Just sittin' around

just an ordinary day at the Nichols house.

A mouthful

I have recently begun buying the new earth-friendly cleaners you see hawked everywhere. I was surprised at how well some of them worked, and in the fact that they smell better than the older versions. I realized that I didn't know exactly which chemicals you should seek to avoid, so why was I buying these cleaners, hype? Anyways, I decided to go and find out exactly what I was avoiding and what nasty things would happen to me if I didn't. Avoid it that is.

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(Most of my information comes from a site called organicconsumers.com)

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You should avoid cleaners with ammonia, chlorine, and petroleum-based chemicals. All have been shown to contribute to respiratory irritation and headaches. They should not be used by people with asthma, lung, or heart problems.

Fragrances, one third of the substances used in the industry are toxic. Fragrances in our cleaners, on our bodies, keeping us healthy, clean, and smelling good. How ironic. In the fragrance industry chemical makeup is considered a trade secret and companies are not required to list their ingredients, they simply put fragrance. One third - toxic, poisonous is a synonym.

Diethanolamine (DEA) and triethanolamine (TEA) are sudsing agents found in detergents. These chemicals react with nitrites to form nitrosamines- carcinogen that readily penetrates the skin. They have low acute toxicity, but contribute to long term health effects like cancer and hormone disruption. That sounds like fun.

Another suspected carcinogen comes from ethoxylated alcohols also used in detergents. It has been known to show damage to the brain and nervous system.

For a really great detailed list use this link, kidsorganics.com

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Not only is it dangerous for our health but we our once again polluting our earth, from which we gather all sustenance. We are increasing air pollution, including indoor air pollution. We contaminate rivers, lakes, stream, and oceans. Destroying the delicate balance of the ecosystems. Some people want to say this is evolution, and quite frankly I agree we are evolving. But how do you want to evolve?

After they disappear down our drains most ingredients break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon after, sounds encouraging, right? However some do not. For instance alkyphenol ethoxylates (APE), which are key ingredients in detergent's effectiveness have been shown to mimic the estrogen hormone. Not only are they making the fish act weird, like male salmon producing female egg-yolk proteins, but they have serious side effects for us humans. They are one of those hormone disruptors, which have shown decreased sperm count and male birth defects, but let's not forget us women, they have been shown to make estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells multiply in test tube studies. Back to the delicate balance of the ecosystem, phosphates, used in dish detergents, enter the waterways and act as a fertilizer. Which promotes the overgrowth of algae, which in turn depletes the oxygen supply, which tends to kill off fish and other organisms throwing off the natural balance of things. Which directly relates to us humans.

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I know, I know those environmentally friendly cleaners cost a fortune. You could get away with buying some of them, like me, but not all of them just too damn expensive. Well here are some options,try to find something nontoxic enought to warrant not having the following labels. Is that a double negative?

Danger/Poison- typically most hazardous

Warning- moderately hazardous

Caution- slightly toxic

Also keep in mind that all of this organic, environmentally friendly gibberish is a fairly new market and such claims are not always rigorously monitored. Such as a claim of non-toxic, this has no official definition. Organic in chemistry refers to chemicals that are carbon-based including some volatile organic compounds (VOC) that release harmful fumes and may cause brain damage or cancer. Bio-degradable is almost meaningless as most substances will eventually bio-degrade, try for something with a time limit like bio-degradable in 3-5 days. And there are vague terms like natural or eco-friendly, make them back it up with specific claims such as no phosphates, no solvents or plant-based. Then there is the good old-fashioned suggestion, make your own cleaners. I will admit that I have not tried this, but came across two sites that gave some good info, they are care2 and eartheasy . I can't wait to try them out.

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Here is a little homage to my grandma, whom I miss very much. When we were younger my grandmother used to dry out her plastic ziploc bags and we would always tease her about this. Saying, just throw them away and use a new one. She would always smile this secretive little smile and go about what she was doing. She grew up through the great depression. She remembered very vividly what it was like to not have enough, and was very frugal with things. What I am learning is that soon we will also have to live without some of our creature comforts, how long can we as a society continue to justify our habits? We can continue this way until we have depleted everything, or we can all pitch in a little now and try to conserve something. It may seem like you can never do enough to make a change, but what if everyone did a little, wouldn't that equal a lot?

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To my grandma- I've got a plastic bag drying on my counter, I love you.