The Eco Expert Answers Your Eco Questions
(Page 4 of 4)
September/October 1999
By Debra Lynn Dadd
Shower sprays work by mixing with the water droplets left on shower/tub surfaces after you shower, allowing soil, mildew stains and mineral deposits to rinse away as you take your next shower.
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The one brand available at my local supermarket advertises itself to be made of “mild, biodegradable, environmentally friendly” ingredients. Looking at the label, however, I found the first ingredient to be isopropyl alcohol, a liquid made from propylene, which is obtained by cracking petroleum. Given that petroleum is nonrenewable and polluting in its extraction, transportation, manufacturing, and disposal, nothing made from petroleum should be called “environmentally friendly.”
Isopropyl alcohol is used in many products—everything from after-shave and hand lotions to antifreeze and solvent. Labeled “rubbing alcohol,” it is used widely in every doctor’s office. But this doesn’t mean it is safe. Ruth Winter’s A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients (Three Rivers Press, 1999) says, “inhalation of large quantities of propylene vapor may cause flushing, headache, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, and coma.” The warning on the rubbing alcohol label says “Do not apply to irritated skin, use in eyes or mucous membranes.” I don’t see how you can spray isopropyl alcohol into the air and not get it in your eyes and lungs.
To clean your bathroom tile, try a simple scrub of baking soda for sparkle. If you need to remove mold or mildew, use a mixture of borax and water or vinegar and water. If you have a major mold problem, you probably need more heat or air circulation in your bathroom. Soap scum is a sign of hard water. If you have hard water, your laundry compound probably is sticking to your clothing, too, so it’s wise to invest in a water softener. nNH
Debra Lynn Dadd is an internationally known expert on healthy, natural home environments and author of Home Safe Home (Tarcher/ Putnam, 1997).
If you have eco-questions, please write her at Natural Home, 201 E. Fourth St., Loveland, CO 80537-5655; or visit her website at www.dld123.com.
Environmentor is used with the permission of the EnvironMentors® Project, an environmental education mentoring program
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