Friday, August 03, 2007

Well, duh

Pretty Lady just received a phone call from a dear friend who is on a Detoxing Mission. This friend has recently done some research into commercial cleaning products, and discovered that the vast majority of them are corrosively, cumulatively, insidiously toxic. She has made the switch to cleaning with baking soda, white distilled vinegar, castille soap, washing soda, and Borax for the really tough jobs. She reports that her home is as shiny as ever, and she is not dead yet.

Pretty Lady feels vindicated. She has instinctively avoided most commercial cleaning products since childhood without giving the matter too much thought; her feeling is that anything which produces headaches, dizziness, breathing trouble, nausea, or Bad Smells has no business being slathered all over her home, body or clothing. Nobody needed to tell her that Lysol, Comet, Simply Green, Tilex, Windex and the like are Evil Poison. She guessed it all on her own!

You will all be pleased to note that Pretty lady's bathroom cleaner of choice passed the toxicity test with flying colors. It contains purified water, coconut derived surfactants, tea tree and lavender oil. Pretty Lady actually looks forward to cleaning her bathroom.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Almost everything they sell us is toxic.

Use as few products as possible.

Take a look at "The cure for all diseases" by Hulda Clark.

k said...

Yo!

Actually, some folks would consider what I use to be toxic, too. But it's a naturally occuring product. Also, since it's a gas, when it evaporates it leaves no residue.

To allergic folks this is extremely important. *Detergent,* which is almost always present in those commercial formulations, is sticky. Therefore it's both difficult to completely rinse off, and, any pollen etc. flying through the air will get this sort of magnetic attraction to the cleanser, and fly over there and stick to it, to rub off on your person or clothing or cat and sicken you more...

Not to mention, those commerical cleansers are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. And almost always perfumed. Perfume allergy anyone? Why does cleaning make you MORE allergic rather than LESS?

I use the extremely cheap, evaporating, scent-killing, superb cleaner called...ammonia.

In the standard dilution (1/2 c to 1 gallon of water), the smell doesn't bother me at all. What smell there is evaporates very quickly.

I LOVE using it. It's a great cleanser and you DON'T HAVE TO RINSE IT OFF. It goes away all by itself!!!

'Scuse shouting please. I tend to get excited about this because soap and perfume allergies, and the great need for cleanliness all allergics have, are major issues in my quiet life.

And, yes. Baking soda and vinegar are other great products. But both have to be rinsed, so I always do the ammonia first. Baking soda is a great scratchless grit, when you need it. I almost never do.

And for cleaning the inside of the freezer?

Rubbing alcohol.

More expensive, but it doesn't freeze, does deodorize and sanitize, and doesn't need rinsing.

Oh my *shit list?* Orange-derived products. That stuff is MASSIVELY allergenic. Unfortuantely a lot of commercial cleaning companies use it now. Walking into buildings got harder all over again for me when that happened.

Just because it's natural doesn't necessary mean it's perfect.

Anonymous said...

She has made the switch to cleaning with baking soda, white distilled vinegar, castille soap, washing soda, and Borax for the really tough jobs.

Remembering my elementary school science, I realized that any combination of items 1 and 2 among your friend's "environmentally-friendly" cleaning substances leads directly to the production of a major greenhouse gas. I have found it expedient to contact the Inventor of the Internet with respect to this matter. You may wish to alert your friend that she is now being pursued with moderate prejudice.

My loyalty is pledged to the True Victims with Marginal Strength and a Modicum of Honor.

Susan Constanse said...

Hi Stephanie,
My husband and I have two companion parrots. Their presence in our lives have enforced the use of environmentally low-impact cleaning products. Their tiny lungs just can't take that stuff.
The other thing that creates a negative impact is teflon. The gas that stuff lets off could kill my darlings in a heartbeat.

Pretty Lady said...

There you have it, friends--Lysol and Teflon will kill a parrot, the longest-lived creature known to humans.

k said...

*Self-cleaning* ovens will too.

I'm very glad to have a teflon-free house now.

The plastic wrap, I'm still working on.

The amount of really nasty stuff we surround ourselves with is scary.

Anonymous said...

Does Teflon affect the food or only put gas into the air?

Anonymous said...

What about the safety of anodized aluminum?

k said...

Teflon is no good to eat, believe me. And that isn't *news,* either. Old info. Oft-denied by the manufacturers. New current studies show the dangers again.

Susan Constanse said...

At certain temperatures, teflon gies off a gass that is toxic to birds. I have heard of incidents, however, where companion birds were lost dut to stain-free treatments on upholstery. Really, it is amazing how much toxic crap we surround ourselves with.

Anonymous said...

There you have it, friends--Lysol and Teflon will kill a parrot, the longest-lived creature known to humans.-PL

Really? I always thought it was a certian type of turtle that lives for hundreds of years. Parrots live that long? Good grief, if my parents will me a stupid parrot I think I'd strangle that damned thing and have a small chicken dinner. Well, no not really, i would probably sell the thing to someone who appreciates them.