Enjoying a lovely sunset last Tuesday at
Parksville Summer by the Sea Market, Outreach Coordinator Mikaela and I were
struck with a brainwave –what if we crafted a selection of Toxic Smart cleaning
products, and collected natural soaps and scrubs from market vendors to create prize
packs? We drifted from vendor to vendor, and were amazed by their overwhelming
generosity –we collected no less than three natural bars of soap, lavender
essence oil and bath salts in just ten minutes of asking!
But
what is “Toxic Smart”,
and why is Georgia Strait Alliance so keen to promote these products? I’ll
share some of our reasoning:
Our Toxic Smart program promotes simple and
often cost-effective ways citizens can reduce their use of toxic chemicals,
benefitting your family and the environment. We do this by providing education
on chemicals commonly found in your home or garden products (check out this Toxic Smart Glossary to put
the chemicals on your product labels to the test) and providing simple, natural
alternatives to commercial products.Our online education booklets, What Does Clean Really Mean? What's Your Poison? and Solving the Solvent Problem share more information on common chemicals and natural solutions for your home, garden and workshop -worth the read!
It seems obvious that natural fresheners
and cleaners are a safer choice than many commercial products, but what does
exposure to common chemicals do to our families and environment? Take ammonia, hydrochloric
and sulphuric acids for example. These chemicals are often found in commercial glass
or drain cleaners, yet exposure to their fumes puts us at risk for eye, lung,
nose or throat irritation, not to mention chemical burns, headaches and nausea
(gross!).
One can only imagine what happens to our
marine environments when they come in contact with such chemicals via sewage
into nearby lakes, rivers and streams. Phosphates, for instance, found in many
commercial laundry and dishwashing detergents can cause a spiral of negative
effects on fish and aquatic life. By creating a build-up of nutrients in the
environment, phosphates induce excessive growth of algae (“algae blooms”),
which in turn depletes oxygen and well… doesn’t end well for aquatic organisms.
Now that I’ve got your brain whirring about
what’s really stored in all those bottles and tubes tucked under your kitchen
sink, how about I share a couple simple recipes for you to try on those
stubborn sticky stains, and dusty summer air filling your living room (our heat
wave along the Georgia Strait is still going strong!) I’ll even test them out
to save you the trouble.
 |
| Tools and ingredients for Toxic Smart Recipes (Photo by M. Spencer) |
1 1) All Purpose Cleaner
Next time you’re traipsing down your local
grocery store cleaner aisle, ask yourself: do I really need this specialized cleaning
product? Often the answer is no –a well-crafted All Purpose Cleaner can do the
job on a variety of surfaces, like counters, floors, walls, tiles and woodwork.
I tried the baking soda and water mixture (below) on all five surfaces, and was
very pleased with the squeaky clean result! And I can hear all the aquatic life
downstream from our Nanaimo office splashing their approval :-)
* Dissolve 60ml baking soda in 1 litre
of hot water, mix and use.
* Or try mixing 125ml pure soap (such as
Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap) with 4 litres of hot water. To help cut grease, add
60ml reconstituted or strained, freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Note: I’m not one for the smell of vinegar,
but you may also try mixing equal parts vinegar and salt to get those surfaces
sparkling.
As I mentioned above, ammonia is a very toxic chemical for both
humans and our environments. Unfortunately, many commercial glass cleaners mix
ammonia with water, dye it a “cleaner” colour like blue or green, and can sell
their product without a ‘Poison’ warning label! To avoid using ammonia in your
homes, try this recipe for sparkling glass.
* Add 65ml vinegar OR 15ml lemon juice
to a one litre spray bottle, then fill with warm water. Polish with newspaper
(this helps avoid streaks).
Note:
I used a terry cloth to test polish some glass mirrors and windows, and was
also pleased with the result (just wipe gently).
Try out these recipes and let
us know what you think! Do they clean as well as commercial cleaners, or
perhaps free your conscious knowing that your cleaning practices are healthier
for your home and the environment? As always, you can converse with us on Twitter, Facebook,
or submit comments and videos to our Communities
Atlas.
If you’d like to enter to WIN some of our
Toxic Smart products (packaged so nicely in GSA labelled spray and cream bottles) and a lovely assortment of local, natural bath and body products you
can either…
* Submit a name entry to our Name
our Mermaid Contest. Outreach Coordinator Mikaela and I will be attending many
more events and festivals
around the Georgia Strait, so stop by our table and enter or submit your name
by e-mail to megan@georgiastrait.org.
We’ll automatically consider you for the basket!
*
Sign one or more of our Stewards of the Strait Pledges,
in person or online. We’ll automatically consider you for an in person entry,
but if you sign our online Pledge please send a separate e-mail to megan@georgiastrait.org, with the Subject
Line “SOS: Toxic Smart Entry.” One entry per person please!
Happy cleaning,
~Megan
