Sick? Sneezing? Coughed out lungs? One culprit is breathing in too many fumes from toxic cleaners.
Green Living at Care2.com listing ten reasons to leave the bottle of bleach and instead use vinegar the next time the house needs a scrubbing.
"Heinz company spokesperson Michael Mullen references numerous studies to show that a straight 5 percent solution of vinegar—the kind you can buy in the supermarket—kills 99 percent of bacteria, 82 percent of mold, and 80 percent of germs (viruses). He noted that Heinz can't claim on their packaging that vinegar is a disinfectant since the company has not registered it as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency. However, it seems to be common knowledge in the industry that vinegar is powerfully antibacterial. Even the CBS news show "48 Hours" had a special years ago with Heloise reporting on tests from The Good Housekeeping Institute that showed this."
Whole Foods and Green Home are staple California-based companies that supply consumers with sound green cleaning products. But using vinegar in a cleaning concoction can save money and resources.
Vinegar can effectively kill bacteria, cut grease, soften laundry, and clean toilet bowls. It costs cents per gallon and produces none, if little, toxic by-products. This is different from the bleach and other industry-wide cleaners, which are known to leave hazardous residues in homes, not to mention pollute water systems, destroy eco-habitats, and make humans and animals sick.
The World Watch Institute reports that according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, air inside the average home is often five times more polluted than the air outside. Check out WorldWatch Institute's Action List for more information.