20000 W. Eight Mile Rd
Southfield, MI 48075
(248) 208-2270
   
Non-Toxic Alternatives

 

 
 
     
Paint
Choose low-or no-VOC paints. VOCs, or volatile organic compounds, give off that fresh paint smell. The solvents in paints can include benzene, formaldehyde, toluene and xylene, which are known carcinogens or neurotoxins. No VOC paint is the best choice, regular latex is ok, oil-based paint is the worst. Many brands now have a no- or low-VOC line of paint.


Buy only what you can use!
But the 5 gallon pail was on sale, you say. It's only a good deal if you're going to use it all. You can always go out to the store to get more paint/cleaners/lawn chemicals. Unfortunately, we often buy too much and it sits in the basement or garage until the next HHW day.


Household cleaners
Ever wonder why you have a headache after cleaning the house? It may be a result of the fumes from your cleaning products. Many household cleaners contain toxins, acids, bases, solvents and/or carcinogens. Many stores now carry "green" cleaners. Look for them at Trader Joes, Whole Foods, even Target. Remember that "natural" doesn't necessarily mean organic. Read the ingredients. Things you want to look for in cleaning products are: non-toxic, non-corrosive, natural surfactants, biodegradable, recyclable packaging. The more ingredients you can pronounce, the better!


Home recipes for green cleaning
Baking soda can be used as an odor-remover in carpets, refrigerators, drains and more. Mix four tablespoons baking soda to one quart warm water to make an all-purpose cleaner. Mix it with vinegar to clean toilets.

Borax can be dissolved in water to make a bleach alternative to kill mold, mildew and bacteria. Mix borax with sugar to kill cockroaches. Mix half a cup into a gallon of hot water to disinfect and deodorize. Add it to lemon juice to clean toilets.

Cornstarch can be mixed with vinegar and water to make a glass cleaner.

Lemon juice contains citric acid and can be as a bleach alternative. Mix lemon juice and baking soda to make a brass polish. Water and lemon juice make a good glass cleaner. Combine 1 part lemon juice to 2 parts olive oil to make a furniture polish. Rub a cut lemon on wood cutting boards to sanitize them. Then, discard the peel down the garbage disposal to freshen the smell in your kitchen.

Vinegar (about 5% acetic acid) can be used to dissolve grease and remove soap, mildew or wax. Undiluted vinegar can be used to clean toilets, while a vinegar-water mixture makes a kitchen and bath cleaner. Equal parts vinegar and oil will clean hardwood floors.

Soaps such as castile or vegetable-oil soaps can be used as a body wash or shampoo. Olive oil soaps are very gentle for the skin. Avoid petroleum based soaps. To make an all-purpose liquid soap, dissolve pieces of bar soap in warm water.

Essential oils such as tea tree oil, lavender, clove, and grapefruit seed extract are good natural antiseptics. Mix one teaspoon essential oil with two cups water to make a disinfectant spray.