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Wellness in our Homes!
Wellness in the home centers on clean air and clean water. This is why we want to use natural as well as sustainable building materials. If we have done a good job of this, there is little to no out-gassing from chemicals used in producing or installing the products. So then why use chemicals to clean these surfaces when we live in our naturally built home? And what about our water? If we are filtering rain water for drinking and bathing then we are doing well. If we are using city or well water, then we have to ask what is in the water and is it safe?
For cleaning our homes there are many natural cleaning products on the market for our use. We can also use some natural home recipes, some are the same ones our grandparents and great grandparents used.
Here are some favorites from the staff of Custom Design
Services!
Salt – if you have a liquid stain on your
carpet, soak up what you can with a towel and pour a thick layer of salt
over it. Let it dry to a crust for several days then vacuum.
Vinegar – prepare a stream spray bottle of straight
vinegar and spray it onto your dishwasher door seal before each run, be
sure to spray it on down near the hinges. This will dislodge anything that
has become caked on, yuck!!
- use about a quarter cup of vinegar to a
quart of water to clean windows.
- add about half a cup of vinegar to
the wash cycle when washing vivid or deep colors to help keep the colors
bright and prevent color bleeding.
- soak a cloth in vinegar and
microwave for about 30 seconds to steam clean the inside of your
microwave, then it wipes clean easily.
Hydrogen
Peroxide - Very similar to vinegar but does better on removing
blood, tomato and wine stains.
- use anywhere you want to kill germs
like as a gentle substitute for bleach in the laundry.
Ice and
salt – swirl some of each into your coffee carafe to loosen and
clean coffee residue. Add ¼ cup of lemon juice or vinegar for difficult
stains.
Ice and dishwashing liquid – pour a cup of crushed ice and a
squirt of dishwashing liquid in to your disposal. Turn on the disposal
with a thin stream of water to clean the blades.
Citrus
peels – another great way to freshen your
disposal.
Baking soda – use like an abrasive cleaner
for a gentler clean.
Here are some other great tips from some great websites. I have certainly not used all of these ideas, but many look good enough to try.
Mix some of these up for natural alternatives to your
typical cleaning needs.
http://cammiklier.cmail1.com/l/285321/il4tir14/www.natural-healthy-home-cleaning-tips.com/natural_home_cleaning_recipes.htm
So many uses for vinegar, from health to cleaning to
cooking, the list is long!
http://cammiklier.cmail1.com/l/285321/il4tir14/www.vinegarbook.net/vinegar_tips_for_cleaning.shtml
Some excellent and useful tips for cleaning with natural
ingredients
http://cammiklier.cmail1.com/l/285321/il4tir14/housekeeping.about.com/od/
environment/Environmental_Cleaning_Solutions.htm
These natural tips are great for keeping our indoor air clean, but also for keeping chemicals out of our groundwater. This is an increasing problem that we all need to do our part to help. Using natural gardening techniques, natural cleaning supplies and natural detergents will help on a residential level.
Ground water is disinfected and filtered for solid particles and brought to our tap for use; an appropriate method 100 years ago. But today, with all the chemicals that pollute our groundwater that do not get filtered at the municipal facility, we should start investigating better alternatives. Children and adults drink this water and absorb it through our skin when we bathe and with that we are introducing anything from weed killers to antibiotics to our bodies. This may not cause harm to us initially, but over years of exposure these carcinogens can lead to cancer and other illnesses.
Bottled water is not much better. It is expensive and not required by law to be any better than tap water. Many bottled waters have additives to improve taste or come from a municipal water supply. Yes, convenient in our ice chest at a picnic, but not a viable replacement for our whole water usage. Even if we are doing our part to recycle the plastic bottles (and many of us don’t), it is still a huge use of energy to make and recycle the bottles. Betty Frank of Healthy Solutions, LLC gave a good tip on bottled water. Look on the bottom of the bottle to see the recycle code. If you see a 1, 2 or 3 you will know that this plastic is made to decompose more quickly. This is good for the environment, but not as good for your body. Since you don’t know how long the water has been in the bottle, you are not sure of how much plastic has leached into the water; water being nature’s solvent. Not to mention that bottled water is almost always more acidic than the body wants.
The U.S. Council On Environmental Quality recognizes the problems in our waters and has some really good long term plans for improvements. While these long term goals are appropriate for the vast scope of the improvements needed, we need something to protect our families now.
Do some investigation in a drinking water filter or a whole house filter for your family. There are many options by using carbon filters, distillation, reverse osmosis, ultra violet disinfection. Find out which would be best for your family.
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a great resource for finding out more about your water and some good descriptions for different kinds of water filters. http://cammiklier.cmail1.com/l/285321/il4tir14/httpsli7li1//www2.nrdc.org/water/default.asp
Betty Frank says that knowing the differences between water filters is critical to get good healthy water for your home. She says that reverse osmosis and distillation de-mineralizes the water leaving the water dead. We need to put back in the minerals and oxygen and pH balance the water so it will be friendly to our bodies and will be more fully absorbed and used. Additionally, reverse osmosis wastes 3 gallons of water for every usable gallon in the process, not a good option when we are trying to conserve water. Look for a good filter that removes the most chemicals while leaving or adding back minerals, calcium and alkali that your body needs. Contact Betty for more information on technologies available for clean, living water at Betty@HealthySolutionsLLC.net or 731-8547.
Find out what is in your drinking water. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html
Check out our website
Contact Cammi Klier at 512.330.9309
or cklier@cdshomedesign.com
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