If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know that one of my values is health: my physical health and the health of the environment. This is one of my values for a very personal reason. I share this with you simply to heighten awareness of what chemicals we have around us, and how they may affect us.
When I was about 12 years old, I ended up in the hospital for 3 months with a rare disease called Kawasaki syndrome. At the time the doctors weren’t sure what caused it, at first they weren’t even sure what was wrong with me. Some doctors suspected it was caused by carpet cleaner. My friend had her carpets steam cleaned the day before I arrived to sleep over at her house. I slept on the floor that night and a few days later was very sick. I am fine now, but to this day I pay closer attention to what is in the food I eat and the chemicals I use around the house.
Now I need to be up front here, there is no conclusive evidence that it was caused by the carpet cleaner. When I just looked on the Internet this is one statement I found: “Microorganisms and toxins have been suspected, but none has been identified to date.” So maybe it was the cleaner, maybe not. I think we can go to the other extreme here, and be too alarmist about all of this. I am a proponent of everything in moderation. But I was scared enough to not want to take the chance and to pay closer attention to what products I was using.
Consider using environmentally-friendly products, for you and for the environment. Here’s an Ideal Bite post I received recently about a better kind of bleach:
Get your whites brighter without the health risks of chlorine. Just try an oxygen-based formula.
The Benefits
- Easier on clothes. Alternative bleaches aren’t as harsh as chlorine and you can use ’em on colors.
- Safer for your fam. In the US, 25,000+ kids “are exposed to” (EPA code for “have accidents involving”) chlorine bleach each year.
- Safer for the earth. Chlorine from bleach can produce carcinogenic compounds if it gets past water treatment.
- Smell better. Clothes bleached with chlorine smell like…well, chlorine.
- Ecover Non-Chlorine Bleach – also available as a liquid. Available here($4).
- – ½-cup releases major hydrogen peroxide bleaching power ($9).
- OxiClean Free – OxiClean’s dye- and fragrance-free version ($7).
- Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Bleach – widely available at your local natural grocer.
- DIY Bite: use ½ cup lemon juice (the acid provides bleaching power) in the rinse cycle combined with line drying in the sun (sunlight is a natural sterilizer – just be careful with colors since they can fade).
Related posts:
Recycle your batteries
Email tips for the environment
