BoomerGirl Diary

Chicago — Excuse me while I finish something here - gurgle, slurp, kerplunk. That noise in the background? The sound of me dumping out my old toxic cleaning caddy.

I am here to tell you, I am born again. At least at the well-scrubbed altar of cleaning green, I am.

Now waking up to parsley scent in my salle de bain. Rubbing windows shiny with eau de vinegar, or, perhaps, purified H2O laced with essential lavender oil. Rinsing toilet bowl, should you care to peek in there, with coconut-derived surfactant in natural cedar scent.

But not a toxin do I own.

Not anymore anyway, and not anywhere in the vicinity of my cleaning shelf. I am, I swear on a stack of holy books, deeply steeped in keeping my clean green.

I once was in the dark, but now I've seen the streak-free, smudge-proof, dust-swiped light.

I once had wronged, but now I'm free. Free of 2-butoxyethanol, free of n-Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, free of hydrocarbon propellant, for crying out loud.

There's a maxim in the world of cleaning green, and it is this: If you can't pronounce what's in it, toss it out.

So toss I did.

At first, this was just another story, this cleaning green. And I'll be honest, not long after I started, my head was spinning. You quickly come to find out that in the world of so-called eco-cleaning, there's a whole slew of terms that frankly are more than somewhat slippery. What really defines green? Or natural?

Is it biodegradable? Plant-based? Sustainable? Organic?

Turns out, there's no one keeping watch on how these words are being used. Unlike organic food, which now comes under the certification of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are no federal or industry standards for household cleaning products claiming to be "green." Rather than muddy the waters, and slinging dirt on companies who contend they're doing the right thing, I will simply fill you in on the cleaners I now count on, to get the job done, get it done sparklingly, and to preserve the planet while doing so. (We'll save what to do about laundry another day, another story.)

What you were afraid to ask

Before we turn to my reborn cleaning ways, I need to let you in on a few spine-chilling facts I turned up in talking to chemists and environmental engineers, some of whom are independent academic researchers, others in-house eco-gurus at respected green-cleaner firms.

The bottom line, before we get into details, is that you have every reason to be worried about the toxins you bring into your home, via your cleaning caddy.

William Nazaroff, professor of environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, led a four-year, $400,000 study looking at what he calls "the pollution sources right under our nose."

Considered the first, most comprehensive study to measure emissions and primary and secondary toxic compounds under typical indoor-use conditions, the Berkeley analysis, published just last May, found two serious causes for concern.

Looking at 17 cleaning products and four air fresheners, the researchers found that, under normal conditions, six of the cleaning products emitted a toxic compound, ethyl-based glycols, at levels up to three times higher than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would allow for outdoor pollution standards. Glycol ethers, widely used as solvents, are considered by the EPA to be "hazardous air pollutants."

And 12 of the tested cleaning products contain a class of chemicals known as terpenes - again often used as solvents, but more frequently as the citrus-based scent in so many cleaning products - that rapidly reacts with ozone, producing harmful byproducts such as formaldehyde and small-particle pollutants that no lungs need inhale. Nazaroff points out that ozone can seep into buildings through ventilation, or even just an open window.

The worst scenario, explained Nazaroff in a recent telephone interview, is when you clean a large surface in a small, say, bathroom, and spend up to 15 minutes scrubbing, say, scale off the shower walls. It is particularly troublesome for anyone who cleans four houses a day, five days a week, 50 weeks a year, he adds. That means that if you employ a cleaning service, the ones who scour your shower might be inhaling truly hazardous fumes, at three times the amount that would be allowed to spew from a factory.

The damage wrought by the cans and bottles that hide in the underbelly of your kitchen sink might be anything from nausea to kidney, liver or blood dysfunction to pediatric cancer to diminished sperm count, said Nazaroff, who is not an epidemiologist but thoroughly reviewed published studies linking toxic compounds to a host of health concerns.

A 15-year study in Oregon, presented at a recent National Center for Health Statistics conference, looked at death rates from cancer in women who worked in the home versus women who left their homes for work each day. Researchers found a 54 percent higher death rate from cancer in the women who stayed home; the study strongly suggested household cleaning toxins as key culprits.

Anecdotally, it seems that every week I hear news of someone else with cancer - often someones who don't smoke, and try to live a healthy life. I find myself scratching my head, wondering what unknown substance is wreaking all this hell. And, as if I needed further motivation to clean up my cleaning act, I already have one son with asthma and I fear for the other.

But how does green clean?

I'm telling you I dove into my spring-cleaning with a vengeance. The burning selfish question, the one most everybody asks: What's the point of cleaning green if my house no longer sparkles?

I am here to tell you, my house is sparkling. To tell the truth, the window panes are sighing, so worn out from all the rubbing.

I spent weeks collecting cleaners claiming to be green. I checked what's called Material Safety Data Sheets - MSDS, for short - on most of the products, which is really the only way to know what's in the stuff you spray, you squirt, you pour.

I followed the green-clean maxim: If my tongue got twisted trying to read ingredients, I tossed.

And, yes, I started out as kitchen chemist. Gathered vinegar and lemons, baking soda, Borax and pitchers full of water. I stood there with my funnel and my measuring cups. I poured, I spilled, I read the teeny half-cup marker lines. And then, not long after, I surrendered.

You might get your kicks stirring your own stuff. Dropping essential oil to make it smell all yummy. Indeed, if you care to mix it up, there are many Web sites rife with recipes. One you might check out is www.biggreenpurse.com.

But I'm a low-grade cleaner, I suppose. I've been seduced and I've succumbed. I go for nifty premixed bottles by companies I truly think I can trust.

One fascinating wrinkle in all this cleaning whirl, is that the good folks at Whole Foods seem to be among the toughest in setting green-clean standards. If it's on their shelf, you can safely assume they've done the dirty work already and consider it mighty green.

"That's what our cleaning aisle is all about," says Will Betts, Whole Foods' Midwest regional grocery coordinator. "You don't need to do the legwork to do your housecleaning. Our standards are certainly stricter than the standards at all the conventional markets."

Biodegradability, he says, is standard No. 1.

But even that, counters environmental engineer Nazaroff, is a claim with not much meaning. "It tells me that it won't be there for 100 years. It's not going to be bio-accumulating in fields in the Arctic, but it really doesn't tell us anything."

What's needed in this country, he says, is a complete U-turn in how we look at how we clean. "The rule in the U.S. is that chemicals are innocent until proven guilty. Europeans have flipped that. The idea there is that before (a chemical) can be introduced, it has to be demonstrated safe."

Not one to wait, I read my labels, called around with laundry lists of questions, cleaned like crazy and, at last, restocked my caddy.

The price of green

Oh, one other thing, one thing you really might be wondering: cost. What's the wallop on your wallet? Depending where you shop, you might spend anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent more on cleaning green, per bottle. But here's my take: On the one hand, toxins that lead to God only knows what dangers; on the other hand, a few bucks.

I'm no clean freak, and I'm no slouch. I'd say I'd buy two, maybe three, bottles of all-purpose cleaner per year, the way it lasts. So, for the price of some grande triple mocha something, I can save the Earth and make my counter sparkle. A deal I am proud to call my own.

Green guides and tips

New book guides you to cleaning green way

Before you fill your bucket with one more glug of heaven-only-knows-the-hazard-to-your-health, you might want to reach instead for a tome that's sure to shed some light on all this cleaning green.

"Naturally Clean: The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning" (New Society Publishers, 203 pages, $16.95) comes from the folks at Seventh Generation, one of the handful of truly respected eco-friendly companies since its founding 18 years ago.

But don't let the corporate connection stop you, not in this case anyway. Jeffrey Hollender, lead author (along with Geoff Davis) and president of Seventh Generation, seems to take to heart his other title, Corporate Responsibility Officer. He's often mentioned in short lists of truly noble corporate chiefs. The company name comes from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."

The book, packed with facts you really want to grasp, boils down everything you need to know about dumping out your household toxins and guides you, room by room, to a safer, cleaner home.

You might feel queasy early on, learning all the risks and what's at stake. But, page after page, I grew convinced the authors and their labs had done the dirty work, so I could make some simple choices. I particularly loved the chapter where, after testing some 300 natural and traditional cleaners, they come up with the best bets in every cleaning realm - not always picking their own label.

By the time I closed the book, I felt duly armed to take on the heavy-duty task of cleaning not only the gunk from my own house, but, too, making choices that will not harm either my children or blessed Mother Earth.

Make your own cleaning solutions

Perhaps you were once a chemistry geek. Perhaps not. Perhaps you merely get your thrills cleaning house the cheapest, greenest way.

That would mean not arming yourself with full complement of factory-made cleaning solutions. But rather doing a simple two-step: dump and rub. Moisten as you go.

Have we got recipes for you.

Diane MacEachern, BoomerGirl columnist and founder and CEO of biggreenpurse.com, a Web site that believes the way to green the world is through the ways we choose to spend our money, could not make it any easier.

Here's all you do: Grab your cleaning sponge, a box of baking soda, a bottle of fragrance-free, inexpensive dish soap (the only caveat is make sure it has no phosphates, some strange thing called phthalates or antibacterial agents).

Oh, and a little water wouldn't hurt. Nine times out of 10, that's all you'll need, says MacEachern.

And, she swears, it works. "It's easy, it's cheap, it's healthier," she says. "And I like the fact that I'm not getting ripped off. When we succumb to all the marketing messages that play off our fears, we put ourselves, our homes, our families at risk."

Once you stock your caddy, here's the way to do the green clean two-step.

From the Big Green Purse Web site

Here are four solutions made with everyday pantry products, from the straight-shooting Web site.

Tub and sink cleaner: Baking soda, liquid soap, water

Sprinkle water on the sink and tub surfaces, followed by a generous shake of baking soda. Scrub with sponge or bristle brush. Add a little of the liquid soap to the sponge for more cleaning power. Rinse well.

Toilet bowl cleaner: Baking soda, liquid soap

Sprinkle baking soda inside the bowl. Add a couple drops of liquid soap. Scrub with a toilet bowl brush. Wipe outside surfaces with a wet sponge sprinkled with baking soda. Pour 1/2 cup vinegar into the bowl and let it sit to remove most lime scale.

Oven cleaner: Baking soda, water

Make a paste from baking soda and water. Apply to oven surfaces; let stand for five-ten minutes. Use a scouring pad or knife to remove loosened grime.

Silver polish: Salt, soda, aluminum foil/toothpaste

To remove tarnish from silverware, line a large pan with aluminum foil. Add water to cover the silver, plus 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Let the mixture rest for at least an hour. The tarnish will transfer to the aluminum foil. Rinse the silver in hot water and dry. You can also use toothpaste to polish individual pieces of silver."

From "Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things"

Among the 2,317 ways to save money and time promised by this new Reader's Digest book (400 pages, $14.95) there are these recipes for all-purpose cleaners:

"For fast cleanups around the kitchen, keep two recycled spray bottles filled with these vinegar-based solutions:

For glass, stainless steel and plastic laminate surfaces, fill your spray bottle with 2 parts water, 1 part distilled white vinegar and a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid.

For cleaning walls and other painted surfaces, mix up 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 cup ammonia and 1/4 cup baking soda in 1 gallon (3.7 liters) water and pour some into a spray bottle. Spritz it on spots and stains whenever needed and wipe off with a clean towel."