"Is Your Kitchen Toxic From All the Chemicals You Use?"

 Want a Green Cleaning Solution! Did you know that when we use chemical cleaners, they are making your home environment toxic? Did you know that when run your dishwasher 100% of the chemicals in your water will end up in the air you breathe? (Reference: ivillage.com ""Coming Clean in the Kitchen"".) If those chemicals are in the air you breathe, they will end up in you!


What about that awful smelling oven cleaner, it's in the air, you smell it, and then you are inhaling it. Do you use a window spray cleaner to wash your windows, some contain ammonia; do you think ammonia is good for your lungs? Even some of the paste cleaners contain chemicals that are toxic to your environment.

Here are some solutions to that dilemma:

o Wash your dishes by hand, then rinse them in a sink of hot water and let them air dry. This will help eliminate the chemicals being released through the steam, from the dish washer. (Remember 100% of the chlorine in your water ends up in your air, when washing with a dish washer: and you will save on water use too.)

o You can use a natural dish washing solution: mix equal amounts of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and Mule Team Borax together (1 cup of each) and then use 1 tablespoon of that in your dish washer. (This is better than store bought; but you still will get the chemicals that are present in your water supply into your air.)

o Open your windows when running dish washer to bring in fresh air.

o Clean your counters, tables, appliances with a microfiber dish or cleaning cloth. Microfiber cleans with only water, just wet the cloth in hot water, wipe, rerinsing the cloth again in hot water and use dish soap if needed.

o You can eliminate having to use stainless steel cleaners for your stainless steel appliances, by cleaning them with a microfiber dish cloth. Just wet the cloth, wipe and walk away.

o Wash your windows with a wet microfiber cleaning cloth or towel and dry with a second towel. Or you can mist your windows with water from a spray bottle and wipe dry. No window washing fluids necessary.

o Got some burnt on ""crud"" on your stovetop? Sprinkle on a little baking soda, and pour over it a little vinegar, let it work for a few minutes and wipe away. You may have to repeat if it is quite a large or thick spot, but this method is allot healthier than using other chemical cleaners. You can use baking soda and vinegar to make your own ""scrubbing bubbles"".