Are Your Household Cleaners Safe?

What common cleaning product is:

• Linked to reproductive harm
• can cause irritation and tissue damage from inhalation
• Exposure for 15 min while cleaning the shower, could inhale 3x the acute exposure limit
• Toxic to kidneys and liver
• exposure through the skin

This is not something that you would use if you knew that, right? Unfortunately, this IS a common household cleaning product -- Windex.

Is there an alternative? Absolutely - and it cleans better and is less expensive than Windex.


Basic H2® is all you need for thousands of household jobs

Ultra-concentrated – 16 ounces makes up to 48 gallons of super powerful cleaner when mixed with water.


Versatile and powerful cleaner – removes dirt, grease, and grime from any washable surface, inside and out. Dilute according to directions.


No rinse, no residue, streak-free formula

Protect your health - Go Green - click here for more information

Chemicals In Your Home Causing Weight Gain?

I've been reading the Body Restoration Plan by Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton. I highly recommend this book. She explains how the toxic chemicals in our food and environment damage our body, causing weight gain especially around the 'middle'.

Dr. Baillie-Hamilton shows you how to identify which foods have the highest chemicals, how to detoxify, how to rid your home of these dangerous toxins and much much more!

She gives compelling evidence linking the rise in the number of people overweight and the growth in synthetic chemicals.

Check out her web site to learn more
and then when you want to start eliminating those toxins - come here -

Remove the Lead in Your Water

Yes, these 11 are the most frequently found compounds in your water. Plus there are lots more!

Did you know that up to 20% of lead exposure comes from your water?

Long term exposure to lead in infants and children may cause reduced IQ,learning disabilities, and impaired growth.

In Adults, long-term exposure to lead may cause kidney problems, nerve disorders, and high blood pressure!

What's in Your Water? Here are a few of the most common things found in our water.

1. Disinfection By-products: Long-term exposure may cause increased risk of cancer, as well as liver, kidney, or central nervous system problems.
2. Heavy Metals: Even at low levels, long-term exposure may cause behavioral problems and learning disabilities
3. Agricultural Pollutants: Long-term exposure may cause increased risk of cancer, as well as eye, liver, kidney, spleen, blood, and nervous system problems
4. Industrial Pollutants: Long-term exposure may cause increased risk of cancer, as well as blood, nervous system, kidney, and liver problems.

So why not just use bottled water? Here are a few reasons not to:

1. Bad Choice for Your Wallet
• Bottled water is 100s to 1,000s time more expensive than tap water
2. Bad Choice for the Environment
• 1.5 million barrels of oil are used in the production of bottled water each year—enough to fuel 50,000 cars for one year
• 1,640,000 tons of packaging waste come from bottled water
• Only 34% of water bottles are recycled

3. Bottled water may not be contaminant free.
The Environmental Working Group found 10 popular brands had a total of 38 contaminants

What can you do to protect yourself?
GET EDUCATED
1. Learn what’s in your water at: epa.gov/safewater/ccr
2. Research how your water gets from your municipality to your tap

Get a Get Clean Water system
This system is certified to remove up to 99% of lead--compare that to the competition! Its refillable solid carbon block filter (a first in a water pitcher) is made from sustainable material using a zero-emissions process, and it handles the equivalent of 600 bottles (16.9 oz.) of water. Check it out

Clean Up Your Cleaners!

Chemicals that are in household products are linked to eye irritation, headaches, asthma and so much more.

See the President's Cancer Panel report to learn more about how to reduce the risk of environmental cancer. We already are exposed to a chemical soup in our everyday lives, and our homes should be the safest place we know.... use safe, non-toxic and natural cleaners wherever possible.

Risk of Developing Asthma May Be Caused By Household Cleaning Products

I shared the info about the CDC 'going green'. Here is some research on why this is important and why YOU should also consider using non-toxic cleaning products.

Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of developing asthma in children. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in the developed world and has become more common in the last 30 years. In a 2004 study published in the journal Thorax, it was found that that many common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of developing asthma in children. It was concluded that, “Domestic exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) at levels [even] below currently accepted recommendations may increase the risk of childhood asthma." VOCs are found in many household products and may also be embedded in the house itself as part of the paint, flooring, or furniture. Source: Rumchev, K. et al. (2004).Thorax, 59(9), 746-751.

Using household cleaning sprays and air fresheners as little as once a week can raise the risk of developing asthma in adults. The epidemiological study, the first to investigate the effects of cleaning products in occasional users rather than occupational users, found that cleaning sprays, especially air fresheners, furniture cleaners and glass cleaners, had a particularly strong relation to increased asthma risk in adults. “The relative risk rates of developing adult asthma in relation to exposure to cleaning products could account for as much as 15 percent, or one in seven adult asthma cases,” according to Dr. Zock. Source: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Vol 176. pp. 735-741, (2007)

Reduce the chemicals in your home - Learn more

You can buy non-toxic cleaners here

CDC Only Allowing Green Cleaning Products

The CDC just came out with a policy for all of their offices to become chemical free and fragrance free.

No products that emit fragrance will be allowed - they must be odor free. Only Green cleaning products will be allowed.

In the report it states:

"CDC encourages employees to be as fragrance-free as possible when they arrive in the workplace. Fragrance is not appropriate for a professional work environment, and the use of some products with fragrance may be detrimental to the health of workers with chemical sensitivities, allergies, asthma, and chronic headaches/migraines."

Employees should avoid using scented detergents and fabric softeners on clothes worn to the office. Many fragrance-free personal care and laundry products are easily available and provide safer alternatives.

If the CDC thinks cleaners and products with fragrance is detrimental to health - what are you doing about it in your home? Check out these products.

Toxic Chemicals in Your Home

I have been reading some amazing research on what the toxic chemicals are doing to adults and children

Here are a few for your to ponder:

Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight children drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air than adults. The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food or air. Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002).Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children’s health. Journal of Toxicology: ClinicalToxicology, 40(4), 449-456.

Faster metabolisms in children speed up their absorption of contaminants. “Children absorb a greater proportion of many substances from the intestinal tract or lung,” says pediatrician Dr. Philip Landrigan. “For example, children take up approximately half of the lead that they swallow while adults absorb only about one-tenth.” Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).

Babies don't excrete contaminants or store them away in fat in the same ways that adults do, making the poisons more available to affect rapidly growing bodies. Furthermore, because a baby’s immune system is not fully functional, a baby’s body cannot counteract toxic effects as well as an adult can. In an adult, a blood-brain barrier insulates the brain from many of the potentially harmful chemicals circulating through the body. But in a human child, that barrier isn't fully developed until six months after birth. Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).

Children exposed in the womb are at greatest risk of all. Because cellular structures change so rapidly during embryonic and fetal growth, a toxic exposure at the wrong moment can permanently alter further development. According to Dr. Landrigan, the central nervous system is especially vulnerable. To function properly, the developing brain must lay down an intricate web of interconnecting neurons. Small doses of neurotoxins during critical periods of brain development can alter those crucial neural pathways – one mistake early on, and the brain may be forever changed in subtle or serious ways. Government and university scientists are currently investigating the possibility of a connection between fetal exposures to toxics and developmental disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).


Reduce the chemicals in your home - Learn more

You can buy non-toxic cleaners here

Earth Day - Get Clean: Safe. Powerful. Smart. Green

What is the best cleaning product? According to Real Simple it is Basic H2.

Basic H². is the flagship product of Shaklee’s Get Clean line of green household cleaning and laundry products. Introduced at Shaklee’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2006, Get Clean has quickly risen to become the #1 green cleaning line in the U.S. Get Clean has received accolades in many major magazines, TV shows, books and blogs. Including being one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things.

What makes Get Clean so fantastic is that it was created based on a few simple beliefs:
Safe. Home should be the safest place in the whole world. Did you know that many everyday cleaning products are designated as household hazardous waste and are recommend to be disposed of at your local chemical waste disposal center? All the Get Clean products are non-toxic, hypoallergenic, with no harmful fumes, and no harmful chemicals.

Powerful. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice powerful convictions for powerful cleaners. And vice versa. Today you don’t have to choose between harsh chemical cleaners that aren’t environmentally friendly indoors or out, or other eco-friendly cleaners that don’t clean well. Get Clean has been proven to outperform 12 national brands. And if you don’t think Get Clean products work better than the other cleaners you’ve gotten used to, you get your money back.

Green. Cleaning house shouldn’t involve dirtying the earth. Get Clean uses sustainably sourced natural ingredients, biodegradable surfactants, recyclable packaging, and ZERO chemicals that are harmful to the planet. And when you buy the Get Clean Starter Kit instead of the stuff you probably buy, you keep 108 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills and you eliminate 248 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.

Smart. Save money while saving the earth. Did you know that when you buy some common cleaners, a lot of what you’re buying is water? Shaklee makes a more economical cleaner by making it concentrated. That’s why Get Clean™ is such an awesome value. You’d have to shell out more than $3,400 at the grocery store to get the same amount of clean you get in the Get Clean Starter Kit!

Get the Real Dirt on Clean

Is Your Drinking Water Safe?

Do you know what is in your drinking water? Now you can find out. The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has done the research.

I live in a small rural community and we have our own well for the neighborhood. Even our community well had the results posted on the EWG website. I was impressed! Check out what you have been drinking from your home faucet

Do you think you might want to filter your water? This is what I use

House Cleaning and Health Safety

I have made several posts on house cleaning and health safety. This is an area I am passionate about.

Are you Giving Your Child Toxins?
Safer, Toxin Free Home Environment
Did You Know?
How Household Cleaners Affect Children
Your Home Is a Toxic Waste Dump
Questioning the Chemicals in Your Cleaners

Yes, the cleaning products you use can affect your health. But how can you tell if what you are using is causing some of your health problems?

Here's a little test to find out. The test was taken from the book, Green Goes with Everything by Sloan Barnett. (The book is listed in my favorites on the right)

Check any of the following that apply in these two lists.
1. Do you:

• suffer from asthma?
• cough frequently?
• suffer from chronic congestion?
• have bouts of sneezing?
• have irritated eyes?
• often have a runny or stuffy nose?
• have persistent itching?
• suffer frequent headaches?
• often feel fatigued?

As Sloan points out, there may be other causes for the above symptoms, but answer the questions in this second list.

2. Do you:

• frequently use conventional household cleaning products?
• often wear makeup?
• microwave food in plastic containers?
• drink a lot of water bottled in plastic containers?
• have a lot of your clothes dry-cleaned?
• experience more intense symptoms the more you're at home?
• find the symptoms go away when you're on vacation?
• find your children's symptoms disappear in school and then return at home?
• have wall-to-wall carpeting?
• use air conditioners or humidifiers?
• have a pest control company contract?
• find your house to be damp or humid?
• find excessive moisture on your windows, walls or ceiling?

You may want to consider whether some of the items on the second list are causing the symptoms on the first list!

Organic Weed Control - Good Bye to Dandelions

Finally the weather has gotten nicer and the lawn is finally turning green. Of course, that means the dandelions and other weeds are growing too. That caused an interesting 'discussion' between my husband and myself. I am really trying to eliminate or reduce the amount of chemicals/toxins that we are exposed to and really didn't want to be adding a chemical weed and feed on my lawn.

I read about digging them out and putting vinegar on them to kill them. Yes those will eliminate the dandelions, but we have 1.5 acres of lawn. That would take forever and cause a major back-ache.

I found a great article that mentioned several ways to organically rid yourself of those dandelions.

The one that my husband and I could compromise on is Corn Gluten Meal. It is an organic weed 'n feed. We went to our local 'farm' store and they had it.

It is good to know that there is an organic alternative. Good-bye Dandelions!

Children Exposed to Toxins

Wow, I just read that Fire Retardant Chemical is found at 3 times the level in Children than in adults.

That is partly because children are touching things that have that chemical and then put their hands and other objects into their mouths so that the chemical then gets into their bodies.

Also, young children eat far more than adults relative to their body mass, exposing them to a higher relative dose of toxins through their diet.

Health problems related to this? It says in the article that "a single dose of PBDEs during brain development can lead to permanently altered behavior patterns."

You can read the article here

Did You Know?

• In 2005, 218,316 reported poison exposures came from household cleaning products

• Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of asthma in children

• The EPA says that only a fraction of the more than 81,500 registered chemicals have gone through testing for human health concerns. 81,500 represents approximately one in every 750 known chemicals

• The EPA lists the following household cleaning products as ‘hazardous waste” – oven cleaners, drain cleaners, wood and metal cleaners and polishes, toilet cleaners, tub, tile and shower cleaners and bleach.

• The average US household generates more than 20 pounds of household hazardous waste per year, and the average home can accumulate as much as 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in the basement and garage and in storage closets.

Because children drink more water, breathe more air, are more active than we are, and eat more food than adults, they also take in much higher concentrations of toxic chemicals. Our children’s growing and developing bodies are especially vulnerable to harm caused by toxic chemicals. Rates of certain diseases linked to environmental exposures in children are increasing at alarming rates. Here are some stats that may cause you to think really hard about the toxins we have in our homes.

• Cancer rates in children have increased 28% between 1975 and 1998.

• In the last 25 years the number of children who suffer from asthma has doubled to more than 8%

• Nearly 12 million children have one or more learning, developmental, or behavioral disabilities.

Is there anything you can do? ABSOLUTELY! GO GREEN – GET CLEAN

Safer, Toxin Free Home Environment

Have you heard about the dangers that everyday cleaners pose for you and your family? The statistics of what the toxins are doing to us and our families are terrifying.

Did you know that:
• 50% of all illness is because the air inside the home is of poor quality? (1989 State of Massachusetts Stody) and that an EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air. Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air. CMHC reports that houses today are so energy efficient that “outgassing” of chemicals has no where to go, so it builds up inside the home.

• Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure

• ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds. Use of Ritalin has skyrocketed since 1990.

• Of the chemicals found in personal care products, 884 are toxic, 146 cause tumors, 218 cause reproductive complications, 314 cause biological mutation, 376 cause skin and eye irritations. (U.S. House of Representatives report, 1989)

• In one decade, there has been a 42% increase in asthma, 29% for men; 82% for women. The higher rate for women is believed to be due to women’s longer exposure times to household chemicals. (Center for Disease Control)

That is scary!

So what can you do? Safe, non-toxic cleaners are available. Check out the non-toxic cleaners. If you have any questions or want more information, call me toll free at 1-866-811-5357

Are You Giving Your Child Toxins Each Day?

Naturally, we would not knowingly,give our children toxins, but do you know how safe your laundry and cleaning products are?

Each day you are exposed to more than 123 chemicals through your skin and mouth – the vast majority of which have never been screened for safety by the FDA.

Analysis of cord blood of newborn babies at Mt. Sinai Hospital found more than 200 chemicals already in the blood stream at birth!

What do we do when we bring a new baby home from the hospital? We make sure that they are safe – the best car seat, baby gates, electric plug covers, locks on cabinets to keep them safe from hazardous household chemicals.

But when the baby goes to sleep, we get those same chemicals out and spray them all over the baby’s environment – the high chair tray they eat off; the floor they crawl on, the air they breathe. It just doesn’t make sense!

There are 80 scary chemicals in many of the products we use every day.

Let’s look at some of the most common hazardous household chemicals and which ones may be hiding out in your bathroom….laundry room…or under your sink.

All the information I’m sharing here comes directly from a government watchdog group National Institutes of Health

Check out some of the products you may be using. One company you will find does not have any of these toxic chemicals is Shaklee. You can check out those products at http://www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/ingredients.htm

Ok – let’s start off with Sodium Hydroxide:

*Causes 75% o all caustic injury to the esophagus of kids under 5 years old
*Can cause burns in tissues – eyes, skin, mouth and throat
*Can cause irritation to the respiratory tract
*Can cause liver and kidney damage.

You wouldn’t want this in your dish products.

What common products have Sodium Hydroxide? Tide, Cascade, Clorox, Palmolive Gel, Clorox Spray, Spray and Wash, Tilex, 409, Shout

Next - Butyl Cellosolve

*Linked to reproductive harm
*Can cause irritation and tissue damage from inhalation
*Exposure for 15 min. while cleaning shower, could inhale 3x the acute exposure limit
*toxic to kidney and liver
*Exposure through the skin

Here are products with Butyle Cellosolve:

fantasik, 409, windex, simple green, pledge, glass plus

There are some other chemicals that are harmful too. Be sure to check your products at the government watchdog url. Look up these - hydochloric Acid, potassium hydroxide, and sulfamic acid.

Now, I know some of you have these products in your home – not because you want those chemicals – but because you didn’t realize there is anything else out there that can do the job.

There is a simple way that you can get all the chemicals out of your home-- use greener, safer alternatives that really work and save money at the same time.

Check them out here: Safe Green cleaners

Always safe....Always green....always works.....