Healthy and Green Living » Non-Toxic Cleaning

Environmental Poisoning: Is Your Home Hurting You?

Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:01:16 +0000

By Sally Lehrman, Natural Solutions It’s not easy to know if your home sweet home could be making you sick, because symptoms of environmental illness (a long list that can include irritation of the eyes, throat, skin, and nasal passages, as well as headaches and fatigue) can have many causes. But your house may indeed be [...]

Pesticides Linked to Parkinson’s Disease

Melissa Breyer — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:10:24 +0000

Watching a loved one endure the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease is not an easy matter–it’s been heartbreaking for me, at least. But perhaps even more frustrating are the findings of a new study linking pesticides with the disease. According to a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Neurology, people whose jobs [...]

Is Your Pet a Toxic Dumping Ground?

Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:00:29 +0000

You work hard to reduce your family’s exposure to household toxins, but your pets may face a greater risk than you, says Olga Naidenko, PhD, senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, “Where do our pets spend their time? They sleep on the couch, roll around on the carpet, and get dust carrying toxic chemicals [...]

20 Great Uses for Tea Tree Oil

Robyn, selected from Planet Green — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:02:40 +0000

In 2006, the world consumed more than 3.5 billion gallons of oil per day. A lot of that oil has caused environmental damage and conflicts between nations. But there is one type of oil that’s green, sustainable, healthy, and–as far as I know–has never been the rationale behind a major military intervention: tea tree oil. Tea [...]

How to Remove Stains and Pet Odors from Rugs

Annie B. Bond — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:01:54 +0000

Soon we will be closing our homes up for the cooler weather, leaving us face-to-face with rugs and carpets that look and smell less than fresh: a wine spill here, a pet accident there--and you can end up with a real mess underfoot. But commercial carpet cleaners and fresheners can contain synthetic ingredients that can harm you and your pets.

Health Hazards of Stain Removers

Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:03:29 +0000

What could be more satisfying than clean laundry? Well, how abut the fact that hard-working appliances and detergents do the scrubbing, rinsing, and wringing for us. Yet all this spot-be-gone wizardry comes with a dirty secret: The chemicals in conventional stain-removal products can qualify as health hazards. Melissa McCarty, ND, at the Bastyr Center for Natural [...]

Out with the Mold

Terri Hall-Jackson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:13:59 +0000

Returning from vacation recently, my family was welcomed back by an unwelcome house guest: mold. Our basement, which is usually aired out through open windows, had been shut tight for a little over a week. A funky smell hit our noses as we went downstairs, and we discovered the creepy, whitish fuzz on the back [...]

Stained Car Interior? Natural Stain Removal Recipes for Your Car

Robyn, selected from Planet Green — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:21:34 +0000

Commuters spend a lot of time in their cars: transporting kids, business colleagues, drinking coffee, eating meals. All this makes a vehicle’s interior very susceptible to stains. While there are an abundance of products designated for cleaning your automotive interior, some of your best stain removal options are actually the natural ones. Before we begin [...]

Tips for Keeping Your Summer Whites White

Annie B. Bond — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:00:21 +0000

Now we're officially in summer and we can start wearing our summer white clothing again. Only trouble is, whites don't seem to stay white very long!

Here are our best tips for keeping those whites looking as crisp and pristine as they do the first day you wear them, without resorting to harmful chlorine bleaching.

Triclosan Found in Dolphins

Mel, selected from Food & Water Watch — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:02:48 +0000

We’ve got some disturbing news. Researchers have reported that triclosan was found in the blood of bottlenose dolphins. This goes to show that the consequences of overusing a pesticide like triclosan are incredibly far-reaching and dangerous. It is well known that marine mammals, forced to swim in polluted waters, become contaminated with persistent organic pollutants. [...]