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from Natural Life Magazine, May/June 2006 It was the last thing I expected. My mother, an active fourth-grade teacher, started to experience asthma for the first time in her life. Baffled, she saw doctor after doctor, but the problem continued to get worse. Soon she was tied to asthma medications and spending her days living between attacks. It wasn’t until she told a friend that she was also breaking out in hives that the answer became clear. Her friend suggested that it might be something she was breathing or that was coming in contact with her skin. We searched through her house, considering anything and everything. Then, we found it. It was a commercial cleaner that she was using to prevent build-up on her glass shower walls after showering. It was supposed to save her time and hours of hard work, but instead...it had cost her her health. This experience opened up a whole new world to me. Instead of stopping with the “culprit” cleaner, I went home and decided that all cleaning products deserved my further attention. I was amazed at what I saw. Aside from unpronounceable ingredients, warnings abounded on every label, cautioning about ingestion and skin contact and the dangers of children being exposed to their product. Suddenly, having a safety latch on my cleaning cupboard seemed as well-meaning as wrapping radioactive waste in tin foil. But what could I do? Wearing a biohazard suit wasn’t an option. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t avoid all of the chemicals that were present in so many of the things my family and I ate, wore and touched. Instead, I learned all I could about natural cleaning and decided that there were many ways I could limit my family’s exposure to chemicals. Whether you’re a “newbie” like me or a pro, read on and you might find something that surprises even you. Go back to the basics. Nothing will ever beat a little soap and hot water, whether it’s washing your hands or cleaning dishes. Don’t bother with all of the hype about antibacterial cleaners. All they do is kill off the weaker germs and leave the stronger ones to propagate. And while the convenience of hand gels is tempting, remember that they’re ... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's online edition. |
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