De-toxing the Home

By mold recovery 4/02/2009 , 4 comments
I used to roll my eyes at the thought of ridding my home of toxins. My neighbor gave me her detergents and I happily took them. It is with great humility that I confess 6 years later that there are no chemicals in my home. At least chemicals I can control. Who knows about the glue in the cabinets.

Honestly, it was the easiest part of our journey. I love the natural shampoos, soaps, deodorants, and toothpastes. Two products I will never be without: charcoal soap from Collective Well Being. And bentonite clay from The Living Clay Company. Both are great for de-toxing the skin. Again, we're all exposed and this is a great way to help pull the toxins out. As for cleaning, white vinegar works virtually everywhere. You can even add lime for fragrance. The Bon Ami works great too. This is one area where you actually save money. Vinegar is dirt cheap! I also love hydrogen peroxide. It too is cheap and can be used for mouthwash (I buy food grade on the Internet), laundry, astringent, cleaning and more. Let me add that hydrogen peroxide is the only thing that seems to whiten the clothes (though not as well as bleach). I put in 1/2 cup or so of 3% in the bleach section of the washer. You can make your own 3% with the food grade peroxide and distilled water. Or you can use the $1.00 bottle from the grocery store.

When we first got to this house, I snuck in a toilet cleaner wand. Seemed so innocent. In the process of cleaning it brushed against my hand and I got two huge welts. This was a month ago and the marks are still there.

This is my understanding about toxins. Our bodies are made to handle them. We have inherent de-toxing capabilities. The problem comes in when our toxin load becomes too high. Our body lets us know in the form of auto-immune issues, allergies, etc. This is why I would take out the chemicals even if we hadn't had our exposure. There are so many toxic-free products...why not lighten our load?

4 comments :

  1. Jennifer L. SmithApril 2, 2009 at 12:49 PM

    Same here, on the chemical free body care and cleaners. How do you use the hydrogen peroxide for cleaning and laundry? Or maybe I should rather say, what do you use it for?

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  2. AnonymousApril 3, 2009 at 4:24 AM

    I hope people are listening. Just got an email about Swiffer floor solution destroying the liver of animals. And don't get me started on Febreeze...

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  3. KarenApril 3, 2009 at 8:53 AM

    Thank you for sharing all that you are learning with the rest of us. You may never know the extent to which you have helped others to enjoy health.

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  4. SondraApril 4, 2009 at 2:53 PM

    Dear Andrea,

    Thank-you for taking the time to share your families painful and ongoing experiences with mold. It is a slow process eliminating chemicals from our households. I know it should be a higher priority in my life. I was exposed to mold 18 months ago at work and at the time I was experiencing upper respiratory infections. I quit that job and continued to have these infections (so far I have been treated with antibiotics). I read your Friday March 13th, 2009 blog about your daughter's peripheral neuopathy and became alarmed. I had already set a date to see a Family Dr. concerning numbness in my Right foot and I was very intriguied by your daughter's situation. I know not to jump to conclusions, however, I am grateful to be able to read your blogs. I hope that my numbness is a separate incident.
    Thank-you for being so open about your families experiences and your walk with God.

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