborne particulates potentially harmful to your housebound bird. Product safety and prevention are the safest approaches for your household cleaning chores, no matter the season! |
