Are we too clean, part two.

[Petra]

LadyShea's thread in this forum is the inspiration for this thread. Just in case the title wasn't obvious enough.

I wandered in there to say what I unscientifically thought, but Lady Shea's thread is on a different tangent to this thread, and while I completely agree with her, I had nothing to add.

It is my unscientific belief that our obsessiveness with cleanliness and the quest for the perfectly spotless and germfree house is actually making the planet dirtier.

The enormous variety of heinous chemicals with which we scrub our homes and castles is leeched into the soil, dispersed into the air, and of course washed into the waterways. Our lives may look sparkling and fresh and smell of lavendar, lemon or pine; but our very earth is suffering under the stress of our (well, some people's anyway) need to have a thoroughly washed and polished home before they can possibly allow guests to visit and take the white glove test on our windowsills.

We have chemicals that bleach, are caustic, must only be handled with rubber gloves, and will strip paint if they come into contact with any.

And the irony, as I see it, is that while we feel so clean and so fresh, we are making that which life depends upon - clean water - so darned dirty.

And there endeth my less-than-scientific rant for the day.

Your thoughts?

[Penni]

I agree, luna. Not to mention the disposable everything! Now, people can't even stand to keep a sponge around for a few weeks, they have to have a bleach cloth that they can wipe something once and throw it away. Same with cleaning the toilet. You know what? I keep that stuff forever! I just pop it in the micro. I hate our disposable society. I actually feel pretty bad, myself, because one of my big indlugences each month is to get a facial, which also helps some serious skin problems I've developed. Well, today I was keeping track and she used 6 towels on me! I am sure they were all different ones. I felt so bad, knowing that they were all going to need to be washed.

All our little disposable cleansers and individually wrapped cheese products make me sad.

[livius drusus]

...which is why cheese is best bought by the wedge, brick or round.

I think your rant is dead-on, luna. You've convinced me to never lift a finger again. As it turns out, I am remarkably easy to persuade.

Fight the power! Stop the Insanity!

Okay, sorry. Substantive. Right. Here's something to think about: how about the way we have to clean and be clean around technology? Think of all the cleanser, disposable face masks/hair nets/gloves, that canned air shit, those screen wipes. I plow through that stuff at work like Scarface through a pile of coke.

And all that to produce and maintain a collection of toxic metals to join all the others in a carcinogenic landfill in a few years time.

[LadyShea]

Oh good angle Luna. You are so right....here I pour I don't know what but it is carcinogenic into my sink because it runs slow, I spray some caustic noxious crap on the shower because our hard water leaves deposits that seem to be resistant to everything but frickin atomic waste, I don't know what all the "chemical" guy does to the pool, I pay the Orkin guy extra to power spray because I am scared of Black Widows, fingernail polish remover will immediately eat holes through certain fabrics I found out the hard way.

Gah, now I want to go the vinegar and baking soda route!

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by LadyShea

Gah, now I want to go the vinegar and baking soda route!

No need to get prehistoric, just get Simple Green™.

This is not a paid endorsement. I don't really know if Simple Green™ is as environment friendly as the company suggests, but my old housemate was convinced of its value.

[LadyShea]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

No need to get prehistoric, just get Simple Green™.

This is not a paid endorsement. I don't really know if Simple Green™ is as environment friendly as the company suggests, but my old housemate was convinced of its value.

I cannot abide the smell of Simple Green...it literally makes me gag. I did find this stuff called Method which is biodegradeable, all natural, non toxic etc and smells like citrus...so I am trying to be a bit more eco-friendly!

[livius drusus]

Okay, for dishes there's no reason to look further than Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds (scroll all the way down). It smells lightly like pine and is the single best dishwashing detergent I've ever used. I'm not kidding or exaggerating in any way when I say that it blows the green and blue shit out of the water. Even my totally anti-hippy neat freak friend Jennifer says so.

Some sleak 22nd c. hippy sites I've ordered from include:Real Goods, Green Marketplace, and the killer Co-Op America Green Pages which if you like to shop and you're even remotely interested in alternative products and business, is invaluable and an endless source of squealingly oh-my-god-look-what-i-just-found fun.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by LadyShea

I cannot abide the smell of Simple Green...it literally makes me gag.

Yeah, the standard green does smell pretty funky. Looks like they now have a lemon scent version, though. Maybe that's better.

I did find this stuff called Method which is biodegradeable, all natural, non toxic etc and smells like citrus...so I am trying to be a bit more eco-friendly!

Cool. I use Planet clothing detergent, but not because I'm eco-friendly. Regular detergents give me a rash and Planet is available at all Kroger-owned stores.

[Shake]

Originally Posted by Penni

I agree, luna. Not to mention the disposable everything! Now, people can't even stand to keep a sponge around for a few weeks, they have to have a bleach cloth that they can wipe something once and throw it away. Same with cleaning the toilet. You know what? I keep that stuff forever! I just pop it in the micro. I hate our disposable society. I actually feel pretty bad, myself, because one of my big indlugences each month is to get a facial, which also helps some serious skin problems I've developed. Well, today I was keeping track and she used 6 towels on me! I am sure they were all different ones. I felt so bad, knowing that they were all going to need to be washed.

All our little disposable cleansers and individually wrapped cheese products make me sad.

First off, let me just say, Hi Penni! Good rant! This disposable society only serves to put more money into the hands of the manufacturers of these products. Yeah, just use it once and throw it away ... don't worry about where it goes after that, or if it's biodegradable. And there are more and more such products every year!

vm, thanks for the info on Planet, I'll have to see if I can find it around here.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by Shake

vm, thanks for the info on Planet, I'll have to see if I can find it around here.

Glad to help.

I'm pretty sure all the Kroger family stores have it. I think that's Kroger's, Ralph's, Von's, and Albertson's. Good luck!