Thailand Detox

How to Do Chemical-Free Housekeeping

When the majority of us clean the house, we use a lot of different chemicals. Most of us have cleaning products like bleach and ammonia under our sinks and other products with chemicals we can’t even pronounce or know nothing about. While the chemical-filled cleaning products might do a good job of keeping our house clean, they might also be harming you and your family.

It is possible to get your house clean without using dangerous chemical. Chemical-free housekeeping can be done by using products with natural ingredients. This will allow you to have the clean house you want without exposing your family to danger. Here are few ideas:

• Instead of using furniture polish, use a quality microfiber cloth that you can use, wash and use again. These are costlier than just making rags out of old clothes but are great for dusting and will leave your wood and other surfaces shiny, clean and dust free.
• Use the power of steam. You can get your carpets and furniture clean and fresh smelling with a steam cleaner and it will be chemical-free. Other things that can be cleaned with a steam cleaner include wood floors and counters. You will have a damp but not wet surface when you use a steam cleaner so it will dry quickly.
• A new technology you can use is UV-C devices that remove germs from your home by using ultraviolet light. There are vacuum cleaners, air cleaners and wands that use UV-C technology.
• Instead of bleach, use hydrogen peroxide because it is as good at cleaning but less toxic. A little hydrogen peroxide in the wash will keep your whites white and even treat mold that may be in your home.
• Always have baking soda handy. Baking soda is used in many recipes but it is also a good cleaning product. It can help you get out stains from clothing and other fabrics and keep odors away from fabric, carpet and more. Baking soda will help you get even the grimiest dishes sparkling clean and is great for scrubbing counter tops. You can add baking soda to your dishwasher or washer instead of regular detergents. The baking soda in your fridge that keeps it odor-free can later be used for cleaning.
• Use vinegar to disinfect almost any surface in your home and get rid of mold and bacteria. Vinegar is great for keeping glass and mirrors sparkling clean and can be used along with baking soda to clear up clogs in your drains. Vinegar is also used to disinfect your dishwasher and clean things like coffee pots that are hard to get into.

It is going to end up saving you money and time in most cases if you do chemical-free housekeeping. While you pay upfront for technology like UV-C items and steam cleaners, you save money in the long run on the chemicals you no longer have to buy. You already have a kitchen with all the cleaning products you would ever need, you just don’t realize it. Chemical-free housekeeping is not as hard as it sounds.

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How Many Harmful Chemicals are in Your Home?

There are dangerous chemicals everywhere these days. Some companies have been in trouble for polluting our waters with harmful chemicals. Farmers are realizing how harmful the chemicals they use on their crops can really be. Landfills have become hazardous waste zones because of the amount of dangerous chemicals dumped in them each year. Your home is another place where there are probably quite a few harmful chemicals.

You should keep products with harmful chemicals locked up and away from small children in your home at all times. Even if you and your family do not ingest these dangerous chemicals, you can still have health problems from exposure. Just being around some of the harmful chemicals in your home can be bad for you. Repeated exposure to these chemicals in cleaners and other products in your home is very likely to cause health problems for you and your family.

The following are some harmful chemicals commonly found in your home:

• Acetone - Acetone is in many types of nail polish remover. If you inhale products with acetone, you can develop lung, throat and nose problems, as well as headaches and a increased heart rate. Serious health problems like going into a coma or damage to the liver, nerves or kidneys can also occur.
• Alkylphenol Ethoxylates (APEs) - This is a chemical that is commonly used in cleaning products for the home. It is thought that this chemical affects the endocrine system because it acts like a hormone. Exposure can lead to reproductive problems, immune system problems, ADHD and cancer.
• Benzene - This chemical is in everything from hygiene products to pesticides. If inhaled, it can cause headaches, increased heart rate, shaking, loss of consciousness and possibly be fatal. There may be an increased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with exposure to benzene.
• BHA and BHT - These chemicals may be in the cans of food you have in your kitchen cabinets. They are also in some hygiene products. While they are thought to to be to dangerous for human use in some countries, they are allowed to be used in manufacture in the United States.
• Formaldehyde - You will probably see formaldehyde as an ingredient in some of your cleaners, bath products, hygiene products and nail polish and remover despite it being a known carcinogen and neurotoxin. Exposure can result in mucus membrane issues, spasms, edema and other health issues.
• Hydroquinone -This chemical is in products used to color hair and lighten skin. This is a dangerous chemical that affects skin structure and increases skin cancer risks.
• Phthlates - This chemical can be a variety of products including plastics, perfumes, and lotions. Exposure could result in thyroid problems, hormonal issues, kidney damage, birth defects and reproductive system issues.
• Tolulene - This chemical is in many home cleaning products and in nail care products. It can damage the lungs if inhaled and is linked to liver and kidney problems, increased cancer risks, hallucinations and bone marrow problems.

This is just a sampling of the many harmful chemicals that you might have in your home right now. You can’t completely get away from all harmful chemicals in today’s society but you can try to buy products for your home that are as healthy and chemical free as possible. All you have to do is look at the ingredients on the cleaners and other household items you buy regularly.

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Keeping Your Cleaning Products Simple

You probably have never looked at the ingredients and the warnings on the cleaning products you use but you definitely should. Most of the ingredients are probably things you can’t pronounce and don’t know. These chemicals are used to make the cleaners more effective, to give them color, to preserve them and to give them a pleasant scent. Most of these chemicals are things that we should all be wary of and that could harm us if we are overexposed to them.

Many new “green” cleaners are coming out that offer a great cleaning product but without all the dangerous chemicals. Just because they say the are natural cleaners, though, does not mean that it is true. You need to look at the ingredients. Many of these still include dangerous chemicals to give the cleaner a pleasant scent.

The best way to simplify your cleaning products and avoid dangerous chemicals is to use homemade cleaning products. You can find everything you need to make your house sparkle and shine right in your kitchen. Your windows will sparkle if you use equal parts vinegar and water. Your counter tops will shine if you mix baking soda and dish soap.

Baking Soda

While most of us know baking soda helps keep your house smelling good, you may not know it also helps remove stains. It is gentle enough to use on most tiles, glass, your antique china and on the majority of your fabrics. It is also good for scrubbing those messy pots and pans clean after cooking a big dinner.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Many people are reluctant to use natural cleaning products because they don’t think they kill the germs in your home. Many of us think that only bleach and other hazardous chemicals really work to rid your home of germs. You can use hydrogen peroxide, which is a little weaker but still very effective way to kill germs that won’t damage most of your home surfaces like other chemicals can.

White Vinegar

Vinegar works very well to remove smells and also to get rid of germs. Vinegar is a great choice for getting your coffee pot, your pots and pans or your kitchen counters clean. When combined with baking soda, vinegar will help break through clogged drains. However, you should use caution when using vinegar near fabrics because it can damage acetate fabrics.

Lemon Juice

Lemon juice is great for cleaning up greasy messes and also for making your house smell fresh and clean. It can be used to polish many metal items as long as they are not silver or to get stains out of fabrics in your home.

You can use the items described above alone or in combination with other common items you have in your kitchen. For example, a great cleaning product that will also sanitize your home can be created from only borax (about 2 teaspoons), vinegar (4 teaspoons), hot water (3 cups) and dish soap (1/4 tablespoons)  .

You can still have a clean house without exposing your family to hazardous chemicals. Simplify your cleaning products by using what you have in your kitchen. It is a little more work to make your own cleaning products but you will save money and your family will be healthier.

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Living a Vegan Lifestyle

Vegan and vegetarian are not the same thing. They both are similar in that they refrain from eating meat, but vegans live a lifestyle based on moral beliefs.

Foods to Avoid

There is more than one kind of vegetarian and all of them have different food restrictions they live by. Some don’t eat meat but eat dairy (lacto-vegetarians), some eat eggs but not meat or dairy (ovo-vegetarians) and some eat no meat but do eat eggs and dairy (lacto-ovo-vegetarians). It is not uncommon for vegetarians to eat fish and chicken but not other meats.

Vegans have more restrictions and are often referred to as strict vegetarians. This is because they have strict moral beliefs about eating any type of meat at all and also no dairy products or eggs or any other animal products. The reasons for the beliefs can be based on morality and respecting animal rights or on the desire to lose weight and be healthy or it can be a little of both.

Vegans and Clothes

Vegans believe it is wrong to both eat and wear animals in any way, shape or form. They are opposed to leather in clothes, shoes and purses. They strongly believe that it is wrong to wear fur. Animal right groups like PETA often encourage the fur avoidance because the animals are killed simply for their fur. Vegans also go as far as to say it is wrong to wear silk and wool because it is cruel to the animals that produce the material.

Vegans and Other Animal Based Products

We all probably knew that vegans don’t wear leather or fur but you may not realize how many products out there actually contain animal based products. This can include personal items like shampoos and soaps and even cleaning products that you have around your house. It is difficult to tell that many of these things even contain any animal products so vegans have to be vigilant about reading labels.

Vegans also refuse to use products that are tested on animals. You may not realize just how many products of all kinds are tested on animals from personal items to make-up to cleaning products. Vegans are especially concerned about the continued animal testing done by cosmetic companies and only use products with no animal testing involved.

Vegan Morals

Vegans base a lot of their beliefs on their strong moral belief in animal rights. For this reason they are against factory farming, circuses and other industries that they feel exploit and mistreat animals on a regular basis. There are other beliefs that are behind their lifestyle as well.

Vegans believe that if everyone ate less or even better no meat at all, it would help the environment tremendously. They say that the amount of natural resources and energy used to raise animals for food, transport them, slaughter and package them is killing our environment and is partially to blame for global warming. By encouraging people to be less and less dependent on meat, they hope to encourage farmers to use more resources to grow produce.

Vegans also think that if more fruits and vegetables were grown in our country and others, there would be less hunger in the world. It is less costly to produce more produce than it is to raise less farm animals for food. The more fields and farms dedicated to produce, the more food we could share with the hungry.

Vegans are more than just vegetarians. They take their beliefs to a different level and base their decisions on their moral and ethical views about animal rights. It is not the lifestyle that everyone can or wants to lead but it is growing in popularity and vegans have more options to choose from when shopping now than in years past.

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