Archive for the 'Bleach alternatives' Category

February 25, 2008 | Bleach alternatives, Vinegar, Essential oils, Cleaning products

What do they mean? When you’re looking for a cleaner, what’s important? There are different things you want your cleaner to do. Most of us assume that clean means germ-free, but in reality not all cleaners hit the mark. The use of these words on product labels is regulated by the EPA, and here’s what they say the words mean, along with some natural alternatives to keep your lymph nodes and liver free and clear: (more…)

January 14, 2008 | Bleach alternatives, Health, Essential oils, Cleaning products

What can cure a fungal infection? What can stop a drug-resistant strain of of staphylococcus (”staph infection”)? What can kill E. Coli and Salmonela on your countertops? Or clean just about any bacteria found in your bathroom? What can take care of gastrointestinal and bronchial infections? What can kill and prevent yeast infections faster than you can say Candida (that is, the bacteria that causes them)?

Oregano oil! (more…)

January 10, 2008 | Bleach alternatives, Being Green, Cleaning products

A question we get pretty frequently asks if natural cleaning methods will really get rid of the bacterias we don’t want in our homes. Sure, vinegar, baking soda, and lemon are great old wives’ tales, but do they really work? (more…)

November 28, 2007 | Bleach alternatives, Cleaning products

This week we received a question about when to use bleach. The thing is, for most purposes, I’d say never. And here’s why:

• Mold and mildew: On porous surfaces (grout, drywall, wood, etc.) mold grows deep into the surface. The way bleach is ionized prevents it from getting into the pores. Bleach is not an effective agent against mold and mildew. People believe it is because it kills some of the surface mold and bleaches the rest of it white - so that you don’t see it. But it won’t kill it all or inhibit the growth.
  • Alternatives: tea tree oil, cinnamon, chamomile, borax
• Bacteria and viruses: Bleach is thought by most to disinfect and sterilize virtually all bacteria and viruses. The fact is, it isn’t completely effective with organic material, nor does it kill E. Coli or other food borne microbes.
  • Alternatives: vinegar, baking soda, borax, lemon juice, tea tree oil, oregano oil

The dangers of bleach far outweigh the uses. The active ingredient in bleach is sodium hypochlorite, and it releases chlorine gases when acidified. It is corrosive and toxic by all routes of exposure (inhalation, touch, ingestion).  It can cause respiratory difficulties, vomiting, loss of consciousness, headache, and skin burns. Anyone who already has respiratory difficulties (asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc.) should not be exposed to it.

When is it useful? When something really needs to be whitened. Say, if you’re selling your home and everything needs to gleam. Of course, you’ll want to use good ventilation and dilute the bleach well. You also might want to consider using a bleach pen, hoping it won’t emit as much fumes.

October 10, 2007 | Bleach alternatives, Cleaning tips

When I look at the keyword searches that brought people here, I’m always a little surprised at what I find. One of the more frequent search phrases is “toilet encrusted” with, well, you can use your imagination on that one. Let me just set the record straight. If your toilet is encrusted, you might want to try cleaning it a little more often. Just a thought.

I get lots of people looking for information on bleach, and using it for different purposes. So here’s a run-down of some frequently asked questions.

• Using bleach to clean lettuce (or potatoes, carrots, apples, any fruit or vegetable)
  • Please don’t. You will ingest bleach residue. How much you ingest depends on how well you rinse, what type of water you have, what type of bleach you use, etc. Ingesting bleach is never good. For anyone. If you’re looking for a way to wash your fruits and veggies, get a veggie sponge from your local kitchen gadget store and use vinegar when you scrub. It’ll kill the germs and dissolve the dirt.
• Bleach to remove warts
  • Again, please don’t. Bleach can cause 3rd degree skin burns. And those leave nasty scars. There are better ways to get rid of warts. Ask your pharmacist. Or your doctor. Or check out these posts.
• Bleach to disinfect body
  • I don’t know if this refers to internal or external disinfecting. But either way, please don’t. For your own health and safety. Again, there are better ways to cleanse your body - inside and out. I recommend you look into it. Bleach is a very harsh chemical, and not meant for use on the skin, or internally ingested / absorbed / smoked. I don’t know what else you can do with it, but my preference is to leave it on the shelf at the grocery store.

June 19, 2007 | Bathroom, Laundry, Bleach alternatives, Vinegar, Cleaning tips, Cleaning products

A full 50% of the searches that lead people here have to do with bleach. I have a feeling there are people out there who are bothered by bleach (for health or ecological reasons) but don’t know how to clean without it. So, here are some suggestions. The main purposes for bleach are to whiten and disinfect. So here it is:

• To whiten stained spots on clothing: put some lemon juice on the spot, rub in a bit of salt, and leave it in the sun for an hour or two. It lifts the stain.
• To clean spills from health contaminants (raw meat or eggs in the kitchen, urine in the bathroom): Straight vinegar is a great disinfectant. I advise keeping a sponge with vinegar near your cutting boards for frequent use.
• To whiten laminate counter tops: Bon Ami - it’s a powder found at the grocery store in a canister - usually right next to Bar Keeper’s friend (which also works relatively well. But we prefer Bon Ami - it uses less elbow grease, and less elbow grease means more cleaning stamina!). We’ve removed coffee stains, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry stains, and marks from the bottom of pots and pans.
• To disinfect:
  • Borax: buy it in the supermarket where they sell detergents - in my grocery store it’s next to the powdered dishwasher detergents. Borax is a powder and is safe to mix with virtually anything. Combine it with some vinegar, lemon juice, or just plain water to clean virtually anything. It’s completely harmless and safe to use. Gloves and ventilation not required (as opposed to bleach).
  • Vinegar: it disinfects, kills mold, bacteria, and germs. (As an aside: bleach does not kill mold - it just whitens it so you don’t see it. But bleach will leave living mold spores that will continue to grow.) Vinegar’s potency is released when combined with salt, so for a nice strong disinfectant add some salt to your vinegar, dilute with water if you’d like, and spray away. I just used it to clean the toilet seat in the bathroom where my little girl is potty-training. It works remarkably well.

Any more alternative uses you need for bleach? Let me know and I’ll fill you in!

Bleach alternatives, Health

I love checking my blog stats for how people got to this blog. Sometimes it makes me laugh, other times I come across truly worrisome search terms. Like one I found today - “kill warts with bleach.” Please be aware that bleach is meant to be used with gloves. It is an acute skin irritant, and while it may kill warts (I don’t know if this is true), it could also kill or burn any other skin it comes into contact with. In fact, my staunch advice is to get rid of your bleach. It’s too hazardous and doesn’t pack enough punch to make the dangers worthwhile. If you’re a die-hard bleach addict, do your family a favor and at least switch to non-chlorinated version. But my suggestion… rid your house of the all bleach and thank me later.

Instead, try duct tape. (No, really, I’m serious)  I saw an article about it posted in my pediatrician’s office this morning when we were there to discuss Little Man’s seizures (it’s been a weird week), and I googled it when I got home. Here’s the procedure (from CBS news):

In the study, patients wore duct tape over their warts for six days. Then they removed the tape, soaked the area in water and used an emery board or pumice stone to scrape the spot. The tape was reapplied the next morning. The treatment continued for a maximum of two months or until the wart went away.