As some of you may know...
I'm a little crunchy :D
a little hippie dippie
and a little bit obsessed with getting greener.
(Many of you must be thinking "Thank you, Captain Obvious...")
And with that eventually comes the abhorrence of all unnecessary chemicals
and the beginning of our toxic free home. :D
Not on board with the toxic free living idea?
and the most common come from cosmetics, household cleaners, personal care products, and pain relievers. With that, the household cleaner poisonings come not only from a person ingesting the cleaner...but by just acute exposure.
Today we are going to talk carpet cleaners.
I googled the top selling carpet cleaner...result is Resolve Traffic Cleaner
It is on the inventory list for the U.S's Toxic Substances Control Act and
it is listed as toxic, an environmental hazard and a hazardous chemical as defined by OSHA.
One of the key ingredients?
Isopropyl Alcohol
And here is what OSHA's website had to say about that:
"Effects on Humans: Isopropyl alcohol is an irritant of the eyes and mucous membranes. By analogy with effects seen in animals, it may cause central nervous system depression at very high concentrations [Hathaway et al. 1991]. Exposure to 400 ppm isopropyl alcohol for 3 to 5 minutes resulted in mild irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; at 800 ppm, these symptoms were intensified [Hathaway et al. 1991]. An oral dose of 25 ml in 100 ml of water produced hypotension, facial flushing, bradycardia, and dizziness [Hathaway et al. 1991]. A postmortem examination in a case of massive ingestion revealed extensive hemorrhagic tracheobronchitis, bronchopneumonia, and hemorrhagic pulmonary edema [NLM 1992]. Prolonged skin contact with isopropyl alcohol caused eczema and sensitivity [Genium 1993]. Delayed dermal absorption is attributed to a number of pediatric poisonings that have occurred following repeated or prolonged sponge bathing with isopropyl alcohol to reduce fever. In several cases symptoms included respiratory distress, stupor, and coma [Hathaway et al. 1991; NLM 1992]. Epidemiological studies suggested an association between isopropyl alcohol and paranasal sinus cancer; however, subsequent analysis suggests that the "strong-acid" process used to manufacture isopropyl alcohol may be responsible for these cancers [ACGIH 1991]. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that the evidence for the carcinogenicity of this process is adequate but that the evidence for isopropyl alcohol itself is inadequate."
Needless to say - NOT something I want floating around my house or having leftover remnants in my rugs every time I need to spruce of my carpets or clean up another baby spit-up, spilled coffee, dirt that the dogs brought in, baby pee or spilled wine!
And there are quite a few more chemicals listed in the ingredients that I'm not getting into today!
Plus this stuff is $8-ish a bottle!
So. I made my own NATURAL carpet cleaner :D
Yup. Only THREE ingredients.
1. Baking Soda
2. Borax
3. Essential Oil - I went with Wild Orange
As for a container...I dumped out what remaining baby powder (don't get me started on the shitty-ness yuckiness that is J&J baby powder!) I had left in this container and used scissors to pry off the top!
Funneled in one cup borax, one cup baking soda, and 5-ish drops of my essential oil!
The borax is a naturally occurring mineral that works as a detergent booster and odor absorber.
The baking soda, also non-toxic and naturally occurring works wonders for cleaning all over the house.
And the Orange essential oil because it was in my cabinet, smells great, and is a flea and ant deterrent.
Man- I should have made the bottle prettier.
Under "Directions" it says:
**Sprinkle on carpet
**Wait 15-20 minutes
**Vacuum
Easy Peasy.
And have a stain on the carpet?
Just baking soda and vinegar will get that right up!
And Mr. Lawler just texted saying he was on his way home for lunch!
Happy Monday!
Yours,
Mrs. Momma Lawler
