14 Tips for Health-Friendly Cleaning

You may not realize it, but your house is hazardous to your health.

Beyond the Usual

Insect droppings, dust mites, spoiled food -- all can contribute to a plethora of health problems. In fact, germ guru Charles P. Gerba, Ph.D., a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, says you're more likely to get sick going home than nearly anywhere else in your life (except maybe hospitals).

What's scarier is that the cure for a dirty home can be worse than the problem as we attack germs with enough toxic chemicals to make the EPA shudder. Green Seal, a nonprofit environmental standards organization, estimates that cleaning products contribute approximately 8 percent of total nonvehicular emissions of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. These can cause eye, nose, and lung irritation, as well as rashes, headaches, nausea, asthma, and, in some cases, cancer.

There is a solution. We talked to some of the leading "green" cleaners in the country about how to clean your house to minimize health threats to you, your family, and the environment. Here's what they recommend:

1. Clean in an organized manner. There's no point in mopping the floor only to then dust the ceiling fan and deposit a gray film over everything again. To clean well -- and that means to clean healthily -- you need to clean efficiently. That means avoiding going back and forth around a room. Instead, work using a systematic approach. Think in terms of left to right, top to bottom. Begin with ceilings and walls, and work your way down to windows and furniture, finishing with the floors.

2. Clean the things you'd never think to clean. For instance, your mattress is a magnet for allergy-causing dust mites. Washing the mattress cover in very hot water (140°F or more) every month, and wiping down the top of the mattress with hot water, can go a long way toward reducing morning stuffiness. Other never-thought-they-needed-to-be-cleaned areas:

• Telephone receivers. Dr. Gerba found significant numbers of illness-causing bacteria and viruses on telephone receivers, which could easily be spread to your lower lip and then, with a quick lick, into your mouth.


• Indoor garbage cans. Particularly those in the kitchen and bathroom. Emptying them isn't the same as cleaning them. Regularly scrub them to make sure germs aren't germinating.


• Shower curtains. They get wet most every day, and they often stay wet, making them a perfect home for mold.


• Automatic dishwashers. Take a close look at the edges of the door on your dishwasher. Many are breeding grounds for mold and mildew. The same is true of the rubber cushioning that surrounds some refrigerator doors.


• The fireplace. A clogged chimney is not only unhealthy, it can kill you if it ignites or, in the case of a gas fireplace, becomes blocked, sending dangerous carbon monoxide fumes into the house.


• HVAC filters. These filters are designed to filter allergy-causing dust from the air, but if they're clogged, they're more harmful than helpful.

3. Dust with worn-out wool socks or a corner of an old wool blanket or sweater. Wool creates static when rubbed on a surface, says Kim Carlson, who gives earth-friendly advice on the air for the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis/St. Paul. One wipe can keep your furniture dust-free without polishes or sprays.

4. Polish silver with toothpaste. Some silver polishes contain petroleum distillates, ammonia, or other hazardous ingredients. Instead, Carlson recommends dabbing on toothpaste with your finger or rubbing it on with a cloth. Rinse with warm water and polish with a soft cloth. For larger trays and bowls, use a baking soda paste (baking soda mixed with water) on a wet sponge.

Truly Safe Cleaning

5. Open your drains the nontoxic way. Chemical drain cleaners (also called drain openers) are extremely corrosive and dangerous, containing such toxic ingredients as lye or sulfuric acid. Even the vapors are harmful. Instead, pour a pot of boiling water or toss a handful of baking soda followed by 1/2 cup vinegar down the drain weekly. Also effective, particularly in preventing clogs, are many brands of enzymatic cleaners, such as Nature's Miracle (used to clean up pet "accidents"), found in pet stores. Live enzymes "eat" the bacterial matter that clings to the drains.

6. Clean your windows with a non-commercial cleaner. Mary Findley, veteran Oregon cleaning expert and president of Mary Moppins Cleaning System, recommends this homemade solution: Add 1/3 cup distilled white vinegar and a spoonful of dishwasher detergent, or 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol, to a quart of distilled water. If you're using the latter recipe and your windows streak, don't blame the cleaner. You've probably got a wax buildup from the commercial products you were using before. Switch to the vinegar and dishwasher detergent formula. And don't forget these tools and tips:

• Use a sponge wand to soak the window in suds, rather than a spray bottle. Wet the windows thoroughly and let the solution do its work for about five minutes.


• Avoid cleaning your windows on sunny days or in bright sunlight. The sun dries the solution too quickly, which can result in streaks.


• Use a black rubber squeegee to dry the window. Make sure every iota of water comes off; otherwise, you're leaving dirt on the window.


• Use paper towels to dry the squeegee after each pass.


• For serious dirt, try an oversized razor blade wet with soapy water.

7. Forget Formula 409; make this fabulous all-purpose cleaner. Fill a spray bottle nearly full with water and add a good squirt of Ivory liquid dishwashing detergent, says Findley. Shake just a bit. That's all you need. For some disinfecting oomph for the kitchen and bathroom, add 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol. This is safe to use on Corian counters, sinks and showers, tile and marble.

8. Sanitize your toilet bowl safely. Pity poor Dr. Gerba. He spends his days swiping cotton swabs over every conceivable household surface, then peering at the results under a microscope and identifying the germs and other icky things he finds there. You can only imagine what he finds in the bathroom.

• To clean the toilet safely, turn to your vinegar, says Findley. Fill a spray bottle with straight white vinegar. Pour a capful of vinegar into the toilet, then spray the sides of the bowl. Also, sprinkle baking soda in the toilet, wait 15 minutes, and scrub with a bit of baking soda sprinkled on the brush. Once a month pour one cup vinegar into the toilet and leave overnight. The vinegar dissolves any alkali buildup to prevent hard-water rings in the toilet. Whenever you leave for vacation, pour a cup of vinegar into the toilet to prevent buildup while you are gone.


• To disinfect the toilet completely, wipe all surfaces with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol or with some of the alcohol-based hand cleaner available in stores.

Do It Yourself

9. Clean your kitchen floor the easy way. Don't try to disinfect it, says Findley. "Unless you disinfect your feet, disinfecting your floors serves no purpose." Instead, use these homemade floor cleaners:

• Hardwood and laminated floors. One-quarter cup white vinegar per quart of water. Use only 100 percent cotton terry towels on hardwood floors and don't use self-wringing or microfiber mops. Microfiber is made from 80-85 percent polyester, which is plastic. Plastic scratches and will eventually scratch the sealant off the floor.


• Marble, tile, and granite floors. Just use very hot water. Cleaners of any kind will pit these floors.


• Linoleum floors. Hot water with just a bit of Ivory liquid dish soap if needed.

10. Clean out your washing machine and dryer. You'd think they would be clean, right? Wrong. In a study of 50 homes in Tucson and in Tampa Bay, Florida, Dr. Gerba found high levels of coliform bacteria, an indicator of unsanitary conditions, and diarrhea-causing Escherichia coli in home washing machines. When researchers washed sterile cloths in non-bleach laundry detergent, they found that 40 percent emerged contaminated with E. coli bacteria -- with enough extra to contaminate the next load. The greatest risk from the germs comes when transferring wet laundry with your bare hands to the dryer. The solution? Try using rubber gloves when doing your wash, and add a cupful of hydrogen peroxide to your loads instead of bleach. Also, for germ control, wash your clothes on the hottest water setting.

11. Disinfect your cutting board. In his research, Gerba found 200 times more fecal bacteria on the average cutting board in the home than on the toilet seat. To get it clean, run it through the dishwasher, spray it with straight 5% vinegar and let it set overnight, microwave it on high for 30 seconds, or swab it with alcohol to disinfect it if you don't want to use bleach.

12. Microwave your kitchen sponges for 30 seconds every day. Gerba found that the common household sponge may contain 320 million opportunistic bacterial pathogens, enough of which could be transferred from the sponge to your hand to your eyes or mouth to make you sick.

13. Make your own. In addition to the cleaning recipes below, Findley provides the following recommendations for homemade, environmentally and health-friendly products. She also recommends keeping a box of borax around for extra-tough cleaning jobs. Borax is a natural product made of sodium, boron, oxygen, and water and is unbeatable for tough cleaning jobs, as a bleach substitute, or mixed with water for a disinfectant. Dr. Gerba suggests rubbing alcohol as another good natural disinfectant. Just don't light any matches around it.

• Tub and tile cleaner. Two to three capfuls of Bio-Ox or other oxygen-based natural cleanser mixed with 1 quart water.


• Furniture polish. Mix olive oil and vinegar together for an excellent cleaner and polish.


• Oven cleaner. Mix Bio-Ox and baking soda together into a paste. First scrape off as much residue as you can with a scouring pad, then scrub with the Bio-Ox mixture.


• Air freshener. To remove kitchen odors, boil a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water for several minutes. One capful of Bio-Ox mixed in a quart of water also makes an excellent room freshener.


• Mildew remover. Mix equal parts of water and hydrogen peroxide (20% strength).


• Laundry whitener. Use hydrogen peroxide rather than bleach. Soak your dingy white clothes for 30 minutes in the washer with 1/2 cup 20% peroxide, then launder as usual. This removes the graying caused by chlorine bleach.


• Stain remover. Most stains can be removed with Bio-Ox. Here are four other methods:

1. Grease and paint stains. Spray a bit of foaming shaving cream on the stain, then wipe up.
2. Red Dye #40 that comes from pet food, punch, Popsicles, etc. Spray hydrogen peroxide on the stain, then blot up.
3. Underarm stains on clothes. Spray hydrogen peroxide on underarm stains in shirts 30 minutes before laundering.
4. Mold remover. Spray with a 5% solution of white vinegar (undiluted). Let sit.

14. "Shampoo" your rug safely. Instead of commercial brands, just sprinkle dry cornstarch or baking soda on the carpet before vacuuming. The powders help remove deep dirt, and the baking soda helps remove odors.