Have you ever asked, "What is my goal in cleaning?" I doubt it. We didn't grow up being taught that there are goals in getting something clean, our aim was just for appearance.

Appearance is the goal in the majority of people's minds. They don't want an untidy house, it would make the neighbors talk! But there is another goal in cleaning, one that is more important than appearance and that goal is health. Cleaning for our family's health is the ultimate goal.

We are bombarded with hundreds of commercials on tv everyday. It is the marketing of products that is being touted, not the goal of healthy cleaning. The commercial system wants us to think we cannot achieve a clean home without each and everyone of their bottled products. Why, there are even 3 kinds of baby wipes by one company so you have the appropriate wipe for the particular mess your baby makes! A wipe for messy messes, a wipe for little messes, and a wipe for dabbing. Oh my, what did our grandmothers do without such things?!

Exactly what does the word *clean* mean?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary used on Yahoo:

Free from dirt, stain, or impurities; unsoiled.

Free from foreign matter or pollution; unadulterated: clean air; clean drinking water.
Not infected: a clean wound.

Producing relatively little pollution: a clean fuel; a cleaner, more efficient engine.
Producing relatively little radioactive fallout or contamination: a clean nuclear bomb.
Having no imperfections or blemishes; regular or even: a clean edge; a smooth, clean joint.

Not ornate or intricate; spare: "the clean lines and exquisite proportions of early modernism" (Judith Thurman).
Sharply defined; clear-cut: a clean outline against the sky.
Free from clumsiness; deft; adroit: a clean throw.
Devoid of restrictions or encumbrances: a clean bill of health.
Thorough; complete: a clean getaway.
Having few alterations or corrections; legible: clean manuscript.
Blank: a clean page.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary definition:
Main Entry: 1clean
Pronunciation: 'klEn
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English clene, from Old English cl[AE]ne; akin to Old High German kleini delicate, dainty
1 a : free from dirt or pollution b : free from contamination or disease c : free or relatively free from radioactivity.

So how does the word *clean* apply to keeping house? Let's go with "clean from dirt, stain, impurities....free from foreign matter, pollution." But keep in mind "Free from contamination or disease" because that is the health goal of cleaning.

"People have been encouraged to believe that clean has a smell attached to it. Whether it be lemon or pine or any number of scents, many times these smells can be absolutely unhealthy. Clean does not have a smell. Clean is simply clean. As in all consumer product choices, there are differences brand to brand. This would apply to the green market as well. There is consumer information available, and some brands do independent testing in order to see the results of how brands compare."
Read Vicki Zerbee's full article and references at prlog.org

We know cleanliness is essential to health, and everyone thinks they put in enough elbow grease and time to have a clean home. Did you know there are some microbes that make their own sticky goo and then put out tentacles that cement themselves to the surface? Even on stainless steel! No amount of a spray of water, some rubbing or weak detergent will get them off. Metal appears smooth to us, but to these little squatters, it is full of valleys and hills. Other means must come in to play.

Microbes need to be taken care of before they *set up house*, and aftercare must follow to make the surface uninhabitable. The key to microbial survival is microscopic bits of food, moisture, and a place to hang on to. Remember, even stainless steel has nice hiding places. What better place to be than in the kitchen sink where there are lots of microscopic bits of food that humans cannot see? Oh how convenient.. the place where everyone goes to get a drink of water several times a day, or set a dirty dish until someone comes to wash it. With the frequent water flow, more bits of food.. why, it is like a carnival for the little buggers! They even invite friends to come in and hang out with them in their little cemented nooks and crannies. Soon there is not only one type of microbe, but you have quite a nice multi-cultural little neighborhood. That is good in the human world, but not so in the microscopic domain.

It takes effort to have a clean home from a health standpoint. The sink may have the clean appearance, but oh how not so under the microscope. This is where our real goal of being clean comes in to play. Cleaning for appearance is easy, a quick swish...but cleaning for health takes some serious forethought, armaments, and elbow grease.

Science News Online

White Vinegar. The key ingredient of vinegar is acetic acid. The typical pH of vinegar ranges from 2 to 3.5. The acetic acid concentration range from 4 to 8 percent by volume for table vinegar and higher for pickling, up to 18 percent. A molecule of acetic acid contains two carbon, four hydrogen and two oxygen atoms which is written as CH3COOH. There is a MSDS on vinegar

White vinegar can be made by oxidizing a distilled alcohol. Also, it may be made with nothing more than a solution of acetic acid in water. I just buy it at my local store, in the largest size possible. :-)

White vinegar's acidity has a disinfectant-like effect that creates an unfriendly home for microorganisms...by acidifying their environment. The acetic acid is an effective cleaner that can cut grease and soap scum, dissolve mineral buildup, and even inhibit mold and bacteria growth.

If you are thinking, "Well, I'll just douse everything with bleach and that will sanitize everything!", that won't work. Why not? Because pH is important in the anti-microbial effectiveness fight and bleach is at a high alkaline value. Laundry bleach concentrate is about 5.25 to 6 percent sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl, with a pH value of about 12. More than 90 percent of the bleach is in the form of the chlorite, OCl-, at an alkaline pH value of approximately 8.5 or higher. That makes it relatively ineffective on the microbial plain. Hypochlorite, HOC1, makes up 80+ percent, at an approximate acidic pH value of 6.8. This increases the antimicrobial power, but more help is needed.

What can we do to increase the disinfecting power of bleach? Did someone say "make it more acidic"? I ask, "How would you do that?" Did I just hear someone shout out "add some vinegar to it!"? I jump from my seat and applaud, "You are correct.. according to some scientists who actually did a test on it!"

The Journal of Food Protection reported an study from the
Dept. of Cereal and Food Sciences, North Dakota State University. "Diluted solutions of various household sanitizers (apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, bleach, and a reconstituted lemon juice product) were tested for their effectiveness in reducing counts of inoculated Escherichia coli and naturally present aerobic, mesophilic bacteria on lettuce. Of the sanitizers tested, 35% white vinegar (1.9% acetic acid) was the most effective in reducing E. coli levels....

If you want some good reading, visit "How to Disinfect Your Salad."

Now, a very brief list to give you an idea of what to use white vinegar on:

1. Stainless steel sinks: Try to end the day with a clean kitchen sink. Remember those little squatters love a moist area with microscopic food scraps! Stainless steel sinks should always be thoroughly rinsed after every use, to keep them clean and to prevent potential pitting and then thoroughly dried. Acids and salts could damage the finish of a stainless steel sink. We wouldn't want to leave any food setting there pitting, now would we? And remember this when wiping the SS sink down with a dilute vinegar mixure.. vinegar is an acid. Spray on the vinegar mixture, let it set for a little, scrub to clean, then rinse off well and dry thoroughly. This would be good at the end of the day. Throughout the day, mild soap and a cloth could be used when necessary.

2. Clean glassware, china, and dishes. Add 1/4 cup vinegar to your rinse water. To removecoffee stains and other discolorations scrub with equal parts vinegar and salt, followed by rinsing under warm water.

3. Clean up grease splatters from the stove, hood, and countertop by washing with a cloth dipped in undiluted white vinegar. Twist cloth to remove some of the liquid so you aren't making a sopping mess! Use another cloth soaked in cold water to rinse (again, ring out a bit first before use), wipe dry with a dry soft cloth.

4. Make an all-purpose cleaner for glass, stainless steel and plastic laminate surfaces. Fill a spray bottle with 2 parts water, 1 part distilled white vinegar, and a couple of drops of non-toxic dishwashing liquid.

5. Porcelain sinks and bathtubs. Scrub with full strength white vinegar, followed by a rinse of clean cold water to give them a good shine. To remove hard water stains, pour in 3 cups white vinegar under running hot water. Let the tub fill over the stains and soak for up to four hours. When you drain the water, you should be able to easily scrub off the stains.

6. Disinfect toilet bowls. Pour 2 cups white vinegar into bowl and let soak overnight before flushing. weekly cleaning regimen will keep away ugly water rings.

From these few examples, you can see how white vinegar can clean/disinfect just about anything in the kitchen and bath. For more ideas, do an online search with your favorite search engine, type in white vinegar

Baking soda: sodium hydrogen carbonate or sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3. The pH of baking soda is about 8. Baking soda is a weak base and so it isn't a powerful detergent like strong alkali would be that breaks down fat. However, it can remove dirt with some of its amazing properties, and in combination with white vinegar...it is amazing!

Baking soda acts as a cleaning agent because it is a mild alkali and causes dirt and grease to dissolve easily in water. When sprinkled on a damp sponge, it is mildly abrasive and works as a gentle scouring powder.

Baking soda's deodorization power is a result of its ability to neutralize odors, rather than just covering up odors with perfumes or fruity scents. Although baking soda is a base, it is also a buffer in that it not only neutralizes strong acids, but it acts as an acid around stronger bases, bringing them into a more neutral state. Baking soda deodorizes by neutralizing, bringing both acidic and basic odor molecules into a more odor-free state.

So what happens when we combine baking soda and vinegar? We've all seen the volcano demonstrations at School Science Fairs. It puts on quite a show, this is what happens:
Vinegar is acetic acid: CH3COOH
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate: NaHCO3
Mixing the two is an acid base reaction.
CH3COOH + NaHCO3 ---> CH3COONa + H2CO3
The end product is carbonic acid that decomposes into carbon dioxide and water:
H2CO3 ---> H2O + CO2
The CO2 is the foaming and bubbling reaction that cleans! WooHoo!

Don't want to use vinegar in your toilet? Then try this with baking soda. Put on your latex or vinyl cleaning gloves (you know, those yellow or white things. Sprinkle baking soda inside the bowl like any scouring powder. Add a couple drops liquid non-toxic soap. Scrub with cleaning cloth. You may need to even use a pumice stone for the stains. Finish the outside surfaces with a cloth sprinkled with baking soda. Rinse with a clean mildly damp cloth.

As a Drain cleaner: Baking soda, white vinegar, boiling water. This recipe frees minor clogs and helps prevent future clogs. Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain, then 1/2 cup white vinegar. Let it fizz a few minutes. Then pour down a quart of boiling water. Repeat if needed.

To clean silver: make a paste of 3 parts baking soda to one part water. Rub the paste onto each item, then rinse with warm water and dry with a soft dry cloth.

For burned on food in the bottom of pots: sprinkle baking soda inside, add hot water and let soak overnight. The baking soda loosens the dried on food and it will come off much easier.

Economical laundry booster: replace up to half of each measure of laundry detergent with baking soda to keep clothing fresh and stretch out the detergent.

Most odors come from compounds that are either acidic or alkaline. The secret is in working with the pH of the substance. A typical can of air freshener works by masking the odor and paralyzes nose sensitivity rather than remove odors. The actual odor problem stays, even though you are no longer capable of smelling it. The best way of odor removal is to fight the problem closer to its source rather than mask the smell....and that is working with pH!

See a pH table. A pH of 7 is neutral. Vinegar is acidic with a pH of 2 to 3.5 and Baking Soda is slightly alkaline with a pH of 8. Vinegar and Baking Soda help to balance pH levels by changing the chemical structure of odor-causing acids and alkalines, thus bringing them closer to neutral. Vinegar, being acidic, is most effective at neutralizing alkalines/bases, and baking soda, being alkaline is more effective at neutralizing acids. If you mix the two, they will pretty much cancel each other out.. so not a good combo for use in odor control.

See General Chemistry Online for tech notes on what pH is. For the animated story of pH, visit pH, The Power of Hydrogen.

To the right, you see a portion of acopper bottom pan, that was severely tarnished or whatever it was... it was ugly and no amount of scrubbing with detergents was getting it off. It was a dark brown all over the bottom. So, in the spirit of Kim and Aggie on How Clean Is Your House (they had an episode where they cleaned a copper bottom with lemon juice!), I tried the lemon juice soak for an hour.

The results were outstanding!



Now how did lemon juice do that? Stay tuned for the science behind lemon juice.. coming soon! Note: Online you willl find recipes for cleaning copper with lemon juice and salt, vinegar and salt, ketchup, etc. Most of these sites say you cannot clean without the salt. I say phooey! I did not use salt, I only used lemon juice from the bottle and let it set for an hour. No scrubbing, no buffing. The pictures prove it. In the first grubby picture, I had already started letting the pot set with the lemon juice when I saw it was taking the tarnish off... so I snapped the picture before it took anymore off for me to have images to compare. The second picture was a little less than an hour later... nice, bright, shiny bottom!

Did you know there can be anywhere from 100,000 to 10,000,000 dust mites living in your mattress? Nearly 100,000 mites can live in one square yard of carpet...might want to rethink having carpet in the house. Their diet consists dead human skin cells and pet dander along with other things and can be found in furniture, house dust, bed covers, clothes, cloth toys, carpets, and mattresses. They live 45 to as high as 90 days under ideal circumstances, and during that period what a lovely time they have. Their ideal choice for a habitat are fully-carpeted rooms. Dust mites prefer warm, moist surroundings such as the inside of a mattress when someone is on it. Females can lay from 30 to 100 eggs at a time once they reach maturity.

Pollen is the number one allergen, dust mites come in at a close second. Their feces contain protein substances that, when in contact with the skin or inhaled, produce an allergic reaction. Not exactly a pretty picture is it?

Dust mites are everywhere, there is no way to be totally free of them, but we can control their population. How? By controlling their environment!

What are dust mites? They have eight hairy legs, no eyes, no antennae, a mouthpart group in front of the body that gives the impression of a head, and a tough, translucent shell. Not exactly something you would choose to cuddle up to, but indeed they want to cuddle up to you!

Temperature and humidity play an important role in dust mite physiology. Dust mites have a unique mechanism for taking up water. They secrete a salt solution from the upper part of their front legs to their mouth. This enables mites to take up water from the room air. Dry room conditions cause this salt solution to crystallize, the mites dehydrate and eventually die. It is possible to reduce mite populations by controlling the internal environment (room conditions).

What can I do to reduce the dust mite population in my house? *Dust mites love warm, humid conditions so keep the thermostat in the house below 70 degrees and the humidity below 50 percent. *Use dust mite proof fitted sheets and pillow cases. *Wash your sheets, blankets, pillow cases and curtains in very hot water at once a week with water temps at least 130°F. *For people with allergies, remove carpeting and replace with wood, tile, linoleum, or marmoleum floor covering. *Get out the old mop to clean flooring. Use a damp mop or rag to remove dust, never use a dry cloth or broom, since this just stirs up mite allergens.

:-)

We've already learned the conditions that dust mites love and thrive in...temperature and humidity play the biggest part. A person sweats 1 pint overnight, as well as sheds lots and lots of skin cells. When we make the bed in the morning right after we get up, we are actually bedding down the bugs for the day in that moist sweat and feast of skin cells. BUT if we allow the bed to air out for a few hours, drying up the nightly sweat, we've cut off a supply for the mites!

Here is what Dr Stephen Pretlove said during a study: "Something as simple as leaving a bed unmade during the day can remove moisture from the sheets and mattress so the mites will dehydrate and eventually die."

Now something Momma was right about... don't go to bed with your hair wet. I think mine said it would give me a cold or something, but that is neither here nor there. Think about it..after showering, your hair is wet... dust mites love moist hair and moist pillows and they will swarm to it! So if you go to bed with wet or damp hair, picture an army of hundreds of thousands racing to your pillow. (scream!)

Visit the HouseDustMite Site for more suggestions.

This lens was created to get people thinking on how to become more efficient at cleaning in a non-toxic way. For any suggestions on usage of products in the home, you follow them at your own risk. Always note the warnings and directions on the products boxes or bottles and heed them carefully.

Some things are no-brainers, like do not use vinegar on marble. Others, you need to do a small spot test to make sure no unsightly or adverse reactions occur.

I encourage everyone to do their own research and find out what are safe products to use, what are safe and *frugal* home made products, and what will impact the environment in the least harmful way. Even so-called green cleaners can contain some things that you might find objectionable if you look up their MSDS (material safety data sheets). What did great-grandma use? Is it still around? Let's see... home made soap, vinegar, baking soda, salt, lemons if it the local store got a shipment in, and Bon Ami since the late 1800's. Hmmm. My great grandmothers lived very close to ages of 90-ish. Perhaps they had the secret in their pantry. :-)

1. The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products By Vanja Petrovic, AlterNet. Posted August 15, 2007.
"Investigative journalist Mark Schapiro discusses why companies that manufacture hazard-free products for the European Union often produce toxin-filled versions of the same items for America and developing countries."