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Shopping tips

Sustainable living  ›  Healthy home  ›  Clean green  ›  Shopping tips

You can purchase less-toxic cleaning products off the store shelf. This can help you save money and protect your family and the environment.

You also can purchase ready-made cleaning products that are less hazardous than many traditional household cleaners. Look in the health or natural food sections of your grocery store, or visit a store that specializes in these types of products. Some brand names that feature “earth-friendly” product lines include:

• Biokleen
• Citra-Solv
• Earth Friendly Products/ ECOS
• Planet
• Seventh Generation
• SoapWorks

Some less-toxic products can also be found in the regular cleaners aisle: Bon Ami cleanser, Murphy’s Oil Wood Soap and Pure Citrus natural citrus cleaner.

How can you tell if a commercial product is relatively nonhazardous?

Read the label:

1. Check for signal words like “danger” and “warning.” Try to select products with no warning words or the word “caution” – this means the product is less toxic or nontoxic.
2. Are all of the ingredients listed? Be aware if the product only lists “active” ingredients; if other ingredients are not listed, you have no way of knowing their potential effects.
3. Know your ingredients. Many of the products listed above have easy to understand ingredients: soap (vegetable-based surfactants), orange oils (also known as d-limonene), vinegar, water, alcohol, lauryl sulfate (usually coconut derived) and sodium citrate (related to citric acid in lemons).
4. Detergents are synthesized chemicals that are petroleum-based and work the same way that soap does, only they are not as earth-friendly.
5. Avoid chlorinated compounds, petroleum distillates, phenols and formaldehyde. Words such as ethylene/ethyl, butyl/alkyl, benzene, phenols and formaldehyde indicate a product with ingredients that are potentially harmful to health or the environment.

What to do with old products

Use up toxic cleaning products. In the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area, you can properly dispose of toxic products through Metro's household hazardous waste program. Call Metro Recycling Information for locations and hours of Metro’s two permanent collection facilities or to find out if there is a community collection event scheduled soon in your neighborhood.

Related Internet links

• NIH Database: Health and Safety of Household Products

  (http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm)

• Skin Deep: cosmetic and personal product safety database

  (http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com )

• Safer Alternatives Around the Home

  (http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/wycd/catbook/alt.htm)