Cleaning the toilet bowl is one of the least favorite tasks on the chore list, no matter how necessary it is to keep your toilet sanitary and sparkling! Many toilet bowl cleaners and other commercial products on the market for removing stains, odors and germs from toilets require the use of harsh and dangerous chemicals.  The American Association of Poison Control Centers states that household cleaning products are the third leading source of poisonings, listing toilet bowl cleaners as one of the most dangerous.[1] More statistical information on poisonings from household products is available at http://www.aapcc.org/dnn/NPDSPoisonData/PoisonStatistics.aspx.

When it comes to home safety, there are probably more risks in the garage than anywhere else in the house!  Most people use garages for storing things such as yard equipment, power tools, chemicals, recreational vehicles as well as cars.  Many of these items are potentially dangerous and even toxic!  More than half of the 2 million poison exposures that occur annually involve children under the age of six.[1] Children are at increased risk to the harmful effects from exposure to pesticides and other harmful substances due to their small size, proximity to the ground, their tendency toward increased hand-to-mouth activity, and a lack of awareness to environmental dangers.

What is a septic system and how does it work?

A conventional septic system is a self-contained system for disposing of sewage.  The system one sees most often is a holding tank usually made of concrete.  The waste flushed into the tank is broken down by enzyme and bacterial action.[1] This breakdown turns most of the waste into liquid effluent.  As the tank fills with other waste, the liquid effluent leaves the tank through a pipe leading to the drainage field.  The soil acts as the final filter, cleaning pathogens and bacteria and returning water to the ground. The result is a slow but environmentally safe waste disposal method.[2]

What is the most germ-ridden room in your house? It’s not the bathroom–it’s the kitchen!! The kitchen provides the perfect environment for different types of bacteria to breed and thrive due to the moisture and high traffic.  Dish towels and sponges are especially problematic because they hold moisture and we tend to use them for multiple tasks such as drying our hands, wiping up spills, raw chicken juice, washing dirty dishes, and drying clean dishes.

There are more than 3 million poisonings every year in the U.S. and household cleaners are the number one cause of poisoning of children.  The U.S. Poison Control Centers receive calls about someone being exposed to a poison every 13 seconds.  Fifty percent of these cases involve children under six years of age.  Over 70,000 calls made to poison centers each year involve concerns about exposure to common household pesticides and chemicals found in household cleaners.[1] Items found in the bathroom account for 21% of all poisonings![2]