We are surrounded by chemicals. In fact, toxic chemicals have been detected in EVERY American tested in recent years. And it’s no wonder, in the US alone, we produce over 500 billion pounds of synthetic chemicals each year – that’ s more than four pounds of man-made chemicals for every person in the country EACH DAY. This post will give you some natural alternatives to use to cut down on you and your family’s exposure to toxic chemicals.

A Sea of Chemicals

Worldwide, over 70,000 chemicals are in use, with over 1,000 new ones added every year. Some have been tested for human use, but the vast majority has not been fully tested. In addition, next to nothing is known about the toxic effects to humans of almost 80% of the more than 48,000 chemicals listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – less than 1000 have been tested for immediate acute effects on humans and only about 500 have been tested for their ability to cause long-term chronic health problems such as cancer, birth defects and genetic changes.

Home Sweet Home

The average home is filled with products made with these inadequately tested synthetic substances; in fact, we use more chemicals in our homes today than were found in the typical chemistry lab at the turn of the century. As further research is done, scientists are finding that many household products we assumed safe are actually toxic to some degree. It would be nice if you could tell if something was toxic simply by reading the label, but ironically, most household products are not required by law to completely list their ingredients, so you don’t know what’s in the bottle. Therefore, it is a wise choice to make the decision to stop using these products and start using products that are safe for you and your family and still get the job done.

Natural Alternatives

There are many natural alternatives to household cleaning products. One of the easiest to use is a basic all-purpose cleaner that is made by combining 1/2 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup baking soda (or 2 teaspoons borax) into 1/2 gallon (2 liters) water. This can be used for removal of water deposit stains on shower stall panels, bathroom chrome fixtures, windows, bathroom mirrors, etc. We use it throughout most of our house – it’s a great general cleaner.

There is a natural alternative to fit almost any need. Here are a number of natural cleaning products we have found particularly useful.

Natural laundry products that work are hard to come by – most of them either don’t clean your clothes, have a very, very strong scent, or don’t clean your clothes (get the picture?!). However, we have found one that cleans very well and is gentle enough to use on baby’s clothing. It is called Daisy Breeze and can be found here.

Feel good about cleaning (or at least what you are using for cleaning) by using these natural alternatives to household cleaning products.