Non-toxic Alternatives

Proper disposal of hazardous waste is extremely expensive and available disposal is limited. To reduce the amount of hazardous material in our community, we can all start at home. Each time you make the choice to buy and use safer household products you make a contribution to keeping the environment cleaner. Learn how to shop for less toxic products and utilize alternatives!

To become a smarter consumer, follow these three steps:

• Read Labels
• Seek Safer Alternatives
• Choose Non-Toxic Products

Read Labels

Review signal words on hazardous product labels. These signal words are clues that a product contains hazardous ingredients. Signal words give an indication of the amount of risk the user accepts when using the product. Signal words:

• DANGER means extremely flammable, corrosive, or highly toxic.
• POISON means the product is highly toxic.
• WARNING means moderately toxic.
• CAUTION means slightly toxic.

Personal Protective Equipment: Use protective gloves, safety glasses, and mask that are appropriate if the product presents hazards to skin, eyes, or lungs.

Seek Safer Alternatives One of the best means of avoiding exposure to household hazardous materials is to use safer alternatives whenever possible. However, don't feel that you need to throw out all your everyday products and buy new ones. Substitute gradually, and you won't be overwhelmed.

Start with making your own simple and effective products. Alternatives are fun and economical to mix. Below are a few time-honored recipes to help you begin making a gradual switch towards safer household products.

All Purpose Cleaners

• Vinegar and Salt. Mix together for a good surface cleaner
• Baking Soda. Dissolve 4 tablespoons baking soda in 1 quart of warm water for a general cleaner.

Brass Cleaner

Lemon Juice and Salt. Make a paste and rub on brass. Rinse thoroughly and polish with a soft cloth.

Furniture Polish

Olive Oil and Vinegar. Mix 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. Apply and polish with a clean soft cloth.

Choose Non-Toxic Products

Living with less toxic products is as important as proper nutrition and exercise and there is a range of choices you can make-- from less toxic to entirely non-toxic household products! Although it is impossible to completely eliminate all toxins in our daily living you can have more control over the amount of toxic chemicals that you use.

To learn more about toxics reduction, resources are available in your community, at your library, and on the web.

THINK ALTERNATIVES BEFORE YOU BUY

Many common household cleaning products contain hazardous chemicals. When disposed of improperly in storm drain, sink or garbage the chemicals can end up in our local water bodies or groundwater.

To protect our water quality, keep both less-toxic and non-toxic products in mind when making your next grocery list.

Fortunately, less-toxic household products are becoming more available and most ingredients for non-toxic cleaners are already in our kitchen cabinets.

Though we now laugh at 12th century efforts to convert lead into gold, we remain attracted to the spirit of alchemy at heart. Whether it is seeds to flowers, or milk and sugar to cookies, we enjoy the satisfaction of transforming the ordinary into something fine and useful. And each time we save money by using a homemade product instead of a store bought one, we are making our own gold out of everyday lead.

The alternatives offered below are the beginning of your collection of recipes, mixtures and formulas that can be found to turn the ordinary into something useful and non-toxic.

EARTH FRIENDLY RECIPES

By replacing chemical cleaners with your own homemade non-toxic household cleaners, you will save money, make your home safe for children and pets, create demand for recycled products, prevent pollution, reduce disposal costs, preserve natural resources and help keep our watersheds and drinking water chemical free!

All Purpose Cleaner

Fill a spray bottle with hot water, mix with 1 tsp. liquid soap or borax. Add 1 tsp. white vinegar or lemon juice to cut grease. Shake bottle gently to dissolve minerals.

Disinfectant

Fill a spray bottle with 1 tsp. borax, 3 trsp. white vinegar, and 2 cups hot water. Shake bottle gently.

Fill a spray bottle with 1/8 cup white vinegar and 1 cup water. Just as effective as popular cleaners without the green and blue dyes!

Brass Cleaner

Make a paste with lemon juice and salt. Rub paste on brass and then rinse thoroughly. Polish with a soft cloth.

SHOP YOUR KITCHEN AND SAVE DOLLARS

Keeping these products on hand will allow you to create your own non-toxic cleaners:

• Baking Soda
• Vinegar
• Borax
• Dry Mustard
• Pumice Stone or Powder
• Lemon Juice
• Mayonnaise
• Glycerine Soap