Reducing toxics inside your house

Until recently, indoor air pollution has been largely ignored as a source of exposure to toxicity. But studies have shown that levels of harmful chemicals in indoor air may exceed the standards set by the EPA to protect us from harmful chemicals. You can avoid such levels in your home by buying and using products that are free of toxic chemicals whenever possible.

Choosing the products you buy

Whenever possible, buy products that are free of toxic chemicals. Alternatives are available. The market for non-toxic household products is growing in response to customer demand.

• When purchasing products, take a minute to carefully read the label. Look for products that appear to disclose all their ingredients. The words caution, warning and danger indicate that the product's ingredients are harmful. Choose the least hazardous product to do the job.
• Before you use a product, carefully read the directions and follow the instructions. Be sure to use the correct amount of a product. Remember, you won't get twice the results by using twice as much.
• Select products (cleaners, shampoos, etc.) made from plant-based materials, such as oils made from citrus, seed, vegetable or pine. By doing so, you are selecting products that are biodegradable and generally less toxic. These products also provide the additional benefit of being made from renewable resources. Ask for plant-based products at your local grocery or retail store.
• Choose pump spray containers instead of aerosols. Pressurized aerosol products often produce a finer mist that is more easily inhaled. Aerosols also put unnecessary volatile organic chemicals into your indoor air when you use them.
• Ask for unbleached paper products or products bleached with hydrogen peroxide or oxygen, which produce less pollution during paper-making.

For yourself: Bath, beauty and hygiene products

• Avoid using antibacterial soaps. Antibacterial agents, while not directly harmful to you, contribute to the growing problem we face when bacteria mutate to strains that are more drug-resistant. Remember, however, that hand washing with any soap is still vital to maintaining good health.
• Purchase a mercury-free fever thermometer. Many effective alternatives are on the shelves at your local pharmacy. Broken mercury fever thermometers can be a source of toxic mercury levels in your home and discarded products containing mercury contribute to higher levels in the environment. consult your county house-hold hazardous waste program manager to learn where to take your old thermometer. (For information, see www.swmcb.org or www.pca.state.mn.us/waste.)
• Use eye drops, contact lens solutions, and nasal sprays and drops that are free of thimerosal or other mercury-containing preservatives.
• Look for unscented and natural dyes in products to avoid potential allergic reactions.
• Recipes for personal care products using natural ingredients— baking soda, lemon juice, etc.—can be found online: www.care2.com/channels/solutions/self/114.

Keeping your house clean

Remove your shoes when you enter your house. Your shoes can track in harmful amounts of pesticides, lead, cadmium and other chemicals. Keeping a floor mat at your doors for people to wipe their feet on when they enter will also help. Vacuum carpets and floors regularly. Children playing on your carpet may actually be more exposed to pesticides lodged in the carpet than from the outside, because pesticides break down less readily indoors than outdoors in the sunlight. Use a fine particulate filter, such as a HEPA filter, in your vacuum cleaner, if possible. Otherwise, the dust vacuumed up is redistributed into the air where it can be inhaled.

Single-ingredient, common household materials such as baking soda, vinegar, or plant-based soaps and detergents can often do the job on your carpet or other surfaces. Soap and water has been shown to keep surfaces as free of bacteria as antibacterial soaps do. If your carpet needs professional cleaning, enlist a carpet service that uses less-toxic cleaners that are low in VOCs and irritants.

• Baking soda works well to clean sinks, tubs and toilets, and it freshens drains as well.
• Vegetable oil with a little lemon juice works wonders on wood furniture.
• Simmer a mixture of cloves and cinnamon or use vinegar and water as a safe and environmentally friendly air freshener. Consider how you can eliminate odor problems rather than just covering them up.
• Use vinegar and water in a pump spray bottle for cleaning mirrors and shining chrome. Vinegar or soap and water with drying rags or a squeegee also work well for cleaning windows.
• Use reusable unbleached cotton towels, rags, and non-scratch scrubbing sponges for all-purpose cleaning instead of bleached disposable paper products.
• Use dishwasher detergents that are free of chlorine bleach and lowest in phosphates.
• Use bathroom cleaners that are free of aerosol propellants and antibacterial agents.

What you eat

• Choose organic fruits and vegetables for your family whenever possible. They have been shown to have less pesticide residue.
• Rinse all fruits and vegetables thoroughly to remove fertilizer residues.
• Don't microwave foods in plastic containers. Chemicals from the plastic container can become absorbed by food during microwaving. Cover with waxed paper or paper towel instead of plastic wrap to keep food from spattering.

Controlling pests

In order to survive, pests need food, water and living space. Remove all food sources through good sanitation and storage habits (i.e., screw-cap jars, zip-lock bags, garbage pails with tight-fitting lids). Block pest entrances to your kitchen by caulking holes, using door sweeps on the bottom of doors, and keeping window screens in good repair. Avoid placing chemical pesticides around your kitchen to kill indoor insect and rodent pests.

• Avoid using no-pest strips. They contain pesticides that are released to the air in your home.
• When storing winter clothing, use cedar blocks or bags of cedar chips hung with your clothes. Avoid mothballs that contain p-dichloro benzene or naphthalene, which are very toxic and also contribute to respiratory problems.
• Consult your veterinarian for non-toxic pest control products for use on pet pests such as fleas and ticks.
• Use non-toxic head lice treatments, including combing, enzyme-based treatments and mayonnaise or oil. See www.headlice.org for more information.

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