We’ve got some simple solutions that are good for you (and gentle on the Earth).
Frustration: Warmer weather can turn your bathroom into a giant petri dish for allergy-aggravating mold.
Fix: Commercial mold and mildew products often contain bleach—and come with a warning label about the hazards of inhaling the fumes. For a safer way to clean grout, combine 1 cup water and ½ cup 3-percent hydrogen peroxide solution (available at grocery stores) in a spray bottle. Spritz the grout, allowing it to dry without scrubbing or rinsing. To protect grout in the future, apply the low-toxic Safe-coat Grout Sealer ($12.90; 800-281-9785).
Bright idea: Concerns have grown in recent years about the safety of chemicals known as phthalates. They’re used in some plastic shower curtains and can become airborne in a shower. It’s impossible to know if a given curtain contains phthalates—but you can switch to one that’s cotton or canvas, with a separate nylon liner. We like Garnet Hill’s all-cotton zinnia shower curtain ($45; 800-622-6216).
Green tip: The Rainshow’r Shower Filter converts chlorinated water (found in municipal systems) into water that won’t dry out your skin and hair. Models vary but start at about $35; filter inserts, which last up to 9 months, cost $17.50 each (800-243-8775).
Quick tip:
Remove a mold splotch on a tiled or painted wall by blow-drying it, then brushing it away with a paper towel
by Diane di Costanzo
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Comments (2)
The cautions raised above are very helpful but one rule that I have always advised is that whenever you return home from outside, ALWAYS wash your hands. This is the most significant factor in reducing infections in both children and adults.
On the other hand, washing a load of whites in a machine with liberal amounts of bleach will pretty well sterilize the clothing especially after it passes through the dryer or hung on the clothesline in the sun.
One must not, however, try to achieve a germ free household because that’s impossible. The residual organisms you mention are the ones that keep our immune systems healthy and vigorous. This reminds me of the studies that were done in Jonas Salks Lab in the 1950s. I had the privilege of working there at the time. His group studied the amount of polio organisms coming from various sections of the city of Pittsburgh. The trunk sewers from the Hill District, a notorious slum, were loaded with polio organisms while the sewer from Mt. Lebanon, the gold coast, was nearly devoid of organisms. Interestingly, the slum kids were very healthy during polio epidemics while the Mt Lebanon kids got sick and were paralyzed and placed in iron lungs.
This was because the slum kids were dirty and were infected with polio at a very early age and were thus immune. The Mt Lebanon kids were very clean and weren’t exposed to these organisms until their high school days when they attended inter-mural sporting events and went downtown and mixed with the “great unwashed masses” and got infected.
So being clean is very good but being TOO clean may not be such a good idea. So let the kids get dirty once in a while and stop worrying about it. As far as a few residual organisms in washed clothes are concerned, you neglected to mention whether these organisms were alive or dead. If they were live, it is of no consequence since the skin is part of the immune system and the individuals would gradually build resistance to them.
CR Gaush
Medical Virologist, Ret.
I thank CR Gaush for the sane bit of advice. I am a survivor of Polio. The first known case on Kodiak Island in AK. I believe God cured me yet I know I would of had it harder had my Mom not been one of those who though she believed in cleanliness it was balanced with letting children be children and play in the dirt and sand.
I did the same with my children and had healthy children (11).
I try to use “green” where we can and do not get stressed over where I cannot. Stress is one of the things that kills more than most understand.
Thanks for the articles and look for ward to reading more.