Swanson Health Products - Daily Tips

How Toxic Is Your Home?

You may not realize it, but the air inside your home could be more polluted than the air outside. That’s right. Thanks to the ultra high-efficiency homes being built these days, they can trap in the contaminants and pollutants that get pumped in from outside air. The problem is, they have no way of escaping. So, your home’s air can become concentrated with pollutants. Plus, when you use traditional chemical cleaning products or own pets, the problem can just become worse. What can you do? One thing you should always do is check your furnace and air conditioning filters at least once every six months, changing them out as needed or cleaning them as needed. There are also specialized ultra-violet light filters that can be installed into many home heating/cooling units that can kill up to 99.9% of all airborne contaminants, including viruses, bacteria and other nasty little critters. You can also give up those chemical cleaners for a eco-friendly approach like the e-cloth, which uses nothing but tap water to clean up dirt and grime from kitchen and bath surfaces.

 

Getting a Safe Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Let’s be honest here. You probably don’t like to think much about safe toilet bowl cleaner. You just want to get this unpopular cleaning chore out of the way. You need to give some thought to what you’re flushing down the drain, however. The water in your toilet goes straight into your septic tank or the city’s sewer system and eventually gets back into the water table, making safe toilet cleaner important.

The easiest way to get a safe toilet bowl cleaner is to make your own or shop somewhere that sells organic natural cleaners. Baking soda and lemon juice or an essential oil put into a toilet to sit before being scrubbed is a simple cleaning product you can make. If you’re looking for commercial organic natural cleaners, check the ingredient list and make sure to identify everything on it. Use safe, natural cleaners to help protect the environment every day!

How to Begin Making Homemade Organic Cleaners

Organic home cleaners are a safer, cheaper bet for your cleaning needs. Perhaps you want to use organic cleaners but believe the market is full of false promises. Or you don’t want orange peels lying around the kitchen in case company comes. Instead you can invest a bit of money and time into homemade organic cleaners that won’t make you stand out.

There are four basic ingredients for homemade organic cleaners: baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice (or real lemons if you want to go completely natural), and salt. You’ll also need access to plenty of tap water and spray bottles to hold your organic home cleaners. With these basic ingredients, you can begin to create your own homemade organic cleaners. Mixing a little baking soda with water makes a great scrub, and lemons mixed with water can freshen up a room. These organic home cleaners are versatile and simple – making one part of your life easier.

Picking a Natural Home Cleaner

A natural home cleaner is tough to find. Though many products claim they’re natural, their ingredient list will tell you otherwise. When you’re searching for a natural home cleaner or safe floor cleaner, check out products with ingredients you recognize. The Citri-Glow Home Cleaner, available at Swanson Vitamins is one natural home cleaner you can trust.

Because natural cleaners aren’t chemically designed for just one purpose, these cleaners can be used on multiple surfaces. Some natural home cleaners are also safe as floor cleaners, laundry detergents, and outdoor cleaners-- all in one bottle. Though the price on these cleaners may seem high, they’re usually concentrated and they last longer. Also, because they work as an all-purpose cleaner, they make your domestic duties just a bit more pleasant.

A natural home cleaner also will lack the smell of petroleum-based cleaners. The sniff test is another quick way to make sure the cleaner you’re getting is natural. Though the cleaner may or may not smell like roses, it shouldn’t take your breath away (in a bad way)when you smell it.

How to Look for Organic Carpet Cleaners

Organic carpet cleaners are a commonly advertised product. As more people become aware of formaldehyde, pesticides, and other harmful products in most commercial carpet cleaners, organic carpet cleaner is more frequently used. When you’re buying an organic carpet cleaner, though, how do you know you’re not getting hype?

There are some signs you can look for to make sure you’re getting one of the true organic carpet cleaners on the market.

Check the ingredients. You should know what everything is or be able to find out easily. Ingredients with common chemical endings, such as “zene” or “cide,” should be red flags for you. Truly organic carpet cleaners will have safe, natural ingredients. Look for plant-based ingredients and terms like non-toxic, chlorine free, phosphate free, and biodegradable.

Read the entire packaging for the organic carpet cleaner you’re considering to make sure you’re not getting a raw deal.

Benefits of Using a Non-Chemical Home Cleaner

Both health and environmental benefits result from using a home cleaner designed with non-toxicity in mind. Non-toxic home cleaners help keep our groundwater from being polluted. When chemical cleaners are washed down the drain, either because they were used to clean the sink or because they were on something we washed, they move into the sewage system and eventually groundwater supplies. Polluted groundwater has disastrous consequences for fish as well as our drinking water.

Another benefit of home cleaners made with natural products is that they won’t harm our bodies. Non-toxic home cleaners don’t burden our bodies with chemicals that are believed to cause all types of health problems from fatigue to cancer. Using non-toxic home cleaners greatly reduces this risk since our skin absorbs more than half of the products that touch it. This absorption level means we should take the choice of which home cleaner to use seriously.

Use that Whole Orange, Make a Home Cleaner

Home cleaners are easy to make if you have the patience and space to store them. The easiest homemade cleaner to make is a citrus scrub. All you need are the peels from lemons, oranges, and any other citrus fruit you eat regularly. Make sure the peels are clean before you start. For the best homemade cleaner, use organic fruit so that you don’t have any chemical residue.

Once you’ve collected the fruit for your home cleaner, cut it into strips or small pieces, depending on how much you have. Put the peels on the bottom of a small container and cover with vinegar. This homemade cleaner will need to sit for a month or more, and you need to check on it weekly. When it’s done, you have a home cleaner that will work on windows, wood, and other surfaces. Simply spray and wipe. Don’t forget to strain first! You don’t want any leftover orange pulp getting stuck to your furniture.

For Better Results, Try an Essential Oil-Based, Non-Aerosol Air Freshener

Essential oils are the juices from plants. Mostly gathered from the leaves and stems of these plants, essential oils are the purest form of the plant – and the best way to spruce up your environment. These oils do everything from stop headaches to ramp up your energy, and they also work as non-aerosol air freshener when needed. An air freshener made from essential oils, rather than complex chemical compounds, will smell better and last longer.

Because essential oils are all-natural ingredients, there’s no risk of them harming your pets or your children. They also are safe when they get on your counters or shelves. Plus a non-aerosol air freshener made with essential oils has the benefit of being long-lasting simply because it comes from the goodness of plants. Chemical air fresheners are designed for an initial burst of smell, and then they begin to dissipate, but a non-aerosol air freshener will penetrate the air for a better effect. The non-aerosol spray cap will help you control the amount you spray so that you can conserve the spray for longer use.

Use E-Cloth® Screen Cleaner for Dust-Free Viewing

Those little chubby fingers may have used crayon on your television screen, but that’s no match for E-Cloth® screen cleaner. Neither is the dust that’s accumulated from everyday living. With the E-Cloth® screen cleaner, you’ll get a perfectly safe cleaning cloth that needs only tap water to make work. Add a bit of cleaning spray from the E-Cloth® screen cleaner pack, and you’ll be on your way to a shinier, dust-free look on your television screen.

E-Cloth® screen cleaner uses both polyester and polyamide fibers to pull away dust and leave a clean surface in its wake. Instead of spraying your screen with chemicals that smell and can cause health problems, you can use this cloth for an environmentally-friendly, yet sparkling clean, home.

The cleaner also adds a protective layer to keep dust from gathering on the screen’s surface again. With a cloth that cleans, shines, and works so that you have to clean less often, what else do you need?

E-Cloth® Is the Perfect Solution for All Your Environmental Cleaning

To clean your counters and dust your breakables, you can just use an ordinary washcloth. You won’t get the best results, however. For that, you need a chemical-free cleaning cloth designed for getting your home clean. E-cloth® is a perfect solution for the environmentally-friendly neat freak. These cloths have no chemicals in them, but they are designed to grab dirt that does manage to invade your home. The design of an E-cloth® lets it break down the dirt to remove it, rather than just wiping it from the surface.

These cloths work repeatedly simply by adding water. The cloths clean all types of surfaces in your home, from marble foyers to wooden bookshelves, so regardless of the materials in your home, E-cloth® can work for you. The best part about the E-cloth® packs is that they come with multiple cloths – perfect for getting everyone in your home in on the cleaning action.