Here is advice for making your home into a haven of health from anew book called 'Chemical-Free Kids,' by Allan Magaziner, LindaBonvie and Anthony Zolezzi:
A vegetable oil-based soap for hand-washing dishes or an automaticdishwasher soap that's low in phosphates, such as Seventh Generationbrand. Use instead of a dishwashing detergent containing phosphates,which could end up in lakes, rivers and oceans after they go downyour drain.
A strainer over the bathroom drains, to catch hair. And a thinplastic drain-cleaning device, available in hardware stores. (If yourdrain gets clogged anyway, try a handful of baking soda in 1/2 cupvinegar. Cover the drain for 15 minutes to seal in the bubblingcarbon dioxide, before rinsing with 2 quarts of boiling water.) Useinstead of chemical drain cleaners, which are among the mostdangerous products you can bring into your home. According to studiescites in the book, not only are they bad to breathe, they arecorrosive and can cause blindness or chemical burns.
Polish unvarnished wood surfaces with almond, walnut or olive oil.Polish varnished wood with a mild vegetable-oil soap. Removewatermarks from wood furniture by rubbing toothpaste on the spot andpolishing with a soft cloth. Use instead of commercial furniturepolishes that contain petroleum distillates.
For the toilet bowl: Pour in 1 cup of borax mixed with 1/2 cup ofwhite vinegar and leave it overnight. (Be sure to close the lid tokeep out pets and kids.) Remove stains with a paste of lemon juiceand borax. Let the paste sit for about 20 minutes, then scrub with abowl brush. Use instead of solid toilet bowl deodorizers that containparadichlorobenzene, a chemical that causes cancer in animals,according to studies cited by the authors. Also watch out for acidtoilet bowl cleaners, which should never be mixed with anythingcontaining chlorine.
Nonchlorine dry bleach or hydrogen peroxide-based liquid bleach.Nonchlorinated cleansers such as Bon Ami. Citrus-based cleansers.Baking soda, which is abrasive. Vinegar. (You can remove mineraldeposits around faucets by covering them with strips of paper towelssoaked in vinegar. Let the strips sit for one hour and then wash theporcelain.) Use these agents instead of chlorine bleach, chlorinatedcleansers or lye.
