"Do" No Triclosan (L) vs. "Don't" With Triclosan (R)TRICLOSAN: ENOUGH, ALREADY!
For more than a decade, environmental and health advocates have
been urging that the FDA and EPA ban triclosan. Back in 2002, in a report for the Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association, doctors warned that triclosan had not been shown to be any more effective than plain soap in removing bacteria, while it carried the extra risk of contributing to the risk of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Luckily, conscious consumers don't have to wait for government agencies. We can act on our own behalf by simply reading labels and buying products whose ingredients lists do not include triclosan.
Manufacturers have gotten the message, even if FDA and EPA apparently have not. Witness the Ajax dish soap in the photo above. It does not contain triclosan, and instead of making antibacterial claims, the label boasts: "Washes away bacteria from hands." That's a good truthful summary of what plain soap and water does, and that's all a body needs, unless you're in a hospital. The Dawn dish soap, on the other hand, still bears the "Antibacterial" claim and lists triclosan among its ingredients. Talk about outdated!
Triclosan has been on GreenerPenny's Top Chemicals to
Avoid Lists for personal care and home cleaning products, such as dish soaps, since I founded this blog in
20007. When I discovered it in Colgate toothpaste, I was truly gobsmacked. Since then, EWG has done an excellent summary of various studies regarding triclosan's presence in the urine of 75 percent of Americans tested, and triclosan's contribution to worsening of asthma symptoms and other respiratory problems. A study in June, 2014 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found links between allergy risk and antimicrobial agents in children's urine.
For more information, check out the practical triclosan tips from the Tufts Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics.
For handy reference, see my shopping guide for liquid dish soaps that are free of triclosan and other toxic and irritating ingredients, and my evergreen personal care products list.
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Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Best drinking water filters
A reader asks:
It was quite a schlepp to
haul bottles of water up 4 flights of stairs to our NYC apartment before Hurricane
Sandy. Now it’s storm season again, we’re looking for a faucet-mounted water
filter, so we can fill our own.
I also hate throwing used
Brita-type filters away.
What kind of filter is
best to protect our health and the environment?
Answer:
You need a filter that removes everyday
contaminants so the drinking water you store will be pure.
And you’ll also want your filter to remove any pathogens
carried by storm runoff into reservoirs.
Brita, Pur, and Zero Water carafes and faucet-mounted filters use activated carbon, which removes
most microbes that can contaminate your water supply during storms.
What are your everyday contaminants?
You can check your utility’s water quality report to find out what, if any, are
contaminants of concern. Renters can request one; the Natural Resources
Defense Council provides helpful guidance. Then check NSF’s certification listings for filters that best remove those contaminants.
But there’s drinking water and then
there’s your tap water.
Aside from your muncipality’s drinking
water supply, contaminants can leach into water from your building’s pipes.
Old pipes are often lined with lead, the toxic heavy
metal which is the single greatest environmental health threat to the
developing brains and nervous systems of babies and children, and should be
strenuously avoided by pregnant women. http://www.childenvironment.org.
The only way to find out if there’s lead in your
water is to have it tested by an EPA-certified lab. http://water.epa.gov/drink/info/lead/lead1.cfm
Tip: Warm
water will have more lead in it than cold water, so if you’re not sure, let
water run for 60 seconds to flush out pipes and chill out before drinking.
(Collect for plants or washing dishes.)
While carbon filters such as Pur
claim to remove 99 percent of lead, that doesn’t necessarily mean they meet new
lead reduction standards, according to Richard Andrew, general manager of the
Drinking Water Treatment Unit of National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), which certifies
water-filtration systems. Standards for filtering lead in
drinking water were updated in July 2012 after the revised Safe Drinking Water
Act in 2011. http://www.shedthelead.com
Andrew says that more complicated, expensive reverse
osmosis water filtration systems are best at removing heavy metals, such as
calcium, arsenic and lead.
The only carbon filter currently NSF certified for
lead removal by NSF is Zero Water’s, Andrew says.
But you know what? I vote for being prepared for
storm surges with any filter rather than none, and a carbon-activated faucet
and/or carafe picher is the easiest way to do it.
Recycling carbon filters
Happily, recycling carbon filters is
a growing trend, Andrew says, and NSF has added “sustainability evaluations” to
its certifying criteria. “We continue to raise the bar over time,” he says.
You can send Brita filters to be
recycled through the company’s partnership with Preserve, Filter for Good. You can
mail or drop off your Brita cartridges (along with yogurt containers and other
#5 plastics) at participating Whole Foods Markets and other locations. Preserve makes the plastic into post-consumer food tools and
tableware, and the carbon is “regenerated for alternative use or converted into
energy,” according to Brita’s website. Participants also get discount coupons
for Preserve’s bright, durable, ultra green products.
Zero Water also has a recycling program for their
pitcher and faucet carbon cartridges. You mail them at your own expense, and
the company gives you a $10 coupon towards your next cartridge purchase.
More About Reverse Osmosis (RO)
RO systems are best at removing heavy
metals, such as calcium, arsenic, and especially lead, Andrew says.
But because RO membranes collect dirt
and bacteria and can develop holes, RO systems need to be inspected annually,
and the membranes either cleaned or replaced, according to the green
homeowners’ bible, Prescriptions for a
Healthy House.
For more information, check out NSF’s consumer home drinking
water treatment guide.
Green Bargain! For carefully researched and vetted lists of products, what to choose and what to lose when it comes to ingredients and labels, see my book, Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth through Simple, Everyday Choices!
Got a question? Post a comment on the blog or through our home page at GreenerPenny.com . Or, if you like, like GreenerPenny on Facebook and ask me a question there.
Follow GreenerPenny on Twitter for more tips.
Thank you!
Mindy
Green Bargain! For carefully researched and vetted lists of products, what to choose and what to lose when it comes to ingredients and labels, see my book, Do One Green Thing: Saving the Earth through Simple, Everyday Choices!
Got a question? Post a comment on the blog or through our home page at GreenerPenny.com . Or, if you like, like GreenerPenny on Facebook and ask me a question there.
Follow GreenerPenny on Twitter for more tips.
Thank you!
Mindy
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
What's greener, glass or recycled plastic?
A reader asked: What’s the greener container: recycled plastic
or glass?
For bottled drinks or preserved foods), I'd choose those
packaged in glass, which is almost infinitely recyclable. Eighty percent of
glass containers that are recycled are made into new ones, whereas plastic can
only be recycled 2-3 times before it loses its strength.
Best of all, glass is free of the phthalates and bisphenol-A
that can leach from plastic. Acidic substances like tomatoes, colas and citrus,
or fatty foods, promote the leaching of plastic chemicals, which they absorb.
So does heating any food in plastic.
However, you might not want to use breakable glass bottles around
children. And even though plastic is made of fossil fuels, its light weight
requires fewer fossil fuels in shipping than glass.
Just be sure to choose plastic marked "post-consumer
recycled" (PCR) or "post-consumer waste" (PCW). Regular
"recycled" plastic is usually made from factory scraps, which only
encourages the continued production and waste of new plastic.
D.I.Y. household cleaning ingredients
Shopping List
With these 15 items, you can clean just about anything.
■ Baking Soda: scrubbing, whitening
■ Beeswax: polishing wood
■ Borax (sodium borate): removing stains/disinfecting
■ Club Soda (or any unflavored fizzy water): lifting stains
■ Cornstarch: absorbing stains
■ Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfecting, removing stains
■ Lemon: removing stains and odors
■ Liquid Dish Soap: sudsing power
■ Olive Oil: polishing wood
■ Pine Oil: cleaning soft wood floors
■ Plant Essential Oils: chemical-free fragrance (do a sniff test before buying to make sure you’re not sensitive to the fumes)
■ Salt: scrubbing
■ Toothpaste: polishing metal
■ Washing Soda (sodium carbonate): scrubbing, removing stains and cutting grease
■ White Vinegar: disinfecting, removing stains
■ Beeswax: polishing wood
■ Borax (sodium borate): removing stains/disinfecting
■ Club Soda (or any unflavored fizzy water): lifting stains
■ Cornstarch: absorbing stains
■ Hydrogen Peroxide: disinfecting, removing stains
■ Lemon: removing stains and odors
■ Liquid Dish Soap: sudsing power
■ Olive Oil: polishing wood
■ Pine Oil: cleaning soft wood floors
■ Plant Essential Oils: chemical-free fragrance (do a sniff test before buying to make sure you’re not sensitive to the fumes)
■ Salt: scrubbing
■ Toothpaste: polishing metal
■ Washing Soda (sodium carbonate): scrubbing, removing stains and cutting grease
■ White Vinegar: disinfecting, removing stains
Monday, April 15, 2013
D.I.Y. Green Cleaners
Commercial cleaning products have been shown to trigger asthma, headaches and more. Below are some task-specific recipes that won’t lead to teary disaster.
Toilet Bowl
Scrub with 1/2 cup of borax to brighten and disinfect. For
daily maintenance, brush the bowl with baking soda and let it sit for a bit
before flushing. Add white vinegar for a little extra stain-lifting fizz.
All-Purpose Cleaner
Use on any non-wood surface.
1/2 cup borax
1 gallon hot water
Mix until borax is dissolved; mop or spray and wipe surfaces.
Floor and Wall Cleaner
Use this on any floor, including wood, and on
walls.
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon hot water
1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup liquid
soap (optional)
1 to 2 tablepoons pine or lemon oil (optional)
For
extra cleaning power, add liquid soap. Add pine or lemon oil (essential oil of
lavender or rosemary are less-intense alternatives) to condition unlaminated
wood floors. Mix all ingredients and clean floor or walls with mop or damp rag.
Follow with a clean-water mop if you use soap.
Glass Cleaner
Shine on without toxic ammonia-based
products.
1/4 cup white vinegar or
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups water
3 to 4
drops liquid soap (optional)
Mix and spray or wipe on; for the best shine, use old newspapers!
Encrusted Gunk Buster
Avoid chlorine-based scrubs by making your
own scrubbing bubbles.
Baking soda, washing soda or salt
Wipe surface with hot water; sprinkle on soda or salt. Let sit for a few
minutes, then scrub with a rag, sponge or brush.
Fume-Free Oven Cleaner
Avoid caustic lye-based products and still
make your oven sparkle.
1 cup baking soda
1/4 to 1/2 cup washing soda
1 tablespoon liquid soap
Hot water
Few drops white vinegar
Make sure oven is off and totally cool. No need to disconnect power.
Wipe off surface soot and any fresh spills. Combine dry ingredients and
gradually add hot water until you have a thick but malleable paste. For greasy
ovens, add an additional 1/4 cup washing soda. Add vinegar (watch it
fizz!). Coat all oven surfaces and leave overnight. Wipe off with warm water.
Soft Scrub
Use this non-scratching, chlorine-free paste on enamel or
porcelain.
1 cup baking soda or borax
Warm water
2 to 3 drops liquid soap
Combine baking soda or borax with enough water to form a paste. Add
liquid soap. Apply to surfaces, let sit at least 5 minutes, and scrub with a
non-abrasive sponge. Rinse and wipe off residue.
Grout Cleaner
Kill mildew and whiten grout without
chlorine.
Baking soda
White vinegar or hydrogen peroxide
Combine ingredients to make a paste. Let stand 30 minutes or more,
then scrub.
Lye-Free Drain Cleaner
For a clogged drain, use a plumber’s snake
or an untwisted coat hanger to pull out as much gunk as possible. Pour 1/2
cup baking or washing soda down the drain; gradually add 1/2 cup white
vinegar. Let fizz and dissolve. Carefully pour in boiling water from a tea
kettle. Wait half an hour. Repeat as necessary. Before calling a plumber, let
things cool off and snake again.
Before you roll up your sleeves, remember, even all-natural cleaning ingredients can be irritating. Open windows to ventilate rooms while you clean, and wear gloves. Store all cleaning products, including homemade mixtures, in sealed containers in a cool, dry place.
Hello Green Mattress, Goodbye Toxic Hotbed
Spring cleaning should include
our indoor air. A reader recently asked
me, “I’m looking for a green healthy mattress. What do you recommend?”
Because we spend about half
our lives in bed, I recommend a mattress
made of natural materials and free of chemical treatments. Alas, most conventional mattresses are stuffed
with petroleum-based, polyurethane foam that can release, or “offgass,”
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have been linked to cancer, allergies,
asthma and harm to nervous systems and children’s development. These chemicals include toxic fire retardants
that migrate into the air we breathe.
Greener Penny has long
advocated against these synthetic chemicals. In 2010, we spoke with Heather
Stapleton, a professor of chemistry at Duke, who warned against the health threats posed by widely used mattress fire retardants,
such as tris, which a study led by Stapleton found in house dust.
In March, California proposed new rules for fire retardancy in furniture and baby products that, if passed, will likely
render these chemicals obsolete. Recent tests commissioned by the Chicago
Tribune found that popular baby mattresses were hotbedsof toxic flame retardants.
What to look for
Choose mattresses made from
natural, renewable and untreated materials: wool, cotton (in either, certified organic is
greenest) and latex from rubber trees.
Mattresses wrapped in wool,
a naturally fire retardant material, can meet the current U.S. Consumer Safety Products Commission
(CPSC) “open flame” flammability standard (based on the California
standard that the state is now poised to change). standard without adding chemicals.
If you want a wool-free
mattress that’s untreated with fire retardant chemicals, you’ll have to provide
the retailer with a prescription from your doctor. Here’s a form you can download.
There are now many companies selling
greener mattresses in adult and crib size. They also sell less expensive futons
or mattress toppers. All are available in a range of natural materials and
prices. Here’s a list.
See Playing With Fire, The Tribune’s excellent investigative series on the chemical and cigarette
industries
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