If you frequent any of the expat sites, you’ll find a lot of talk about how Italian women seem to always be cleaning their houses. And, it’s true. I know a few women who seem to spend all of their time doing just that. They clean their house from top to bottom and, when that’s done, start all over again. Personally, if I did that I would go absolutely crazy. I have to have something to keep me occupied mentally and cleaning doesn’t cut it. Oh, in the beginning I used to try to keep up, but I realized my pathetic attempts just weren’t up to snuff.
Now, I’m not advocating dirtiness in the least, but I sometimes wonder what we’re doing to ourselves and the environment with all of these cleaning chemicals. Why? Because I almost pass out every time I clean my shower. The shower is located in a windowless bathroom so I turn on the ventilating fan every time I clean, but when I climb in the shower to scrub the walls, the fumes are still almost too much for me.
One chemical that I use to clean my sink seems particularly noxious to me since it makes my nose burn every time I use it. It’s specifically formulated to get rid of the limescale, something that is quite a problem here, so I would imagine a lot of people use it. While I love the way it leaves my stainless steel sink nice and sparkly (at least until someone touches it or a drop of water hits it), I wonder what else it is doing.
Out of curiosity, I had to look up the ingredients. They include phosphoric acid, formic acid, etidronic acid, pvp (whatever that is) and sodium hydroxide. I didn’t do any in-depth research on the ingredients, and they are listed as non-toxic so technically I should feel good about using it, right? Yet, I still wonder how non-toxic they really are. And while I know there are natural cleaners, they just don’t work as well, unfortunately.
I’d like to use this product daily so that I have a nice shiny kitchen sink all the time (especially since I’m surrounded by people who have nice shiny sinks), but I refrain from doing so because of what it could be doing to the environment, our health and especially the health of my son. So, my sink is a little dull and has water spots on it, but I’ve reduced some of the chemicals that we come in contact with on a daily basis. It’s still clean, just not shiny and sparkly. Maybe I’m paranoid, but articles like this one make me think that I’m doing the right thing by trying the limit the amount of chemicals we use.
So, if you come visit me, please don’t mention my dull, spotty kitchen sink.
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What are you aiming for? Lung collapse?
I have no one response to all problems solutions for you. I am so allergic to some of those chemicals that I have passed out in the past. I use simple things instead. Vinegar for laundry softener. Lemon and salt for copper. A plastic scrubby for the shower. (it helps to have softened water and to use more often!) A metal scrubby with dish detergent if the SS sink is dirty. Otherwise I use those blue chamois Villeda cloths. NO chemicals for glass, SS, mirrors, silver, etc.
The only chemical thing I use is a sgrassatore for that glass lid that props up behiond the cooktop. If you fry you gotta do something, but the sgrassatore doesn’t seem very strong to my nose.
If you told anyone who knew me from 10 years ago that I just said all this, they’d call you a liar, cuz I don do no cleenin.
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Mary Reply:
February 28th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Those are some great hints Judith. What do you use on windows and mirrors? How about a glass oven door with lots of toddler fingerprints? I’d love to find a non-toxic way to clean that.
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I must have missed getting the cleaning gene from my Italian grandmother. I have trouble with limescale and hard water deposits and haven’t found anything that really works. Sometimes vinegar works. Have you checked out the hints at this site http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Spring-cleaning-the-eco-friendly
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Mary Reply:
February 28th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Thanks Cathy, I’ll check that link out, maybe I need to give these natural cleaners another try.
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I agree about the chemicals–don’t commit hari kari for cleanliness. Vinegar was the cleaner of choice ever since I can remember. I found this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/housekeeping...
Kim and Aggie have a big bag of tricks when it comes to cleaning houses and staying healthy.
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Mary Reply:
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Thanks for the link Mari Louise, I’ll check it out.
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I agree with every one else about vinegar!
Make a 50% vinegar and 50% water solution, put it in a spray bottle and use it for windows and as an all purpose cleaner.
Vinegar is amazing as a fabric softener. I used to have trouble with odors in the washing machine, and sometimes with laundry washed on cold, but now that I use vinegar, that doesn’t happen anymore.
I recently used vinegar and salt to clean my iron.
Do not underestimate the power of vinegar!
For scrubbing sinks, tubs and toilets, I use baking soda or washing soda.
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Mary Reply:
March 10th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Well, I may have to try the vinegar. I’ve just never liked the smell, but maybe if it’s diluted enough it won’t bother me.
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