When I lived in California for a few months last winter, all the dryers stood on the same spot on all the porches – it was one of those modern, boring, suburban communities. All the households used the same detergents and dryer sheets. The same cloying scent was standing in the air - always. After rush hour, the smell peaked: All the dudes and gals coming home from work and did they daily home chores.
Dryer sheets are unnecessary (and toxic) products. Many volatile organic compounds are released in the air with every drying course, plus aldehydes, benzene, and other substances that are proven or under suspicion to promote cancer, asthma, and other chronic diseases. “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities” is such a syndrome, closely related to the “Gulf War Syndrome”. Researcher suspect that sitting around all day in barracks, exposed to toxic foods, toxic drinks, toxic fumes, toxic recreational drugs might be the root cause.
Even worse: Because the fragrances in dryer sheets are manufactured to last and last and last, it is near-impossible to get them out of your machine and out of your clothing (try vinegar and baking soda!).
You think your laundry smells FRESH?? That’s the power of advertisement. Does a guy who walks by me (or stands in the elevator with me) smell FRESH? Or SEXY? To me he smells chemical, and uninformed. - When I put my face in my hard towels, they smell lovely - because they are dried on the line, outside. Dryer sheets and vaginal douches would top my list of absolutely unnecessary products. But the list is close to endless, I fear.
Let’s start such a list! Because Earth is getting too small for all the people living on it, we can make an effort to omit – and perhaps ban! – all products that do not enhance the quality of life but only use up precious resources and pollute air, soil and water. Not to mention use up our money in financially difficult times.
Here is the list – not ordered by urgency just by what came to my mind:
1. Dryer sheets
2. Vaginal douches
3. Wonderbread (or any other nutrient-poor replacement of the real things made from scratch)
4. Anti-bacterial soap (except in medical settings – and even there I’d challenge the wisdom of using them)
5. Toys that are used a day, and then never again
6. Liposuction – go for a walk instead. Daily.
7. Moisturizer (use coconut oil after your shower – if you need it. On your whole body)
8. Artificial sweetener (if you really want to stick with the over-sweet taste you have been raised on, try stevia! At least, it is natural)
9. Dairy (most inflammatory, artery-clogging, brain-fogging food there is – right there with sugars)
10. Toner (splash you face with cold water whenever there is a possibility
11. Make-up (in most cases, except in professional situations like theater)
12. Veganburgers (or any fake “health” food. Cook a vegetable with olive oil and garlic. Or two. Or three. – That’s it!)
13. Food colors – Who needs neon-red and neon green and neon-purple in their mouth??
14. Facelifts
15. Power drinks (go to bed early enough so that your body gets energy naturally)
Help me! Let’s make this a looooong list! Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Fresh Air
October 6, 2010
If you live in a house that is perfect in terms of insulation and energy efficiency, you are likely living in a house with stale air – or worse: poisoned air.
The old drafty windows allowed air to go in and out freely. Retrofitted with air-tight windows and doors, you keep in the used-up air. People are often not aware that indoor pollution is much worse than outdoor pollution.
Indoor pollution comes from building materials (wood preservers, paints, plastics, glues, etc.) and household cleaners (detergent, laundry softeners) and molds.
The two most important – and easiest – steps are:
• Sleeping with window open so that you don’t re-breathe stale, polluted air all night through.
• Opening your windows at least twice a day for ten minutes each time. Opening the windows wide but only for a short time, is using less energy than keeping a window slanted all the time.
Respiratory diseases – asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, allergies, increased susceptibility for infections, and so on – are furthered by bad air.
If you have mold at your place, the root cause needs to be addressed: moist walls, flooded basements, condensation issues in poorly ventilated spaces. You better ask a specialist. This can come very expensive. But your health doesn’t come cheap either. And once somebody is sensitive to molds, life can get extremely complicated.
The opposite – too dry air – is also inflicting lung ailments. You can put out open dishes with water or hang up moist towels. Both are better than humidifiers that in many instances get grown over with molds and bacteria, adding to the problem instead of solving it.
Green plants help improve indoor air by humidifying and removing pollutants. Philodendron, spider plant and golden pothos are most effective at the task, and they also happen to be unfussy in their needs.
Aromatherapy can improve air quality. Incense actually is detrimental to your health (as nice as it is for your soul), but essential oils, especially eucalyptus, strengthen respiratory passages.
This all will help you indoor air – provided there’s no smoker in the house. Read More