The Good Human » Natural Cleaning

9 Ways To Use Essential Oils In Place Of Toxic Chemicals.

david — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:30:07 +0000

You could go to the store and buy a whole bunch of toxic air fresheners, laundry detergents, cleaning supplies, or personal care products…but why would you? Using natural essential oils in place of some of those products is better for you and the planet, so it’s a no-brainer!

Here are a few ways to use essential oils at home instead of products containing chemicals. If you have your own recipes and/or uses, please let us know about them in the comments!

Instead of scented laundry detergent, put a few drops of an essential oil onto a small cloth and put it in the dryer with the clothes.
Stinky shoes? Put a drop of anything smelling better than your shoes, into your shoes!
Is it fall yet? Add clove oil to a simmering pot of water.
Mix a favorite oil and water in a spray bottle to make a non-toxic air freshener.
Ease headaches by rubbing Lavender essential oil onto your neck or your temples.
Deodorize your carpet with baking soda and your favorite essential oil. Add a few drops to a box of baking soda and sprinkle on the carpet. Wait an hour or 2 and then vacuum the carpet.
Mix white vinegar with a few drops of oil for a homemade cleaner.
Citronella oil makes an amazing mosquito repellent. Add to existing candles to keep them away.
Tea tree oil mixed with water does a great job of cleaning windows and mirrors.

What would you add to the list?

Photo from Shutterstock

Post from: The Good Human

9 Ways To Use Essential Oils In Place Of Toxic Chemicals.

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How To Find A Green Dry Cleaner Near You.

david — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:30:41 +0000

I am sure that most people by now realize that typical dry cleaning chemicals are extremely toxic and dangerous to both humans and the environment. The main culprit is the chemical Perchloroethylene which is a central nervous system depressant, and inhaling its vapors (particularly in closed, poorly ventilated areas) can cause dizziness, headache, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in speaking and walking, unconsciousness, and death. Sounds lovely, huh? Nothing like a little toxicity to go along with your “clean” sweater, no? And as much as we should all be trying to buy products that do not need dry cleaning, there are alternatives out there if you look for them.

Photo from Shutterstock

Where I used to live in California, there were several dry cleaning places that were considered “green” in that they do not use Perchloroethylene or other chemical compounds (I have no green dry cleaners where I live now). The most common non-toxic dry cleaning method is is “wet cleaning”, which uses water and non-toxic, biodegradable detergents to clean sensitive fabrics. For a searchable database of wet cleaners around the country, check out Earth 911.

Another way to have your things “dry-cleaned” would be to use a CO2 cleaner which uses natural liquid carbon dioxide (the stuff that makes your soda bubble). Although I prefer the wet cleaning method, it looks like CO2 cleaning is catching on. If you want to read a little more about it, check out Green Apple Cleaners in New York City. And if you want to find a CO2 cleaner in your area, take a look at Find CO2.

Really, the most important thing to do is to stop going to dry cleaners that are still using perchloroethylene to “clean” your goods. It’s bad for you, bad for the workers at the store, and bad for the environment. Try to find a wet or CO2 cleaner in your neighborhood if you can; the less chemicals we all use the better off we will all be.

Post from: The Good Human

How To Find A Green Dry Cleaner Near You.

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Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Bleach.

david — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:30:18 +0000

While I am finishing up my vacation, hope you find this post from 2007 helpful in your “green” quests!

By now I am sure that most of you know that bleach is incredibly toxic to both you and the environment around you. As I have mentioned before, chlorine bleach releases dioxin, furans and other organochlorines into the air, can cause sore throats, coughs, wheezing, shortness of breath, fluid in the lungs and studies have shown a relationship between dioxin exposure and cancer, birth defects, and developmental/reproductive disorders. Sounds like something you should be using to wash your clothes in, right? And although the above is all true, bleach is still the chemical of choice for whiter whites…but there are alternatives that are much safer for your family that you could be using. Let’s take a look.

First up, you should look at the ingredients in whatever product you use. The following ingredients can be used in varying amounts to whiten and clean your clothes: vinegar, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen, borax, washing soda, sodium hydrosulfite (salt & water). Do not combine them all together…who knows what would happen! I just wanted to let you know that these ingredients are much safer alternatives to chlorine bleach. Hydrogen peroxide, which sounds the most dangerous of all the above, breaks down into water and oxygen in the wastewater.

Besides making your own versions of whiteners from lemon or vinegar or borax, there are several brands available that come pre-made and ready to use. They are proven to be very effective in getting your clothes whiter while being safe for use around your family.

Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Bleach – Is color safe, non-toxic, biodegradable, phosphate-free, safe for septic systems and is not tested on animals. Consists of natural oxygen safe bleach, oxygen bleach stabilizer, deionized water.

Ecover Non-Chlorine Bleach – No chlorine or optical brighteners, completely biodegradable, not tested on animals and is even approved by the Vegan Society. Consists of 100% percarbonate, which is composed of salt, limestone and oxygenated water.

Bi-O-Kleen Oxygen Bleach Plus – No chemical cold-water activators or optical brighteners, no metasilicates, borax, or caustics, chlorine and borine free.

Earth Friendly Oxo Brite Non-Chlorine Bleach – Ingredients are sodium percarbonate and sodium carbonate. Free of enzymes, phosphates, chlorine, DEA and petroleum ingredients.

Of course, this post is mostly about bleach alternatives for washing your clothes, but the same type of ingredients can be used to clean your kitchen and/or bathroom. Bon Ami makes a great safe scrubber and vinegar makes a real good mold killer. So the next time you are about to pick up a bottle of bleach, do yourself a favor and try out a bleach alternative…your family and the environment will thank you!

Post from: The Good Human

Eco-Friendly Alternatives To Bleach.

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Soap In A Nutshell – Doing Laundry With Soapnuts.

david — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:00:45 +0000

*Update – Soap In A Nutshell is now giving 10% off any orders if you mention The Good Human. So if you are interested in ordering any, just be sure to mention that when you are checking out.

A few weeks ago, the people from Soap In A Nutshell contacted me to see if I would be interested in trying out their soapnuts here at home, and I jumped at the chance. I had always been curious about soapnuts and how they actually get your laundry clean, so getting to test them on my own laundry was going to be pretty cool. But before I get to the results, some of you might be wondering just what a soapnut actually is, and you wouldn’t be alone in your question – probably not too many people have heard of them!

A soapnut, or Sapindus Mukorossi, is found in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres and comes from several different kinds of trees and shrubs. The term soapnut refers to the crushed seeds that contain saponin, a natural detergent, which has been used by people to clean clothes for a very long time. Soapnuts are also used medically as an expectorant, emetic, contraceptive, and for treatment of excessive salivation, epilepsy, chlorosis, and migraines. Sounds like good stuff, no? And according to these guys and other sources on the internet, there are many advantages to using soap nuts instead of other cleaning agents:

Sustainable, bio-degradable and renewable
Anti-microbial
Hypoallergenic
Multifunctional – laundry, cleaning solutions, shampoo, pet wash, etc.
No need for fabric softener

Well, the soapnuts arrived at the house with a little cotton bag that you actually put them in before putting them in with the laundry. According to the directions, 2-3 soapnuts in the bag is all you need to clean a load of laundry, and they can be reused up to 5 times. In between use you take them out of the pouch and let them dry, and once they have been used the maximum amount of times you can either boil them in water to make a cleaning solution or you can throw them in our compost bin. I think I will try the boiling route, as I should try to get one more use out of them before composting them. If I remember, I will post about that here too. But back to the results – I washed a load of white towels and a load of dark stuff like jeans, and both loads came out just as clean as when I use my regular eco-detergent. The white towels came out white (and not the color of the soapnuts, which I honestly was worried about) and were actually softer than normal (I hang them outside to dry). Overall I was pretty happy about the fact that these little soapnuts actually clean the same as the bottles and boxes of detergent that we all buy, and at a fraction of the cost too. On the website, they say that 100 grams of soapnuts will wash at least 40 loads of laundry, meaning each load only costs $.19 to wash; that is very cost effective even compared to what I usually use.

So if you were curious about soapnuts like me and were not sure if they were effective – they are. I have been reading and hearing about them for years now and never got around to trying them, but they work even better than I thought they were going to. If you want to learn more about them or try them for yourself, you can check out the guys over at Soap In A Nutshell.

*Update – Soap In A Nutshell is now giving 10% off any orders if you mention The Good Human. So if you are interested in ordering any, just be sure to mention that when you are checking out.

Post from: The Good Human

Soap In A Nutshell – Doing Laundry With Soapnuts.

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