Saturday 10 September 2011

Make Your Own Safe Effective Glass Cleaner

The sun was shining and I could hear lawn mowers and other sounds of people happily taking advantage of the great weather to get outside in the garden to do a few chores.

What a beautiful day! A great day to take advantage of being outdoors. I must remember to go pick a few fresh herbs to use in our tea tonight.Then I thought about the new 'friends' I had made the other day. Some lorikeets had come to visit. I will make them up a dish of food, take it down, pick the herbs and take in some sunshine while I am at it to get my dose of Vitamin D.

I was walking down the stairs to my garden carrying my big container of chopped apples, bananas, pawpaw and bread, over which I had poured honey water and then sprinkled brown sugar on top. I was off to feed the lorikeets that love to visit when the banquet is on. They were waiting up in the mango tree.

My next door neighbour called out a cheery "Hi. How are you?" "Great thanks Jenny. And you?".  I saw Jenny carrying a bucket, cloths and a spray bottle. "I am giving the windows a bit of a clean" she said.

I made a mental note to have a chat with Jenny when we have our next coffee to share with her what I had found out from research about glass cleaners and give her a recipe for a safe cleaner she could use. Jenny suffers from asthma and her little girl from irritating skin rashes.

Have you checked the ingredients list on your window or glass cleaning products? There are a few nasties there that can have quite a harmful effect on your health.

Chemicals & Effects

For example, ammonia is found in many glass cleaners and the ammonia fumes can irritate skin, eyes and the respiratory system. Not a good chemical to have around if you suffer from asthma, bronchitis or emphysema.

Ammonia based glass cleaners accounted for 6,356 poison exposures in 2005. Source: Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poisoning and Exposure Database (2005)

Petrochemicals can also be found in some glass cleaners. They can cause allergic irritations of the skin, lungs, sinuses and eyes.

Butyl cellosolve is another chemical that can lurk in glass cleaners. This chemical can damage bone marrow, the liver, kidneys and the nervous system. Inhaling the chemical can cause irritation and tissure damage.

Ethylene glycol can cause developmental defects as well as reproductive defects.

Chlorine can irritate and damage the throat and eyes as well as affecting the respiratory system. It is toxic to the brain and nervous system and causes premature skin aging.

Now I am sure we have all used a manufactured window cleaner at one time or another and have felt the fine mist settle on our face and skin when we spray it, particularly when cleaning exterior windows. We have also used them in confined spaces such as bathrooms where the chances of inhaling the spray are fairly high.

Now that you know what is in glass cleaners, would you be happy to keep using such a chemically laden cleaning product?

You can purchase window cleaning products minus the chemicals, but a lot of them usually cost more. Most of us are watching our budgets with the cost of living rising across all fronts, so I thought I would share with you a recipe to make your own at home that is very effective, easy and cheap to make.


Make Your Own Glass Cleaner

It is easy to make your own glass cleaner.  The following cleaner can be used on glass and mirrors and is non-toxic, hypoallergenic, free of fumes and caustic chemicals and biodegradable.
 
 
Sparkling Windows Cleaner
 
 
·         ¼ cup of white vinegar
·         ½ teaspoon biodegradable liquid washing detergent
·         6 drops eucalyptus essential oil
·         2 cups of water

Put all ingredients into a spray bottle and shake to blend. Label the spray bottle and store it in a cool dark place. Spray on surface and wipe off with newspaper for a streak free shine.

This recipe is provided with permission from Helen Anderson, author of "Green Cleaners - Quick Cash"

I love Helen Anderson's books and can recommend Green Cleaners - Quick Cash. Helen has provided information about the dangerous chemicals in household cleaners and  recipes for making your own safe cleaning products for any cleaning job in the house.

Cheers for now.
Sonja
























2 comments:

  1. Brilliant. Love it. GOnna give it a go.

    ReplyDelete
  2. very interesting, good job, and thanks for sharing such a good blogClick here

    ReplyDelete