Creating a healthy home

Keep Your Home Clean & Healthy at the Same Time By Renée Sande If you feel the need to suit up like a surgeon before scrubbing your sinks, or warn family members to evacuate before you scour the shower, step away from the mask and gloves, and read on. Eliminating every germ in our homes unfortunately seems to be the thing many homeowners aspire to these days. But did you know those dangerous, toxic chemicals you’re using don’t just evaporate into thin air? According to Ellen Sandbeck, a.k.a. “the Nontoxic Avenger,” in “ Organic Housekeeping,” total elimination efforts actually contribute to unhealthy air quality and can even “create an ‘overly clean,’ chemically bombed-out house that compromises immune systems? “More than 50 million Americans suffering from allergies and other autoimmune diseases—not to mention developing and fragile immune systems of children and seniors—are actually being made sicker by their homes,” said Sandbeck in her book. So are there healthy alternatives? Look in spice cupboards, pantries or bathroom cupboards and you may already have ingredients for baking or treatment of “owies.” The effect? A home that will sparkle and gleam and help to keep your family healthy at the same time. Lemon What makes lemons powerful cleansers? They have a high acid content, and can become a powerful antibacterial sanitizer that combats common household bacteria. Chrome: Eliminate tarnish and mineral deposits on chrome by rubbing with a squeezed lemon half, followed with a rinse, and a light buff with a soft cloth. Add salt or baking powder to brighten copper cookware, as well as brass or stainless steel. Rub on affected area, let sit for five minutes, rinse in warm water and polish dry. Grease: First sprinkle some salt (for abrasion) on a juiced lemon half and rub on greasy areas, then wipe with a towel. (Do not use on marble countertops; they’re sensitive to acid). Minerals: For mineral deposit build-up on tea kettles or coffee pots, fill the kettle with water, add a handful of thin slices of lemon peel and bring to boil. Turn off heat and let sit for an hour, drain, and rinse well. For coffee pots, add ice, salt and lemon rinds to the empty pot; swish and swirl for a minute or two, dump, and rinse. Microwaves: Add lemon rinds to a microwave-safe bowl filled halfway with water. Cook on high for 5 minutes, allowing water to boil and steam to condense on the walls and tops of the oven. Carefully remove the hot bowl and wipe away the mess with a towel. Salt Salt works as an effective yet gentle scouring agent, and a catalyst for other ingredients like vinegar to boost cleaning and deodorizing action. For a basic soft scrub, make a paste of salt, baking soda and dish soap and use on appliances, enamel, porcelain, etc. Ovens: If your salmon surprise bubbles over, sprinkle a handful of salt on the spill. It won’t smoke and smell, but will bake into a crust that makes the mess easier to clean when cooled. Sanitize Drains. Pour salt mixed with hot water down the kitchen sink regularly to deodorize and keep grease from building up. Remove Water Rings. Gently rub a thin paste of salt and vegetable oil on the white marks caused by beverage glasses and hot dishes on wooden tables. De-stain Cups Mix salt with a dab of dish soap to make a soft scrub for stubborn coffee and tea stains. Baking Soda Baking soda not only is non-toxic and makes a great multi-purpose cleaner. It’s cheap, especially when purchased in bulk. Eradicate Rashes: Put two tablespoons in your baby’s bathwater to help relieve diaper rash, and your bath water to relieve skin irritations. Apply directly (with a little water to make a paste) onto other rashes, insect bites, and poison ivy irritations. Reduce Heartburn: A teaspoon of baking soda mixed with half a glass of water can mellow heartburn’s onset. Remove Burned-on Crusts: Fill pot or pan with 2 tablespoons baking soda per quart of water and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let cool. The carbonized crust lifts right off. For dishes that can’t be heated on a stovetop, heat in 350-degree oven. When water begins to steam, turn oven off and let cool. Absorb Odors: Mix with water and rub on your hands after handling stinky foods such as onion, garlic or fish; sprinkle in bottom of garbage can to absorb odors. Vinegar & Hydrogen Peroxide Both substances are all-natural, utterly harmless to humans, pets and the environment, and are superior cleaning agents, says Sandbeck. (Important: use 3 percent consumer strength hydrogen peroxide; laboratory strength is 30 percent and is a strong oxidizer which can start fires.) Although the two substances can be used together, keep in separate spray bottles as hydrogen peroxide is delicate and will readily break down into pure water. Use an opaque bottle for hydrogen peroxide as it will degrade if exposed to light or heat. Sinks: Pour a little consumer strength (3 percent) hydrogen peroxide on a clean, wet cloth, rub it on the stain, and rinse it off immediately. Don’t allow it to sit on the surface for more than a couple of seconds. Disinfect: Spray raw produce and even meats, including red meat, fish or poultry, first with vinegar, then with hydrogen peroxide. No rinsing necessary. Whiten Whites: Add 1 cup of Hydrogen Peroxide to your next load of whites for a safe alternative to bleach. Stop Sweat Stains: Shortly after you remove your washable garment, spray armpits with white vinegar to prevent sweat from setting. Launder later. Stop Soap Scum: Heat up a pot of vinegar, apply to shower and/or tub walls with a cotton rag, then scrub with a stiff-bristled brush (heat up the vinegar in your microwave, and it will help steam off any stubborn food spills for easy clean-up).