As we learned in part one of toilet cleaning products, most of these chemicals are extremely dangerous in their raw form. This leads us to ponder our casual use of them as well. What impact do millions of people have when using these chemicals on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? Are the products that we grew up around causing some of the diseases that were rare many years ago? Will the environment be suitable when our children are raising their own?
We will touch on a few more chemicals in common toilet cleaning products and then go onto cleaning out toilets in a safe and efficient manner. It is so easy that if you decide on jumping onto the sustainable cleaning bandwagon, you will save some moneys while helping everyone!
Chlorinated Phenols are present in some common toilet cleaners.This is a family of many chemicals. Most are used in pesticides, herbacides, and often a by-product of the paper pulp bleaching. The environmental concerns are that these enter the waterways, introducing their toxicity. They are harmful to microorganisms, bacteria, chlorococcal algae, human and animal cells.
They can penetrate soil and sediments.
Fungicides-these are used for many purposes, even have been in grains and seeds to protect during storage. Apparantly, the safety of these products has increased, however heavy exposure or ingestion can lead to the same consequences we have seen with other products, from skin and eye irritation to organ dysfunction.
If fungus is of concern in the home, essential oils and cleaning more often should remedy this.
1,3-Dichloro-5 is toxic to humans and can effect reproductive health and development. The nervous system can also be effected.
Toxic to aquatic life. With some chemicals, there are times flushing or vomiting may help until medical treatment is available. With 1,3-Dichloro-5, the warning is seek medical attention immediately. This chemical also can cause respiratory symptoms, and is caustic to skin, nose, throat, and mucous membranes. Caustic to eyes and can lead to permanent injury.
Sodium Acid Oxalate is a severe poison and is harmful if inhaled and can be fatal if swallowed within a few hours to a few minutes. A corrosive agent that is caustic to all manners of the human body. It can severely effect the kidneys.
Sodium acid sulfateis also in toilet cleaners and is a lesser caustic and toxic chemical.
My heart really goes out to people that need to work industrial jobs and work with these chemicals everyday to pay the bills. I am sure there are strict standards to protective gear, but I wonder if it is enough, or if many years are lost in a persons life due to breakdown of the body.
If any of you have loved ones in factories that produce any of these chemicals, feel free to comment.
So in everyday cleaning, is the risk worth it? This is certainly something we need to decide on.
I hope what I share today can help you at least try some natural cleaning methods.
So when cleaning the toilet, I find it so much easier to use a cloth or even a piece of toilet paper to dust the commode prior to cleaning. Just start at the top and work down. It only takes a sec.
So then I flush the commode and add baking soda or borax, depending on what I have available. I let this sit awhile. Some recommendations are to sprinkle borax at night into the bowl and then clean in the morning, but with my family, someone usually ends up using the restroom in the night, so that does not work for me.
Then I sue my bowl brush and scrub the inside, around the rim too where most of the dark junk is located.
My friend, Linda, said that her family has used a pumice stone to get off the junk under the rim. I don't have an extra pumice stone, so I tried pumice powder on my brush and scrubbed under the rim, and it worked great!
Then I use either of my spray cleaners from the first article and spray onto the cloth I am using and wipe down. You will need to take special care in the cracks around the toilet seat screws and on the floor where the commode is attached to the floor. This is where urine, and dirt tends to collect. If you are not able to clean these areas with hands and cloth, use a toothbrush assigned to the toilet only. It really works great.
Using essential oils for bathroom cleaning is really effective at killing germs and not being so grossed out by the task. I like Protect which can currently be found on my etsy shoppe. You can make your own with whatever you desire. Tea tree, rosemary, lemon, lavender are all good choices. I sometimes add a drop to my toilet cleaning toothbrush, and also a drop into the bowl when I am scrubbing with the brush.
I then wipe down all surfaces, starting with the top of the tank and work downward. Focus on the handle, as this is where most bacteria will be. Keep working down with your cleaner and essential oils if you choose. You may wish to get another cloth to scrub the toilet lid because sometimes there are pretty messy too.I start at the lid outside, then inside. You want to focus on the seat well, since we all sit there, and under the seat and top of the bowl.
It takes all of five minutes, unless you want to really make it shine and get every crevice good.
When company is coming to your home, you can freshen up by using your spray cleaner and wiping down, or in a pinch, a drop or two of essential oil on a piece of toilet paper and wipe down the seat and under the seat.
I have found that if I clean my bathroom once a week, it is only a matter of minutes to spruce up for company. And of course, sometimes I cannot and my friends enter the disaster zone to my embarrassment. But loved ones and friends totally understand a busy family life.
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