I used to think of a clean and tidy home as a safe home, right? Well that depends on what is being used for the cleaning! Are bleach, fabric softener, scented cleaners, toilet drop ins or plug in air fresheners being used? Solvents, bleach or strong fragrances can adversely affect indoor air quality and trigger allergic reactions, irritated eyes and skin, sinus symptoms and toxic effects to children and pets. As a former asthmatic, I found cleaning and laundry products triggered intense respiratory symptoms, so I went looking for natural options to create a clean and healthy home.
If you prefer purchasing natural products for cleaning, scan them with the Environmental Working Group’s phone application. It’s called “EWG’s Healthy Living” and scans the bar code of a cleaning or personal care product, then gives it a rating based on the ingredients. Because natural living is becoming trendy, many companies have labels that look like the product is natural, but the ingredients will tell the full story.
Over the years I have found a combination of non-toxic ingredients mixed with high quality essential oils creates my favorite natural products to clean my home.
Here’s a sample of one of my favorites:
Carpet Cleaner/Freshener
- 15 drops Protective Blend essential oil
- 1 cup cornstarch or baking soda
Mix and sprinkle on carpet then allow to it sit for an hour. Then vacuum up. Now your vacuum will be freshened up too. I put this in an old Parmesan bottle so it “sprinkles”.
