Nontoxic Cleaners

A friend of mine who is very very sensitive finds Barkeepers Friend to be an acceptable heavy cleaner. I am not familiar with its toxic or non-toxic status but it doesn't bother any of us and works great.

method wipes are good so is vinegar, baking soda, castille soap. There are green maid services in tucson- I can give you the information if you would like. I had them come to my house and they clean with essential oils.
Good luck

I've been reading on using hydrogen peroxide for cleaning as well. Just another idea! This webpage talks about it
http://www.creativehomemaking.com/cleaning/hydrogen-perox...
Hope you find something that works.

HI S.,
I back up Jamiee on this completely. WE use Melaleuca products as well. My website is www.myhomecottagebiz.com if you need to contact me.

Melaleuca products do not require child safety caps because they are all non toxic. The products come straight to your door, which takes a lot of trouble off my shoulders! I use the products for me, my husband my teens and younger kids. They are very effective. I work it as a business but most people are customers (65%) so no pressure to 'work' it.

Hope this helps,
C. Willis
###-###-####

I use a product called The Lotus Sanitizing System. It is made by a company called Tersano. It is amazing! We sold it where I used to work in Dallas and all the employees called it magic water. Basically is changes tap water into a totally safe sanitizer. It works on all home surfaces and sanitizes food as well! Google the product, they have a great website that explains the "magic". Feel free to ask me questions after you check it out. It is hard to believe that it can really work but I totally love it.

M.

I use Charlie's soap all-purpose cleaner and Shaklee products. I'm too lazy to make them, tough I know it's easy!

Here is an interesting link: http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/homemaking/vinegar.html

This link will let you look up all of your toothpaste, etc... and tell you specifically what is in it and how bad it is. I recommend checking it out.. it's very eye opening! http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1

1 part vinegar to 3 parts water.

If you join cafemom.com they have a group on there all about green and you can get some tips on making your own cleaner.

You would want to be using Melaleuca products. They are non-toxic, safe and the packaging is recyclable.

Hi S.,
Lots of response and many recommend Shaklee. I do too!
It is concentrated, all natural, bio-degradable, completely non-toxic. I even use the Basic H in my spray bottle (deluted as instructed) to wash my fruits and veggies!!

ALso, there is no smell with the Basic H so you don't have to worry about over powering smells. Meleluca gets to be overwhelming.

You should look into a company called Melaleuca. I've been a customer of theirs since 2002. They produce cleaning products that are safer for our homes and they really work well. You can check them out at melaleuca.com. I had the same thoughts you did when I found them. I had read a pamphlet on toxins found in our everday products. I also found it eye opening. There's so much out there that could harm our children that we can't always control. I felt this was something I could control.

Melaleuca has wonderful, inexpensive, non-toxic cleaning products including laundry and dish, toothpaste and more (300 products or so.) They have very reasonable prices for members and I love them! I can send you more info if you'd like.

Jaimee

Hi S. -

Have you ever read Louise Hay's book - You Can Heal Your Life? It looks at deeper emotional disturbances that could possibly be the cause of physical ailments. According to the book, Asthma (which is the heart chakra) is about feeling smothered or smothering others. Because it is the heart chakra - I would ask how well does he express love and do other family members express love to him? In Traditional Chinese Medicine - the heart is related to the FIRE element and the lungs are related to the METAL element - FIRE is the small intestines and METAL is the large intestines. How well does he eat? It is possible the foods he is eating are not being assimilated well by his body. You might try Chlorella to restore proper elimination and assimilation. It was be taken in pill form (make sure you get "broken cell wall formula") or as granules. It is a natural blue-green algae and full of vitamins, minerals and protein (not as much as Spirulina, but quite a bit). Chlorella also help remove any toxins that may have setting into his digestive track. You can also give him some aromatic bitters before he eats - like dandelion root, chamomile, ginger or peppermint/spearmint - to aid in digestion.

Just some thoughts -

M. M. Ernsberger
Holistic Healthcare Practitioner
Certified Clinical Herbalist
Certified Master Hypnotherapist
Certified Life Coach

I am a Distrubitor for Young Living Essential Oils. They have a wonderful all purpose cleaning concentrate called THIEVES CLEANER. I also use SOAP NUTS, an organic date-like plant seed that is wonderful...no longer need fabric softener. sooo $$ saving....
You may contact me for further info
B. Gettel OTR/L CHT CCH
Eclectic Body Work
Tucson
____@____.com

There is a whole line of green products for you to use to clean your house with natural ingredients that work great!

I use Melaleuca products. I love them and they smell good too. I also use the store bought non-toxic stuff here and there. Let me know if you are interested in Melaleuca I can get you signed up.

Hello S.!! I am a mother of a 2yr. old girl. Married 6+Yrs. I had a similar wake up call from a good friend of mine whose little one got under their cupboard and got into the ammonia. She only drank a little before mom realized and immediately had to be rushed to the ER. Her esophagus was burned badly(chemicals eat away) and had chemical inhalation issues. My sister also is a nurse at a rehabilitation center for children after they have been released by the hospital but can't go home yet. She sees too many kids come in that have had similar problems whether it is glass cleaner, parents vitamins, EXT... Bottom Line kids like colors and new things and we need to keep them safe. I work with a company(Melaluca the Wellness Company) that uses Eco-friendly products, that are safe for little ones too. They have everything you could think of. Best part it all comes concentrated so you spend less, buy purchasing less. The prices are very reasonable. I can send you more information if you like.

I use Holy Cow in my house. Just a word of advice too, asthma can be caused by allergies. Check out www.naet.com for non-invasive ELIMINATION of the allergies! Congrats on going nontoxic!

L.

I really love the Shaklee H2. It is safe and non-toxic, and it's soooooooooo cheap compared to everything else out there. You buy a bottle of concentrate and then add your own water to like a half teaspoon of the stuff in a spray bottle. You can use it on literally everything -- floors, counters, even glass. And there is literally NO SMELL -- if you closed your eyes and sprayed it, you would not know it's there, I'm serious. You can buy it online
http://www.shaklee.com/homecare1.html
or at the AKA Green store in Scottdale
http://www.akagreen.com/about.php

Good for you for doing this!!

I use melaluca products in my home. My husband is allergic to most laundry detergents. We have been using this brand for about 5 years now with no reactions. Most all of there products are eco-friendly, nontoxic and biodegradable. If you are interested in more information let me know.

I do all my cleaning with Melaleuca products, they are ton-toxic and have totally help with my asthma. Please email me for more information, ____@____.com

I highly recommend Shaklee Products. They are all natural Nontoxic products for home and family. They are MUCH more concentrated than Melaluca and other Nontoxic products. Shaklee also is a company that supports environmental issues by planting over a million trees, replacing old Boilers in schools and have ALL recyclable packaging. They are the first ZERO carbon company in the world. You can also make a decent income from home with Shaklee, like we do. Thanks!! Good Luck!

Hi S.

I just wanted to share with you that you need to take your son to the chiropractor to help him with his asthma... It changed my world and my life back in 1992 when I went to the chiroparctor for my asthma and allergies.

Anyhow, the asthma and allergies have been gone and I decided to become a chiropractor to help people with that condition. I have helped hundreds if not thousands with that condition over the years now. If interested, let me know, I will be happy to evaluate him to see if he can benefit from chiropractic treatments...

Great job on changing the products to more natural...

Farid R., DC
____@____.com

I have used baking soda & vinegar to clean as well..... my hubby HATES the smell of vinegar so I have switched to Simple Green or products from Melalueca. They seem to work well. My neice has pretty bad asthma & one thing my sister-in-law has done is to help build her immune system by adding Juice Plus+ to her diet. Juice Plus+ is fruits & veggies that have been put into capsule form for adults or chewable/gummy form for kids. I have added it to our diet as well cause I knew we weren't getting enough fruits & veggies in our diet.... it has drastically improved our health.... so that's all off the topic of cleaning, but I just thought you might like to know what else you could do to help w/ his asthma..... if you want to know more you can check out jphealth.net/C.
Blessings!

Yes - have you checked out the Shaklee products. They are great and safe! I got involved when I saw Opera recommending them on her show, and I was frusterated by the "green" products offered in the grocery stores that i didn't feel that worked all that great. I have two twin boys that were at home all the time when they were babies because of early health issues and having a greener home became really important to me. Check out the website, and if you choose to go this route I defintely recommend becoming a distributor (even if its just for the discount that you receive on your purchases). Let me know. I would love to have you sign-up under me.

Kim

S.,
My husband and daughter have asthma. I hate to here when people are having trouble with their asthma. Its not fun!!!! I try to clean when my husband and daugther are not around, so that dust doesn't affect them. I use a new cleaning product called "Homeology" It's part of the be green. check it out if you like: www.mygc.com/tonibarreras.

We use products put out by the Melaleuca company. They are a natural based store and have cleaners, vitamins, and all kinds of house items that are all natural. My daughter has asthma and very flakey skin. She breaks out from a lot of stuff and I have found their laundry detergent to be a life saver. Check out their web site at www.melaleuca.com some of their products are absolutely wonderful.

...BJ Sends

Kudos for educating yourself about the toxic load in commercial cleaning products - even when they are stored in a closed container they can release fumes and aggravate conditions like asthma - an excellent all-natural cleaner (for everything from washing veggies to cleaning baby bottles to washing hands to scrubbing the bathroom and floor to a laundry pre-spot) is called Amazon Clean and Green - it is a plant-based formula that includes key rainforest herbs that have been used traditionally by the indigenous people for cleansing and purification - it's effectiveness is based on colloidal chemistry - using this unique process the plant extracts are blended in such a way that they create new particles called "colloidal micelles" that work on a molecular level - these organic cells are hundreds of times smaller than regular cells and are attracted to oil and similar molecules - when combined with water they become super active, squeezing between dirt and grime cells to separate and emulsify them breaking them down into harmless substances that can be rinsed or wiped away - it comes with a guide in a concentrate that you can dilute to different degrees for whatever the cleaning need may be - if you need any more information about it or are interested in how to get some feel free to contact me.

Hi S.,
I have also read "Healthy Child, Healthy World" and love it. Some stuff the book advocates I think you still need to do your own research but as far as the cleaning products I love using the non-toxic cleaning products. Plus by making my own I save a ton of money. For the mirrors I use a seventh generation cleaner with a microfiber cloth and to dust I use Method and for the floors I use Ecover. So I guess I don't make all my own cleaning products but for the toilet bowls I use 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/4 cup of vinegar. The all purpose cleaner I use 16 ounces hot water, 1 tsp of this lavender liquid soap from Whole Foods, and 2 1/2 teaspoons of borax. An I love the soft scrub recipe in the book too. The all natural lavender liquid soap from Whole Foods is so great and smells amazing. It is all "green" and lasts a long time.

I use essential oils to make cleaning products. Young Living has some really good blends. They are a little costly, but a little goes a long way. Thieves is an excellent germ killer. They also have R.c.(respitory care, which might even help with the athsma! I put a few drops in a spray bottle with hydrogen peroxide(works like bleach with no poison) and water. Vinegar works great too.
S. H

Dear S.,

Just go to www.stayinhomeandlovinit.com/KathrynR, and prepare to be amazed at what is available!
K.

I loved that book too- yes we clean this way and have for the last 6 years. My daughter is healthy and happy. You are going to feel so good cleaning like this knowing our kids are not being exposed. I admire you for picking up the book and checking it out:)
Congrats!!!
D.

I use straight vinegar for pretty much everything! It works really well. I've also been learning about other cleaners, such as olive oil + lemon essential oil for furniture polish, etc. I've also ditched air fresheners and am using an all-natural orange essential oil freshener from Trader Joe's.

I started getting into the natural, non-toxic line of thinking after my son was born, and there is SO much to learn. I've revamped our diet, our toiletries, our household cleaners, our medical care - everything! There's a lot one can do, and it's fun! Good luck!

A friend of mine sells a all natrual home care products, and they are great!!!!!!! please send her an email and she will give you all the info.

good luck

T.

Go to Shaklee.com. They've been doing non-toxic for decades. The cleaning products are generally very concentrated and therefore VERY inexpensive to use.