We’re fortunate that safer cleansers are now readily available, so we’re not stuck with conventional bathroom cleaners, which contain ammonia, chlorine, and phosphates, emit fumes, and leave residues.
Natural Bathroom Cleaners
There are many effective alternatives that you can make right at home using simple household products. Give these a try:
- Disinfectant. Use isopropyl alcohol.
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Porcelain and glass cleaner. Use lemon juice.
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Air freshener. Add a half cup of borax to the bottom of the garbage can or diaper pail to reduce the growth of mold and bacteria that causes odors.
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Drain cleaner. Prevent clogs before they begin: use plastic hair catchers to keep the biggest clogger from going down the drain. When necessary, use a plunger or mechanical snake to dislodge clogs, and as a last resort, shun the caustic products that contain lye and sulfuric acid and instead try a half cup of baking soda poured down the drain, followed by a half cup of white vinegar.
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Toilet bowl cleaner. Use borax and lemon juice.
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Tub and tile cleaner. Use baking soda.
Fresh Air and Bathroom Smells
We’d all like the air in the bathroom to smell like a mountain breeze, but the air fresheners that promise us this kind of scent often contain common toxins like formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, p-dichlorobenzene, and aerosol propellants, and quite commonly they do their olfactory magic by adding a nerve-deadening agent to interfere with your ability to smell or by coating your nasal passages with an undetectable oil film.
And air fresheners and aerosol sprays can lead to sicker babies, sicker moms, and moms who are depressed, according to the University of Bristol.1 This news came from the “Children of the 90s” study (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children—ALSPAC, in which fourteen thousand children have been followed from pregnancies in the early 1990s to the present day). About 40 percent of the families in the study regularly used aerosol sprays (hair sprays, deodorants, furniture polish, and so on) or air fresheners. The more these products were used, the higher the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the home. Those who used one or more of these products daily—especially during pregnancy and early childhood—were far more likely to have babies with minor infections, such as diarrhea or ear infections, compared with those families who used them once a week or less.
Mothers in the aerosol/freshener homes also reported more physical symptoms (especially headaches) than did their peers. Maternal depression was 26 percent more common in those families. The scientists suggest squeezing a lemon as a quick, gentle,
natural alternative to chemical air fresheners. This seems like a wise idea to me, especially during pregnancy and infancy. The chemicals in air fresheners are among those that cross the placenta easily. It’s better to give babies a fresh start without them. Open a window, open a box of baking soda, or add a few drops of an essential oil like lavender to the sink or a sprinkling of borax to the garbage pail. ....read more
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