20 Dec 09 Making Sure Your Child’s Toys Are Safe

So, you’ve been doing some last minute holiday shopping, and you found some perfect toys for a few of the children in your family, but are they safe? Many people don’t really think twice about the contents of a toy, before purchasing. But that’s something you absolutely should consider, as new research suggests that some toy chemicals previously thought to be harmless, can have negative effects on your child’s health. Just like the lead based paint scare in the past, there are a few warning signs you should look for, before buying a toy.

The first warning sign is in what sorts of chemicals were used to make the toy. Keep the main harmful ones in mind. These are most commonly arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium. All of which are bad for a child to be exposed to, and more common than you may think. Most countries that export to America have laws that dictate full disclosure of these chemicals on toy labels. So make sure to check before you buy, and stay away from anything that seems risky.

Another toy type to watch out for is anything that appears to contain PVC. PVC is a type of plastic that can cause respiratory damage, as well as central nervous system, reproductive system, and liver damage. PVC or polyvinyl chloride often appears as a softer plastic, usually with a shiny appearance with the texture of vinyl. Any toy that contains PVC should be avoided whenever possible, so be mindful.

Watch out for the bargains. Instead of buying a whole slew of low priced toys, to increase the gift bounty under the tree, try spending more on a few gifts instead. Most of the time the bargain toy sales are the ones that tend to contain more harmful chemicals than expensive and reputable toy brands. The extra money will mean a lot in the long run, and exposing a child to fewer strange chemicals is always worth the price.

Tags: Cadmium, Central Nervous System, First Warning, Full Disclosure, Harmful Chemicals, Holiday Shopping, Last Minute Holiday, Lead Based Paint, Liver Damage, Perfect Toys, Polyvinyl Chloride, Pvc Pvc, Reproductive System, Shiny Appearance, Toy Brands, Toy Labels, Toy Sales, Warning Sign, Warning Signs, Whole Slew

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02 Jul 09 Natural Alternatives To Floor Cleaning

Most people don’t necessarily even realize how harmful the chemicals you may use every day to clean your floors and countertops, can be to your health and the environment. The shocking fact that you may not even realize, is that on average houses that use these sorts of chemicals can have 50 times the amount of pollutants and toxins than an outdoor environment. Meaning the inside of your house can be fairly unhealthy, if you’re breathing in all those chemicals for a prolonged amount of time like you’ll no doubt be doing, considering you live there. But there are plenty of environmentally friendly alternatives that work just as well as harsh chemicals. This way you’ll leave yourself with a cleaner fresher home.

The absolute truth about what you’re doing using most cleaning chemicals, is essentially just spreading around harmful toxins that make your floors and countertops shine at a cost to your own health. Using them for a prolonged period of time builds up the harmful chemicals they leave behind, each time adding to the amount of formaldehyde and chloroform building up in your home. Eventually you breathe in those chemicals, or come into contact with them on your bare skin, which can produce any number of medical complications down the road.

Ultimately you want to stay away from any conventional cleaning products as much as possible, anything that gives your floor extra shine is full of harmful chemicals, and anything that is meant to carry a pleasant fragrance, also is loaded with harmful toxins that you’ll be breathing. Instead work towards prevention of dirt on your floors by putting floor mats in front of all doors. Vacuum or dust-mop more often so that you can eliminate dust and dirt before it piles up.

For cleaning solutions, use simple more environmentally friendly alternatives, such as natural cleaners that use citrus instead of harmful chemicals to penetrate dirt. Or solutions made from water and dishwashing detergent will give your floor the same clean look without the harmful chemicals.

Tags: Absolute Truth, Cleaning Chemicals, Cleaning Products, Cleaning Solutions, Countertops, Dete, Floor Cleaning, Floor Mats, Formaldehyde, Harmful Chemicals, Harmful Toxins, Harsh Chemicals, Medical Complications, Natural Alternatives, No Doubt, Outdoor Environment, Own Health, Pollutants, Prolonged Period, Shocking Fact

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20 Jun 09 Kill Weeds Without Harmful Chemicals

The heat is rising, the weather is getting nicer, and as any homeowner knows, that means that the weeds in are in prime form to stick up from the gaps in your sidewalk, and to try and take over your lawn or garden. A constant plague, one that will drive you to use any number of weed killing products and chemicals. No doubt doing more damage than you think to your garden and lawn. But before you turn to those products that are so harmful to your plants and even yourself, keep in mind there are plenty of environmentally friendly alternatives that will still yield the same positive results.

Take water for example, you wouldn’t think water would be an effective exterminator for weeds would you? Well at room temperature water isn’t going to do anything but help the weeds grow, but boil that water and you have one of the most effective natural weed killing weapons. You’ll want to boil the water, and while it’s still steaming hot, pour it directly onto those troublesome weeds. Obviously this strategy isn’t going to work well on lawn weeds or garden, because of the surface area the weeds usually encompass. But on any of those troublesome buggers that are pushing up around or between cracks in your pavement, this is the perfect solution.

For a wider dispersal to kill weeds in places like gardens and on your lawn, a solution of lemon juice or even saline is your best bet. Both are 100% biodegradable, won’t harm the environment or your health with harmful chemicals, and are extremely effective at killing weeds. Spraying weeds with either will slowly destroy them, and stop them from cropping up again. Usually either solution won’t kill the weeds as fast as the harmful chemicals, but rest assured those weeds will be eradicated eventually.

Plus you’ll have the added benefit of a healthier yard and local environment for having not poured more unnecessary chemicals into the ground.

Tags: Added Benefit, alternative, Best Bet, Buggers, Cracks, Dispersal, environmentally friendly, Exterminator, Gaps, green, Harmful Chemicals, Hot Water, Killing Weeds, Lawn Weeds, Lemon Juice, Pavement, Perfect Solution, Plague, Room Temperature Water, Saline, Sidewalk, Surface Area, Troublesome Weeds, Unnecessary Chemicals

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20 Dec 09 Making Sure Your Child’s Toys Are Safe

02 Jul 09 Natural Alternatives To Floor Cleaning

20 Jun 09 Kill Weeds Without Harmful Chemicals

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