Why do we "clean" our homes and offices with poisonous chemicals? Chemical cleaning toxins can cause asthma, cancer, and other lung problems. They also end up in our rivers, lakes and oceans after being washed down our sinks. Chemical cleaning supplies is an $18 billion dollar industry, with an average US household spending $600 yearly on chemical cleaning supplies. Solution? Well there are two solutions:

ELECTROLYZED WATER

Electrolyzed water is a simple mixture of table salt and tap water whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current. Dubbed the "miracle liquid", this sanitizer has been used for decades in Russia and Japan, it's slowly winning acceptance in the United States. A New York poultry processor uses it to kill salmonella on chicken carcasses. Minnesota grocery clerks spray sticky conveyors in the checkout lanes. Michigan jailers mop with electrolyzed water to keep potentially lethal cleaners out of the hands of inmates. The mixture costs less than a penny a gallon, cuts down on employee injuries from chemicals and reduces shipping costs and waste.

MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANING SUPPLIES

You can replace every cleaning supply in your home with a nontoxic, safer, and biodegradable version using household ingredients such as club soda, baking soda, salt, and vinegar all for around $20. Making your own inexpensive cleaning supplies is easy too. You can find easy to follow recipes on www.greenpeace.org/usa and www.eartheasy.com.

BUY NONTOXIC ALTERNATIVES

If chemical experimentation is not your thing, then at least buy nontoxic alternative cleaning supplies. They cost the same but are completely nontoxic and biodegradable. They are available at most grocery and hardware stores under the brand names Method, Shaklee, and Seventh Generation.

THE FACTS

You can replace every cleaning supply in your home with a nontoxic, safer, and biodegradable version using household ingredients such as club soda, baking soda, salt, and vinegar all for around $20.