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Mixing Your Own Chemicals - Safe?

You would think that in 2008, in the era of progression and evolution onto the next biggest and best things that people would not regress back into the 1950’s. Well lo and behold, a group of women who call themselves, Women’s Voices for the Earth, have done just that. Now before I go any further, your first assumption would be that they are all jumping on the “going green” bandwagon. Well apparently not. They aren’t interested in helping the environment; they are going old school and mixing their own home remedy cleaning products that all of our grandmothers have done at one time or another 40 years ago. Their other claim to fame besides the home remedy approach, is not so much as boycotting conglomerate based cleaning products, but just trying to get those companies to tell us what’s in them. But your favorite cleaning product company is reluctant to give away their prized secreted ingredients. And I don’t blame them. They have done remarkably well for the last several decades for just that reason; Competition in being the best for your floor, tub, wood, etc.

In this day and age, more and more people ARE realizing that we are in dire trouble concerning global warming and the environment. For instance, Clorox has responded to these issues by coming out with a “green” product line. Yet these Women’s Voices have responded to that by saying “why pay $4.99 for a bottle of cleaner when you can just mix it yourself for pennies”. Easier said than done. Sure it sounds good to save some money in this never ending chaos that we call our economy, but unless you are a world renown chemist, I would be deathly afraid of doing such things. First off, you have no idea what the correct measurements and ingredients are for such a cleaning product. Secondly, pH levels have to be on point or one drop splashed on your skin or into your eyes and who knows what can happen. No money is worth the risk of bodily harm.

As stated above, a lot of companies are going green and doing the mixing for you but only in a less harmful way for not only the environment but for you as the consumer. Here at Spruce, we use a company called Misco. They have just come out with a product line called Elements - Environmentally Responsible Maintenance Solutions. They have made green cleaning simple. These products which include a degreaser, non-ammoniated glass cleaner, restroom cleaner, multi purpose cleaner and a super duty degreaser is the next generation in green cleaning. They are certifiably: non toxic, contains no phosphates, EDTA or NTA, they are non corrosive. There are no ozone depleting compounds as well as known carcinogens, chlorine bleach, all cleaners are biodegradable, and also the containers have low energy requirements for recycling. There’s no more guesswork of whether or not you might faint while cleaning your shower or even washing your windows. Misco has made it healthier and safer for you. But if you feel like mixing your own concoction, you’re only harming yourself and the people around you. And by doing so, you’re not really helping the environmental problem, only hurting it.

Read the entire New York Times article regarding Women’s Voices for the Earth
Raiding the Pantry to Add Sparkle and Shine - New York Times