How to make and use Natural Cleaning Products for your house

There are a number of cleaning products on the Irish market now such as Lillys and Ecover and act as great alternatives. You can also keep your home very fresh and clean by making your own natural cleaning products using items you probably already have around your home. See my website for details on how to make these at www.westernherbalmedicine.com

Some more tips for making simple and effective all-natural cleansers:

·         Use baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar to clean drains and bathtubs, or sprinkle baking soda along with a few drops of lavender oil or tea tree oil (which have antibacterial qualities) as a simple scrub for your bathroom or kitchen.

·         Vinegar can be used to clean almost anything in your home. Try it mixed with liquid castile soap, essential oils and water to clean floors, windows, bathrooms and kitchens. It can even be used as a natural fabric softener.

·         Hydrogen peroxide is safer to use than chlorine bleach for disinfecting and whitening.

·         Vodka is a disinfectant that can remove red wine stains, kill wasps and bees and refresh upholstery (put it into a mister and simply spray on the fabric).

For a great video on how to use these ingredients and other tips for cleaning your home without hazardous chemicals, please search on this site for “cleaning”

Finally, if you're still using air fresheners because you like a scented environment, I urge you to switch to safer alternatives like therapeutic essential oils from medicinal herbs.

Remember, essential oils are NOT the same thing as fragrance oils. Fragrance oils are artificially created and often contain synthetic chemicals -- so make sure the essential oil you use is of the highest quality and 100 percent pure. A few drops placed in a diffuser around your home, or mixed with water and sprayed onto upholstery or fabrics, is a safe and soothing way to scent your home naturally.

More shocking news

Nearly 12,000 children aged 1-5 went to a hospital emergency room because they drank, touched or were sprayed with household cleaners in a single year, according to a new study that analyzed data from 1990 to 2006.

The good news is that the number of annual emergency room visits for household cleaner injuries is down 46% since 1990, primarily because childproof containers are now required, and parents are better educated. But the bad news is that the actual number of children hurt by household cleaners is likely to be significantly higher than the reported number, and at least 744 children poisoned by household cleansers suffered life-threatening or permanent injuries in the last year studied, according to the authors of the study, Lara B. McKenzie, Nisha Ahir, Uwe Stolz and Nicolas G. Nelson, who published their research today in Pediatrics. The study relied on data from about 100 emergency rooms from around the country.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends storing cleansers in locked cabinets, buying products with child-resistant packaging, retaining products in their original packaging and disposing properly of unneeded cleansers. Many parents report taking these steps, but studies show they rarely do. The Daily Green additionally recommends avoiding harsh cleansers in the first place, by choosing nontoxic off-the-shelf cleansers, or making your own, which is often as easy as mixing baking soda and vinegar. Try simple nontoxic DIY cleansers to clean anything around the home.

So what makes kids sick?

Not surprisingly:

• Bleach is a big culprit, causing 37% of injuries, including many that start with parents storing bleach in dinnerware – a big no-no.
• Most injuries, 63%, came from drinking cleansers, and poisoning was the most common diagnosis. Another 36% of exposures came from skin contact, leading to chemical burns or rashes.
• Nearly three out of every four injuries happened to very young children, under age 3. And nearly 60% of victims were boys.
• Children under the age of 5 account for more than half of all poisonings in the U.S. each year (1.2 million cases in 2006), and 80% of those poisonings happen in the home.

More surprisingly:

• Spray bottles caused 40% of injuries, more than any other type of container. Injuries to the eyes and face were 14 times more likely, too, when spray bottles were in play, and spray bottles were the only category of container to show no decrease in injuries caused since 1990.
• Children exposed to cleansers with acids or alkalis like lye, oven cleaners, drain cleaners, toilet bowl products and dishwasher detergents were nearly five times as likely be hospitalized for their injuries. Exposure to ammonia also increased hospitalizations.
• Exposure to cleansers is the second-biggest source of poisoning in children under the age of 6. Exposure to personal-care products or cosmetics is no. 1.

Here's a look at the categories of cleansers that caused emergency room visits, in order from most to least.

1. Bleach: 37%
swimming pool chemicals
disinfectants

2. Other: 30%
general-purpose household cleaners
wallpaper cleaners
room deodorizers
abrasive cleaners
metal polishes
room deodorizers or fresheners
tarnish removers
windshield wiper fluids
mixtures

3. Low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons: 13%
pine oil cleaning products
spot removers
turpentine

4. Acids and/or alkalis: 10%
acids
lye
caustic agents
oven cleaners
drain cleaners
toilet bowl products
dishwasher detergents

5. Detergents: 7%
laundry soaps and detergents
dishwashing liquids
(Even seemingly benign cleansers like these can be poisonous; dishwasher tablets or powder, and many laundry detergents, can be caustic enough to burn skin or damage the respiratory tract or stomach if swallowed.)

6. Ammonia: 3%