greener, cleaner bathrooms
Filed Under Going Green, Stuff | May 21, 2010
Bathrooms aren’t generally the most elegant rooms in the house, and sometimes they can be a bit toxic. Thank goodness we’ve found some great ways to give them a bit of green glamour that’ll make the time your family spends doing their ablutions more environmentally friendly.
Shower curtains, those innocent shields against water, are usually made of PVC, one of the worst plastics around. You can’t recycle it, it produces harmful dioxins and it’s a human carcinogen. So when you’re ready to replace your current curtain why not look for a safer option? We like these EVA vinyl shower curtains from Simple Memory Art that are PVC-free, right down to their packaging. Plus they provide learning opportunities, detailing metamorphosis, dinosaur details, the periodic table and more. We’re a bit sad that they’re still not recyclable, but hopefully that will come next: www.organicallyhatched.com
Speaking of showers, often they’re the only time mums can get a little alone time, so we tend to prolong them whenever possible. A showerhead that reduces the amount of water you use lets you linger a little longer without any green guilt. We replaced our old showerhead with Waterpik’s EcoFlow shower head. Despite promises to the contrary, the water pressure just isn’t as strong. That being said, the difference wasn’t that substantial and we’ll take a little reduction in pressure if it means we’re saving up to 3.8 litres of water each minute we shower. Plus we love the functionality that allows you to pause the flow while you lather up, shave or day dream: www.waterpikecoflow.com
After all that green shower time you’ll need to do a little cleaning up after yourself and we’ve had a sneak peek at Canada’s own Gloves Off Disinfectant and Cleaner. Like all Gloves Off products, it’s made from non-toxic ingredients and works by harnessing essential oils and botanical ingredients rather than ammonia, chlorine or bleach. Unlike most of the other greener cleaners we’ve tried, Gloves Off is packaged like a traditional more toxic cleaner, but maybe that’s because it’s just as powerful as a traditional cleaner but without all the yucky stuff. Because no matter how green something is, if it doesn’t work it’s not a better solution. Keep an eye out for it on store shelves near you soon: www.glovesoffclean.com
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Let us know what you think or share your great finds with us so we can share them with other Vancouver mothers!
Another great way to clean up using no chemicals is by using a steam cleaning tool. I use one for cleaning the toys for my business. You can get small ones, like the Bissell Steam Shot (which sells for under $50 at my nearby Walmart), or ones rated by the EPA as disinfectants like the Vapamore MR-100 Steam Cleaner which you can purchase from the allergy guy for under $300 (http://www.theallergyguy.com/product.php?productid=16456&cat=66&page=1).