It’s not just organic food that can help protect your unborn baby but organic household gear can also be helpful…
Posted: 21 November 2011
A clean home is something all mums want for their babies. Unfortunately though, the harsh chemicals used in many household products can exacerbate allergies and irritate the skin and lungs. What’s more, daily exposure to these chemicals can cause them to be passed on to your unborn baby. Using household products made with natural yet effective ingredients, however, will create a clean and healthy home for you and your baby, regardless of whether he has been born!
Below are some of our favourite organic cleaning products, but you can also use everyday ingredients to help out around the home. For a simple multipurpose cleaner, for example, try mixing equal parts of organic white vinegar and water in a spray bottle – it’ll cut through grease on glass and tiles. You can use lemon juice as an alternative to bleach on grass, blood and mildew stains too, while simple baking soda pasta (baking soda and a little water) can polish and scrub surfaces as effectively as some harsher products.
Positive products
Some people go organic all the way, with organic bed linen, curtains, and cleaning products – even stationary! But if that all seems a little excessive, these are our top three picks for organic household gear:
All purpose household cleaner
Instead of searching for a hundred different products, why not try and all-purpose cleaner that will do many jobs? We like Budge! Spring Cleaning in a Bottle from Living Clean ( www.livingclean.co.uk ,£9.99). This fresh-smelling wash is environmentally friendly, non-toxic, biodegradable and contains no petrochemicals like bleach or ammonia. It is also made from 40% edible essential oils – but we don’t suggest you drink it!
Dishwasher detergent
Now that you’ve made the switch to organic food, why eat it off dishes washed with chemical cleaners? A formula that’s free from enzymes, phosphates and aggressive bleaching agents is key to maintaining a ‘green’ eating experience. We like Sonnet Dishwasher Detergent (www.greenfibres.com , £5.50), made with pure vegetable soaps predominantly from biodynamically or organically grown plants.
Washing liquid
Try to find a plant-based detergent that doesn’t use petrochemicals and optical brighteners – they have been shown to bind to the skin irreversibly. We like Ecover Laundry Liquid (www.ecover.com, £3.82)
