I have been an advocate for about 12 years, speaking out on the harm of household chemical use! I recently stumbled upon this website for Washington Toxics Coalition; http://www.watoxics.org/
I just had to share it with everybody! It has all sorts of facts about the dangers of different household chemicals. WTC is right here in our state, and aside from having good info, they offer different ways that concerned moms, like me, can volunteer our time to help the cause!
One of the biggest problems with society today, is that there are multi-million dollar compaines who create and sell what they want, using a cornucopia of ingerdients, and do little testing on the safety of their products. With the increasing number of cancer cases, and many other sicknesses and ailments, you'll find people rarely pointing their fingers at things like household cleaners, as a possible culprit for their sickness!
By choice, I do not use many chemicals in my home;
To scour my tub, toilet or sink, I use baking soda and a good scouring pad.
To dust, I use a slightly damp rag.
When I want a fresh scent in my house, I crack a window rather than using an air freshner.
Rather than windex, I make my own mix including vinegar and a bit of dish detergent.
When I mop, I use hot water and a bit of dish detergent (Dawn).
To wash our laundry, I use ALL Free and Clear. I never use bleach (read up on that!). I have NEVER used fabric softeners or fabric sheets, who needs them?
I NEVER EVER use anything in my laundry or home with scent or perfumes in it. If I can smell a scent? I don't use it!
More and more studies are being done on products which have perfumes in it. Would you scent your home or your clothing with a spritz of gasoline? Maybe bleach? What about some lovely mist of acetone to "arouse your senses"...Some of the most deadly chemicals are being breathed into our children's lungs everyday, simply because many uninformed Mothers think that that 'fresh smell' on their kids' clothing or plugged into an outlet in their home, is nice! Here's an interesting link, there are many more like it: http://www.watoxics.org/pressroom/press-clips/fresh-scent-may-hide-toxic-secret?searchterm=laundry
Nearly all air freshners, toilet bowl disks, dryer sheets, fabric softeners, laundry detergents contain deadly toxins in them. The deadly toxins are the 'scent', and you're breathing it. Short term use of scented chemicals can cause difficulty breathing, nervousness, dizziness, headaches, sick stomach, feeling faint, rashes and/or difficulty controlling body movements. And of course there are many side effects from long term exposure which can occur such as seizures and various forms of cancer, a major one being lung cancer!!!
It's easy to avoid these deadly chemicals. The general rule of thumb is that if you can smell a scent, even a light scent, in your house, on your clothing, or from your cleaners, then you are endangering your life and the lives of your family. Your house and clothes should smell like, well, nothing! I rarely even use perfumes or deodorant.
There are many affordable products which are much better for you. Look to the internet at the many sites available to find out which products are safest! Here's a few good links:
http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/house/products/list.cfm
http://www.ourlittleplace.com/notice.html
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/guides/seventh-generation-guide-toxin-free-home
Likewise, you can make the choice to limit the amount of chemicals in your home, like I did. If you look in my cleaning supplies, you won't see much more than 2 or 3 'Greenworks' cleaners which contain natural ingredients, and you'll find vinegar, baking soda, and a variety of cleaning pads/rags. You will find no oven cleaner or mildew killer, no polishers, nope...all that stuff can be outdone by a little bit of elbow grease and a mild cleaner.
My husband has benefited GREATLY from my chemical free lifestyle...he suffered from migraines for years, and after moving in with me, his migraines decreased more and more. He's now gone from having one every month, to maybe one mild one per year! And to be honest, knowing what I know, it breaks my heart everytime I'm near a child who smells like fabric softener!!! Especially if I know the child has problems such as skin rashes, headaches, asthma, etc. I always try to educate other parents from what I've learned so that they can take the steps to make their kids and family healthy!
The bottom line is, if you love your family, you'll strip your household of those scented products today, throw them in the garbage where they belong! Then, decide which chemicals you can live without. By using fewer chemicals, you are not just making your family healthier, you're making the Earth a better place by keeping those chemicals out of our air!
Much love!
(UPDATE)
Hmmm....just saw this on my msn home page today. Air fresheners=cancer? I've been saying that for 10+ years!!!! Here's the link so that you can read the story:
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cancer/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100216588>1=31024
