Up on my environmental soapbox again! At the February meeting, I reviewed "Cradle to Cradle", an ambitious (even grandiose) proposal for redesigning the entire technological infrastructure of modern society. For this mini-review, I aim slightly lower: how to be environmentally responsible while scrubbing your toilet. "Green Clean" details the wide variety of alternative cleaning products and strategies that you can make at home, out of cheap and safe ingredients.
In nine words, the message of this book is "Chlorine bad. Vinegar good. Petrochemicals bad. Baking soda good." To be a little more specific, the authors explain how most cleaning tasks can be handled by strategically matching the cleanser to the dirt:
- acidic stains like proteins and grease will be neutralized by an alkaline substance like baking soda
- alkaline crud (coffee stains, rust, soap scum) can be handled by distilled white vinegar, a weak acid
- natural oil-based soaps get most everything else
Given that baking soda and vinegar can be eaten, it's pretty clear that they're non-toxic. Most "modern" cleaning products, in contrast, have all sorts of nasty extra chemicals which can really mess with your health, not to mention the larger environment.
As an added bonus, the book is printed on the same super-durable, waterproof, recycleable synthetic paper as "Cradle to Cradle", so if you accidentally drop it in a bucket of water, no sweat!
Caveat: I've only actually tried one of the "recipes" so far, an ant poison made out of sugar water and borax. Seems to work okay. I'll provide updates as I manufacture and test more of the cleansers.
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