A Healthy Home with Green Cleaning Products

81,000 CHEMICALS REGISTERED WITH THE EPA IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, and fewer than 20% have been tested for toxicity!

FACT: 90% of all poison exposures occur at home

FACT: 218,316 reported poison exposures in 2005 were from household cleaning products

FACT: Indoor pollutants come from all sorts of chemicals we use to make our lives easier every day-paints, carpets, furniture, household cleaners, personal care, among others

FACT: EPA studies indicate that elevated concentration of household chemicals persist in the air. Long-term exposure to chemicals inside our homes may be harmful to us and our families

FACT: Some 20 million Americans have asthma

FACT: An average of one out of every 13 school-aged children has asthma

FACT: Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes, which can potentially increase the risk of children developing asthma

"We are conducting a vast toxicologic experiment in our society, in which our children and our children's children are the experimental subject." Dr. Herbert NeedlemanPediatrician and Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

FACT: The average U.S. household generates more than 20 pounds of hazardous waste each year

FACT: The following household cleaning products are designated as household hazardous waste by the EPA, and "improper disposal of these wastes can pollute the environment and pose a threat to human health"

Oven cleaners
Drain cleaners
Wood and metal cleaners and polishes
Toilet cleaners
Tub, tile, and shower cleaners
Bleach (laundry)

I believe cleaning house shouldn't involve dirtying the earth. Use the following guidelines when selecting green cleaning products. Better yet check out the "Green Starter Kit" as seen on Oprah at Shaklee

Sustainable ingredients from natural sources
Biodegradable surfactants
Recyclable packaging
Recyclable wipes
Recyclable dryer sheets
No chlorine bleach
No phosphates
No nitrates
No borates
No volatile organic cleaning compounds
Shaklee does not test on animals

The Get Clean Starter kit includes:

Safe: Create a healthy home for your family with non-toxic, natural cleaning choices.

Powerful: Get Clean products deliver a powerful clean and outperforms 12 national brands.

Green: When you buy and use the Get Clean Kit you:

- keep 108 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills
- eliminate 248 pounds of greenhouse gas

Smart: You'd have to spend more than $3,400 to get the equivalent cleaning power of the Get Clean Kit.

Get it here Green Starter Kit a>

Oprah has featured Shaklee non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning products various times on her show. Below is just one of the videos available about the effects that common household cleaning products have on your health and the environment.

If you would like to order these safe and effective cleaning supplies Visit Shaklee Products

Store shelves are lined with cleaners shouting "antibacterial, kills 99% of bacteria". The public is convinced that they must use cleaning products that contain antibacterial properties to clean their homes and in thier personal hygiene. However, the use of antibacterial products can be detrimental to you, your family's health and the environment.

Visit my monkeybrain lens Do You Think Anti-bacterial Soaps are Creating Super Germs? and voice your opinion.

A report on the Center for Disease (CDC) website stated "no evidence suggests that there is evidence that the use of antibacterial soap containing 0.2% triclosan (active ingredient in antibacterial cleaning products) provides a benefit over plain soap in reducing bacterial counts and rate of infectious symptoms in generally healthy persons in the household setting." Plain soap and water, in other words, gets rid of the majority of germs that linger on the hands and body".

Additionally, another study concluded that there was no difference in infectious disease symptoms over a one year period in 228 inner city households using antibacterial cleaning products and those products that did not contain antibacterial agents. These findings further highlight the need to educate consumers on the limitations of antibacterial cleaning products.

The use of these so called antibacterial cleaning products claims to kill 99% of bacteria. However what becomes of the remaining 1%. This 1% remaining becomes the super germ. The overuse of antibacterial cleaning products breeds stronger and stronger organisms and thus less resistance to cleaning agents.

Furthermore, in order for antibacterial products to really remove 99% of bacteria, the cleaning agent should be left on the area which is being cleaned for at least two minutes for it to be effective. Most people do not have the patience to properly use antibacterial cleaning products.

Our bodies have an immune system to fight off bacteria, germs and virus. When we continually fight germs and bacteria with antibacterial cleaners we are hindering our immune system to naturally fight off these germs and viruses. Thus are immune system is continually weakened.

In Scientific American journal, it states "It appears that after, say, spraying a counter with an antibiotic cleaner, some chemicals linger and continue to kill bacteria but don't get all of them. The ones that survive develop a tolerance: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" Soon we have populations of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

"What is this stuff doing in households when we have soaps?" asks molecular biologist John Gustafson of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. These substances really belong in hospitals and clinics, not in the homes of healthy people."

In June of 2000, the World Health Organization warned that antibacterial products directly contribute to the rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The American Medical Association (AMA) says "(bacterial) resistance ascribed to overuse of antibiotics is a growing problem, and there is concern that some types of infections will eventually not be treatable with antibiotics".

On June 13, 2000, the AMA advised consumers to avoid extensive use of "antibacterial soaps, lotions, and other household products". The AMA has also urged the Food and Drug Administration to increase regulation of antibacterial products.

So next time you purchase that antibacterial cleaning product keep in mind that they are hindering your natural immune system, and these products are very detrimental to the environment.

For safe and effective household cleaners and personal hygiene products visit Shaklee

10 Reasons to Love Basic H2

1: Stop living in a toxic home!
Some of the most questionable chemicals used regularly in common cleaning products are ammonia, chlorine bleach, phenol, butyl cellosolve, and formaldehyde-all of which can be found under your kitchen sink. Basic H2 is nontoxic and safe for your family.

2: Everything and the kitchen sink!
Basic H2, a green cleaner, cleans it all from kitchens and bathrooms to appliances, woodwork, mirrors, painted walls, and floors- it even does windows. So, toss those single-purpose cleaners like sink and tile cleaners. Mix ¼ teaspoon in 16 oz. of water in a Get Clean spray bottle for all purpose cleaning, and 2 drops in 16 oz. of water to clean windows.

3: Eliminate your ammonia based window cleaner
Basic H2 cleans windows without streaking while being a great alternative to leading brands. Basic H2 window cleaner is equivalent in performance to Windex® Original.

4: Removes the Impossible
From lipstick on a linen napkin to crayons on a painted wall, full-strength Basic H2 comes to the rescue.

5: Great for cutting grease!
Tough on greasy barbecue grills, ovens, and even oil spots on concrete. Mix 2 oz. per gallon of water for a super degreaser formula.

6: Does odd jobs
One tablespoon of Basic H2 in a bucket of hot water lifts off old wallpaper. One and a half teaspoons in a half gallon cleans sticky paintbrushes. Just soak for 24 hours and rinse with hot tap water.

7: Saves money
One 16 oz. bottle of Basic H2 diluted per label directions makes 214 bottles (28 oz.) of ready-to-use all-purpose cleaner.

8: Camping and traveling companion
Take along a small size of Basic H2 to keep clothes, dishes, and everything else clean. And you'll help by keeping the great outdoors unpolluted.

9. Easy on the planet
Biodegradable and environmentally friendly, Basic H2 handles even hard-to-clean jobs without phosphates, borates, nitrates, or other stuff the planet doesn't appreciate.

10. Less in the landfill
Basic H2 is super concentrated, so you'll use fewer bottles of cleaning products throughout the year.

The retail price is $12.15 per 16 oz. bottle, which is a real deal when considering how much cleaning power you will get. However, with a $19.95 membership to Shaklee, a one time membership good forever, it will cost $10.35. With your $19.95 membership you will always receive a 15% discount on all Shaklee products.

Visit Shaklee

Shaklee GET CLEAN Cost Comparison
(based on Shaklee member price)



Shaklee Get Clean products are not only economical, but Wise.
Cost comparisons do not take into consideration the fact that Get Clean cleaners

1) Are non-toxic and do not pollute, 2) Leave no harmful residues, 3)Are biodegradable, 4)Use much less packaging materials, are safe around children and sensitive adults, 5)Out perform many leading national brands!
Visit Shaklee today.

Conventional product prices from Kroger, Athens GA 2007
All comparisons are based on manufacturer usage directions and/or actual measurements to determine uses per container

Monkeybrain link: Creating Super Germs

Currently there are 80,000 synthetic chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and les than 20% have been tested for toxicity. Because of the lack of toxicological testing, our children and our children children's are experimental subjects. Although the EPA has not tested all products for toxicity, many household cleaning products are listed on their website as "hazardous household waste".

Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxins. Their ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete harmful chemicals differs from that of adults. In addition, children have a faster metabolism which speeds up the absorption of contaminants and toxins.

Additionally, children are always placing items in the mouth. Scientists at Rutgers University discovered that pesticides that are sprayed in the home evaporate and re-condense onto the floors, carpets, and toys. Researchers concluded that these contaminated toys and areas are likely to give young children a much higher dose of poison than adults would get in the same environment.

The National Academy of Science has recommended that infants and children be considered more vulnerable to chemicals, such as those found in household products, than adults in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

Common household cleaners and appliances give off fumes which can increase the risk of developing asthma in children. During the last 30 years, asthma has become the most chronic childhood disease today. In a study conducted by THORAX in 2004, it concluded that common household cleaners give of fumes which can increase the risk of developing asthma in children.

A study was also conducted to investigate the association between the use of chemical based products in the prenatal period and patterns of wheeze in early childhood. These findings suggest a direct correlation between the frequent use of chemical based products by pregnant women and the wheezing in young children.

Many household cleaning products and air fresheners produce unhealthy fumes. Again, the frequent use of air fresheners and cleaners produce high levels of volatile organic compounds and harmful ultra fine dust in the air.

Several all-purpose cleansers contain neurotoxins and nasal irritants that can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled. Exposure to these toxic chemicals while pregnant can disrupt the development or even cause death of the fetus. In addition, maternal exposure to these toxins can include birth defects, low birth weight, and/or behavioral deficits that may become apparent as the child ages.

For your health, healths of your family, and the health of our environment, please use caution when using common household cleaners. Additionally, dispose of empty containers as indicated on the label. Better yet, think green and buy non-toxic, and biodegradable when purchasing household cleaners.

Go to the leader in environmentally safe products for over 50 years! Get your Green Starter Kit, as seen on Oprah Right here

Not only are common household cleaning supplies hazardous to our health, they are so detrimental to the environment. Why not try a bottle of Shaklee Basic H and then you will know you are using safe cleaning products and not harming the earth.

The inhalation of vapors also known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products.








Researchers have concluded that ithere is a direct correlation between asthma the use of common household cleaning supplies . Next time your shopping for cleaning supplies consider Shaklee , a leader for over 50 years in safe and non-toxic cleaning supplies, health and nutrition.

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