Conscious Choice: Healthy, Safe, and Simpler Alternatives to Toxic Living

January 2001

Healthy, Safe, and Simpler Alternatives to Toxic Living

by Juli Brussell

Chemicals, natural and synthetic, abound in our industrialized environment — both outside and inside our homes. Some may be relatively harmless; many others are not. Fortunately, most toxic chemicals used in our homes, household items, and our foods have less-toxic counterparts. We can choose more innocuous substitutes for problematic compounds and make our lives more pleasant in the process. On top of it, we may also save money and take pride in our own handiwork.

Some of us look for these alternatives because we experience bad reactions to chemicals, others may prefer to minimize their own exposures and that of their families. No matter the reason, replacing household items with less toxic substances usually means using a bit more elbow grease and may also entail a search for ingredients more common many years ago than today. Strangely enough, high tech comes to the rescue: a number of excellent references and sources for less common ingredients may be found on the Internet.

When it comes to living less toxic lives, we can start from the bottom and work our way up. Some of these substitutes may cost more initially, but will wear better and longer, saving money in the long run. We can use less toxic materials when we build or renovate our homes, such as low-VOC paints for walls. (Note:‘VOC’ refers to‘volatile organic compound’ or a substance that becomes gaseous when exposed to air or light. These are often petrochemical in origin and highly irritating or toxic. They can cause allergic reactions such as asthma attacks.) We can find natural tiles or hardwoods to use for floor coverings and organic fabrics to recover furniture or to use as slipcovers, bedding, and curtains. Metal blinds that can be rinsed of dust make better window coverings than vinyl shades. We can use non-toxic cleansers in our kitchens and bathrooms, as well as natural ingredients such as tea tree oils and beeswax to make our own cosmetics and body cleansers.

We can also avoid cheap particleboard furniture and kitchen cupboards often manufactured with glues and resins containing formaldehydes that outgas VOCs. If you are on a tight budget, look for antique or old furniture made of hardwoods such as oak and then refinish them with a non-toxic finish, instead of buying cheap new furniture.

Livos makes wonderful non-toxic wood finishes and stains that contain only biologically and environmentally responsible ingredients, grown without pesticides. This company, started in Germany more than twenty-five years ago, sells a line of biodegradable wood care products made from certified organic ingredients, which they carefully formulate to eliminate toxic fumes. In addition, they list every ingredient in a product on its label, even those ingredients making up less than 2 percent of the total, so customers with allergies can make sure the product won’t cause a reaction.

Glidden makes a good house paint that emits low levels of VOCs. Milk paints, once the mainstay of furniture and barn painters, can be mixed from casein and natural pigments available by mail-order from several companies. This paint, based on milk proteins, wears so well it can still be found on furniture hundreds of years old.

In the kitchen and bathroom, simple is the key. Several common and inexpensive materials can be used as cleansers. White vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, and club soda will work on many stains. If you are removing a stain from clothing, be sure to first test the cleanser you are using on a place where it won’t show.

In general, avoiding detergents and using soaps instead, such as castile soap or Murphy’s Oil Soap, will reduce the toxic load in your household. But don’t expect the same sparkling results with all these products. Adding washing soda to your laundry may help restore some of the bright to your whites if you have hard water. Just be certain that you have purchased washing soda and not the baking variety. A cup of baking soda added to your laundry will reduce odors, as will white vinegar, which can also be used to help wash out toxic residues from new cotton sheets or clothing.

A simple lesson in kitchen chemistry: acids and bases such as vinegar and baking soda can be used as cleaners. Next lesson, you do not usually want to mix acids and bases. Adding baking soda and vinegar to the same load of laundry will cancel out the good effects of both, as they neutralize each other. A paste made of baking soda and salt mixed with a bit of water can be used as a substitute for sink cleansers containing chlorine, but you will need to scrub hard. Pouring a kettle full of boiling water down your kitchen sink drain once a week will help prevent the need for expensive and toxic drain-opening materials.

When it comes to foods, buying certified organic wherever possible is the best route to reducing potential toxic residues. Growing your own organics, if that is an option, is the cheapest route. Again, good references on this subject abound and the satisfaction of preparing and serving healthy food you have grown yourself is hard to match.

Some recipes for household and personal cleansers are also listed on Internet sites that deal with environmental diseases such as multiple chemical sensitivities.

Best bet: find a book with recipes for mixing household cleansers from these ingredients, such as Annie Berthold-Bond’s book, Better Basics for the Home. This book not only lists 868 formulas for common household needs, but also lists sources for ingredients and resources that include organizations that advocate for natural living. Berthold-Bond offers many recipes for cosmetics and body cleansers, as well as recommendations for purchasing non-toxic varieties of these items if you are too busy to make your own.

All in all, living a less-toxic life at home is possible with some background research and a few key ingredients, leavened with a sense of balance and humor. The satisfaction is well worth the time, and your body will thank you in the long run.

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