For many of us, the thought of housecleaning conjures up the image of a huge array of cleaning products -- products with brand names and mysterious chemical ingredients. The average person has been so bombarded with advertisements for these products that he or she actually believes cleaning is impossible without them. We know of one woman who bought $38.32 worth of cleaning items alone on one trip to the supermarket. And for many of us, these expensive products end up lying half-empty, moldering in kitchen cabinets. But cleaning can be done without brand-name products, which are not only expensive but also can be dangerous your health.
Of the two million chemicals now in existence, only a few hundred have been tested adequately for their potential for causing cancer, liver or kidney damage, birth defects, and so on. Even when there is a known danger, many chemicals remain in use. Spot removers, for instance, contain either chlorinated hydrocarbons or petroleum distillates, and can be lethal even in small quantities.
Some 35,000 serious accidents occur each year with bleaches, dyes, waxes, polishes, and assorted cleaning compounds. More than a thousand children in the United States die each year from accidental poisoning, often from chemical compounds. Some swallow electric dishwasher detergent (the container may look like a cereal box), some drink furniture polish that resembles cherry soda. But these are the acute cases.
A clue to long-run effects of these chemicals is found in the recent study showing that housewives have a cancer rate double that of women working outside the home. Our houses contain many of the chemicals known to be cancer hazards in industry -- and many of these we use for cleaning.
However, we can reduce the number of dangerous chemicals in the home to a very few -- perhaps bleach, washing soda, and ammonia. We can keep these under lock and key, and use them sparingly. As for all the rest, the o-phenylphenols and isopropanols, we don't need them.
Here are some "grandmother-tested" ways to clean without dangerous chemicals, and save money, too.
Scouring powder: Combine nine parts whiting (from a hardware store) with one part soap granules. This mixture won't scratch surfaces as commercial products do, and it omits the unnecessary chlorine, which could accidentally combine with other chemicals -- like ammonia -- to produce dangerous chlorine gas.
Brass and copper cleaner: Vinegar and salt paste.
Window cleaner: 4 tablespoons ammonia, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and 1 quart water, followed by lots of elbow grease with crumpled old newspapers for a special sparkle.
Drain cleaner: First, try a plunger. Then try 1/2 cup washing soda followed by 2 cups boiling water. For a stronger treatment, combine a handful of baking soda with 1/2 cup vinegar. Close the drain and let it sit, then flush with water. Do this regularly to prevent buildup. (Washing soda is an alkali much less caustic than lye, but it should be kept locked up. It is dangerous.)
Rug cleaner: Get the spill scooped or blotted up fast! Dip a small brush in cold water and work out the spot. For a grease spot, sprinkle a generous amount of dry baking soda or dry cornstarch on the spot. Let it stand for an hour or so, then vacuum. If the grease remains, try the Magic Spray Cleaner below, and a stiff brush.
Rug shampoo mix: Mix 1/4 cup mild detergent or soap, with 1 pint of warm water and 2 tablespoons vinegar. Whip into a stiff foam. First, vacuum the rug thoroughly. Apply the foam and scrub. Let dry, then vacuum again.
Magic spray cleaner (for surfaces other than varnish, aluminum or asphalt tile): 1/4 cup ammonia, 1/8 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon baking soda, and 1 quart water. Pour into glass or plastic bottle, screw on a hand squirter top, and enjoy.
Furniture polish: Use paste wax or mineral oil, which are much less toxic than petroleum distillates like "lemon oil," which isn't from lemons.
Spot remover: For fabrics that don't take to bleach, apply ammonia diluted with an equal amount of water. Put paper towels underneath to blot. If the ammonia odor clings, apply a table-salt solution. (A last resort for old stains is a dab of vinegar.)
Oven cleaner: Sprinkle spills generously with salt while the oven is still hot. The burned deposit should scrape off with no trouble when the oven cools. For thorough cleaning, set an open shallow dish of full-strength ammonia inside the cold oven. Close the door and let it stand overnight. The ammonia gas from the solution is absorbed by the grease, which ends up like soap. Do not use this method on aluminum.
Deodorizers: Use baking soda here, there, and everywhere -- down the drain, on baby spit-up, in diaper pails, refrigerators, cat litter and the kitchen sponge. It's easy and simple.
But now that you've cleaned the house, you're hungry. You eat, and then you have all those dirty dishes, rags, and the laundry, too. What to do about them? It's time to look at the great detergent/soap controversy.
Dishes done by hand come clean quite easily with soap powder. Greasy or burned residues can be soaked with soapy water and a dash of ammonia. Dish detergents aren't at all necessary unless you use an electric dishwasher, and then they are extremely dangerous. They are so caustic that a mouthful could be fatal to a small child.
Some folks think that electric dishwashers are necessary to reduce the number of germs on their dishes, but there are other ways to get them germ-free. The best approach is to wash and rinse them well in hot water, then let them dry by standing, covered with a towel. Do not dry them by hand.
It's clothes-washing that really sparks the soap-detergent controversy. Soaps don't dissolve as easily as detergents. And in hard water, soap combines with the water's calcium grains to make a hard "curd" on clothes and tub. But soaps can do as well as detergents, even in cold water, according to a study published in Consumer Research Magazine.
What's needed is to make sure the soap dissolves before you put the clothes in -- stirring helps. If you have hard water, add some washing soda. It will precipitate the calcium out of the water to prevent curd formation. (Other water-softening powders rely on huge quantities of phosphate.)
Remember that washing soda is dangerous, so keep it away from children. Bleach helps clean, and borax will "sweeten" the wash, but these may not be needed most of the time, and they, too, are toxic chemicals.
But why bother with soap? Are detergents really that bad? Actually, we know little of the possible harmful effects of detergent chemicals, either on people or on the natural environment. We do know that enzymes added to some detergents to "fight stains" can induce allergies. Detergents can cause asthma and skin irritation, and they have been shown to kill sperm in mice. They irritate if inhaled, and can be fatal if swallowed.
Besides, detergents generally cost 1/3 more per wash load than soap powder. The profit margin in detergents has been at least 25 percent greater than that on soaps, according to one government study.
Another point is that detergents usually rely on some phosphates to carry off dirt. Phosphates pollute our waterways, destroying lakes and rivers. Some detergents rely on other compounds, but often we do not know the long-term effects of these. NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid), for instance, was touted as the replacement for phosphates until it was found to cause birth defects and cancer.
One further argument against detergents is that they are made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. In contrast, soap is made from lye and fats or oils that are part of an ever-renewing natural cycle of life.
That's what cleaning is about, really -- renewing our environment so that life goes on happily and healthily. What use is a clean house, if it pollutes our bodies and the world around us? Cleaning with simple, natural ingredients can be a testimony of our dedication to an integrated, organic way of life.
"Out, Out, Damned Spot!"
I remember Lady Macbeth washing her hands endlessly, trying to get the bloodstains off. She was guilty. Spots and stains tend to bring on guilt feelings.
A little historical light on the subject may help. A friend of mine did a study on the American home as it was portrayed in magazines since the year 1900. She found that every new invention, like flush toilets or vacuum cleaners, inaugurated a new -- higher -- standard of cleanliness.
For instance, an advertisement for vacuum cleaners urged women to "put an end to dusty Friday," the day when they swept the floor and the rugs for the weekend. The standard of cleanliness was once-a-week sweeping. After the arrival of the vacuum, a higher standard developed -- cleaning floors and rugs two or three times a week.
The flush toilet, when invented, became not simply a way to avoid cold, wet journeys to the outhouse, but a new object that must be scrubbed, deodorized, and disinfected.
Detergents, invented in the 1930s, led to standards of clothes cleanliness in which even a tiny spot leads us to throw the whole garment in the wash, rather than sponging the spot and wearing the article one more day.
Cleanliness became next to Godliness -- a sign that people had "made it" into the middle class and could afford the new appliances and chemicals.
There was, however, a strange side-effect for women. The housewife's work may have been easier, but the hours were longer. A time study of rural urban housewives in 1930 showed almost no differences in hours -- 61.0 on the farm, 63.2 in towns and cities. By 1947, farm women still worked a 60-hour week, but women in cities (usually the owners of more labor-saving devices) were logging close to 80 hours per week.
The clue to this mystery comes from the Ladies Home Journal: American homes were becoming "more satisfying," and housekeeping standards were much higher.
So when we consider that spot or stain, we should remember that cleanliness is only one of many values which change from time to time. Is it more important to have perfectly clean clothes, or to end the chemical contamination of our waterways brought on by phosphates, enzymes, brighteners, and cancer-causing carbon tetrachloride?
If art gum erasers, soap-and-water, and elbow grease don't get all the smudges off the walls, is it better to leave them for the next paint job or to run for an aerosol-foam wall cleaner with expensive packaging, high advertising costs, and several chemicals that have not been tested for their long-term effect on humans? (My experience is that the commercial cleaners will not get all the smudges off anyway.)
Most of the time we may find ourselves saying that a little dirt never hurt anyone. It's a sign of life and growth. We may find ourselves buying the clothes and furnishings that accept soap and water, nature's own remedies for dirt. After all, nobody ever expected a garden to be dirt-free, and in cleaning our homes we are truly tending the garden of our lives.
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